People born in the last decade of the twentieth century
arrived into a digitized world with globalized com-
munication and trade. The first generation for whom
the internet and cell phones were commonplace, they
came of age with ready access to social and other
media that made it easy to find information to support
their own preconceived notions of the truth.
While by the beginning of the twenty-first cen-
tury most climate scientists agreed that global climate
change was occurring and that escalating greenhouse
gas emissions were the main cause, there were large
numbers of Americans, including many consumers
of right-leaning media, who continued to declare
that climate change was a result of naturally occur-
ring climate fluctuations. However, there was indis-
putable evidence that the temperature was going up
(every decade beginning with the 1980s has been the
warmest on record since records started being kept
in 1850), ocean acidification was increasing, glaciers
were melting, and seas were rising.
Today, while the majority of Americans believe
that global warming is occurring and that this warm-
ing is caused primarily by human activity, most are
not concerned that it might affect them directly, and
very few feel compelled to take immediate action to
slow the trend. Although in many circles it is fashion-
able to be eco-conscious and people happily purchase
products with a recycled, organic, or other environ-
mental imprimatur--ranging from greeting cards,
food, clothing, and furniture to such expensive items
as cars and even houses–few people are convinced
that they need to make major lifestyle changes.
Americans believe that they have a right to a clean,
safe environment, including breathable air, drinkable
water, and uncontaminated land on which to grow
food and let their children play, but many oppose
environmental restrictions that limit the way they
can use their private property and object to paying
for environmental regulation. Most recognize that
the world’s resources are finite, but large numbers
still refuse to consider limits to personal consumption
or economic development. An increasing number
of people worry that a U.S. failure to reduce green-
house gas emissions will inhibit the country’s abil-
ity to maintain economic and societal well-being at
home and to continue to play an influential role onPart VIII
Politicizing the Environmental Debate,
2000–2017