Study: Delawareans ready for climate change action

A 2014 study found a significant increase in the number of Delawareans who say climate change is real.

The survey, conducted by the independent public opinion firm Responsive Management, revealed that 79 percent of respondents are convinced climate change is occurring and that it poses a threat.

However, more respondents said the economy, public education, healthcare and crime rates outweigh their concerns for climate change and sea level rise.

The study, titled Delaware residents' opinions on climate change and sea level rise perception survey, shows a 9 percent increase in respondents who are convinced that climate change is occurring since a similar study was conducted in 2009.

“Climate change affects all of us – impacting our economy, environment, public health and safety,” said Gov. Jack Markell in a press release. “This survey confirms that a strong majority of Delawareans believe climate change is occurring, and we are committed to taking key actions to reduce its impact – by improving the state's resiliency, developing strategies for adaptation and preparedness, and setting goals for greenhouse gas reductions.”

Respondents want action, and are most concerned with climate change's effects on health and the state's agriculture. Residents believe sea level rise poses the most serious threat to Delaware's beaches and ocean-front cities and towns, the survey found.

In the past 100 years, climatologists say, Delaware's temperature has risen two degrees, while sea level has risen by about one foot. Delaware's Sea Level Rise Advisory Committee, formed in 2010, has been evaluating future effects of sea level rise and climate change for the First State, which has the lowest elevation in the country. Nearly three-quarters of polled residents said Sussex County, which has the lowest elevation in the state, is most threatened by sea level rise.

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Delaware Coastal Programs resource planner Susan Love, aka “Susie Sea Level,” said the new survey shows people in Delaware are gaining more understanding of the issues as threats to their way of life, which is leading them to want more action from their neighbors and government officials.

“We have a very strong level of support for common sense actions, like changing building codes, avoiding putting new things in areas of risk, and purchasing land so that it's not developed,” she said.

In 2014, 52 percent of respondents supported elevating buildings with public funds, up 13 percent from 2009. The percentage of respondents in support of elevating the land surface – when land is actually built up to accommodate rising sea levels – increased to 63 percent in 2014 from 53 percent in 2009.

She said the study also showed a 12 percent increase in residents who strongly support allowing beaches and wetlands to naturally migrate – from 29 percent of respondents in 2009 to 41 percent of respondents in 2014.

But one of the most interesting survey findings, Love said, is how many people reported already taking action to address sea level rise or climate change. In the 2014 survey, 41 percent of respondents said they've already done something to make a difference, which could mean buying a hybrid car, turning down the thermostat or changing a lightbulb, Love said.

“We're already moving down a really good path,” she said. “We can now move beyond what it is and how it's going to affect us, and really start doing things that will help minimize its impact on us.”

According to the survey, nearly two-thirds of surveyed residents – 65 percent – believe individuals can personally impact the effects of climate change. Love said that statistic is encouraging.

“When you listen to the radio and hear people talk about the issue of climate change, it's so big … and people feel like their own actions can't possibly make a difference,” she said. “But I really believe that small actions by a lot of people can make a huge difference in climate change.”

Conversely, the study also shows an increase in the number of people who do not believe climate change impacts can be affected by human efforts, Love said. She said those respondents could believe the damage has already been done, or that climate change is not caused by human impacts at all, but the survey did not specify the reasons people did or did not believe in climate change impacts. The survey found that 20 percent of respondents are not fully convinced – for whatever reason – that climate change is happening, and 26 percent feel the same about sea level rise.

“So we have some work to do there,” she said. There's little middle ground, Love said – people who are concerned are very concerned, more so than they were in 2009; people who aren't concerned are even less concerned about climate change and sea level rise.

But overall, she said, the survey findings show that the conversations are shifting from simply understanding the issues to acting on them.

“I think people want to believe that state and local governments are looking out for them and acting proactively,” Love said. “And I think we're doing that to a large degree.”

The 2014 survey polled more than 1,500 Delaware residents throughout the state and followed similar parameters as the 2009 study, which also was conducted by Responsive Management.

The telephone survey included random calls to both landlines and cellphones of Delaware residents over the age of 18 in each of the state's three counties. The survey included more than 150 questions and took about 20 minutes to complete, and also collected demographic information on respondents, such as gender and level of education. DNREC and the University of Delaware's Delaware Sea Grant funded the 2014 study.

For more information or to see the entire study, go to www.de.gov/climateslrsurvey.