During the tragic Los Angeles Fires that occurred in January, a family from Glendale came to stay with us in Santa Clarita. They worried they would not have a home to return to. Thankfully, they returned safely, yet it remained shocking how such a large fire had reached a heavily populated area. The only way this could have occurred remains the exacerbation of global warming. Despite the rapidly increasing frequency of disastrous climate events in the United States, there remains a large group of citizens that still refuse to believe climate change is a serious matter, and this massive disbelief should be pulled to the forefront of America’s research concerns. 

According to an article by NASA’s main webpage supporting the reality of climate change, “The current warming trend is different… and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia.” NASA listed several corroborating facts for this claim, confirming that the threat of an unregulated Earthly climate should be a major concern to any global citizen. However, an article by Nayiri Mullinix states that “14.8% of Americans deny that climate change is real.”  With a population of 340.1 million people, this finding insinuates that around 50.3 million people in our country deny the existence of climate change. For many, this may be a case of undereducation. 

Denialism, as mentioned in the article, is highest in “central and southern parts of the country” and other “variables…found to influence climate change opinion include level of education, income, and the degree to which the regional economy is reliant on fossil fuels to produce energy.” These areas of America have lower rates of education in comparison to the more urban areas on the East Coast, for example. Additionally, in rural states, state income may be partially motivated by farmland activity, reducing opportunities for these citizens to leave their generationally-run land to seek education. When rural communities are ignored in American education, they reasonably would have a “broad skepticism of science.” 

Perhaps you would think that those working on land frequently would be more than knowledgeable on the happenings of the Earth. Interestingly enough, in an article by David Biello from SCIAM, the American Farm Bureau Federation spokesman, Mace Thortnon, emphasizes “We’re not convinced that the climate change we’re seeing is anthropogenic in origin…” Additionally, a paper by Margiana Peterson-Rockney on ScienceDirect has found that “Many US farmers do not believe in anthropogenic climate change, …and have not embraced management practices that mitigate emissions...” This is likely due to a mistrust of “public agricultural advisors” and a fear that participating in anti-climate change practices will impede their work. 

While it is true that rural populations hold a greater affinity to conservative values that correlate with a distrust of climate change, there are numerous other reasons for why rural citizens reject climate change and combative guidelines. In rural spaces, there are fewer methods of public transportation, resulting in rural populations relying heavily on individual vehicles to transport themselves and farm produce. Regulations limiting fuel consumption would disadvantage those who require such methods of transport. Thus, it is quite logically sound that, while climate change is very real, those being the most at risk of experiencing its effects are more tentative to accept it. But this can be remedied.

The lack of education can most definitely be corrected if our nation were to provide adequate or even extra efforts in funding schools in such rural areas. The skepticism that rural communities experience regarding this topic comes mainly from a fear of the unknown. So, we as a whole should empower them with the knowledge to make the right decisions and approve of regulations that produce well-informed citizens and benefit the race against climate change.