Majorities See Government Efforts to Protect the Environment as Insufficient
At the same time, Americans are closely divided over whether or not it is possible to cut back on regulations while still effectively protecting air and water quality.
At the same time, Americans are closely divided over whether or not it is possible to cut back on regulations while still effectively protecting air and water quality.
U.S. foreign policy scholars are more concerned about climate change and less worried about ISIS and refugees than the U.S. public and general publics abroad.
Science-related Facebook pages draw millions of followers but feature more posts with ‘news you can use’ or ads than scientific discoveries
March 14 is that special time of year people pay homage to the mathematical constant pi (π). A majority of U.S. adults enjoyed math classes in grades K-12, and most who liked them say the subject matter was the main reason.
More Americans now oppose than favor allowing more offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters. Americans who live close to a coastline are less supportive of expanding offshore drilling than those who live farther from a coast.
When Americans are asked why more students don’t pursue a degree in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), they are most likely to point to the difficulty of these subjects, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. About half of adults (52%) say the main reason young people don’t pursue STEM degrees is they think these subjects are too hard.
While there are many reasons that Americans get science news, the most common driver of attention to science news is curiosity, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center study. But people are also motivated to seek out science news for different reasons depending on the issues they care about most, with the environment being a prime example.
Blacks who work in science, technology, engineering and math fields are more likely than STEM workers from other racial or ethnic backgrounds to say they have faced discrimination on the job. They also stand out in their views about workplace diversity.
Women in STEM jobs are more likely than their male counterparts to have experienced discrimination in the workplace and to believe that discrimination is a major reason there are not more women in STEM.
America’s confidence in the scientific community appears to be relatively strong. But the degree of public trust in scientists across climate, food and medical issues varies, and many express moderate rather than strongly positive views.
Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.
Majorities across 20 publics say government investments in scientific research are worthwhile and express a lot or some confidence in scientists to do what is right for the public.
Majorities of Americans say the United States should prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and take steps toward the country becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050.
Majorities say scientific research on gene editing is a misuse of technology. But public acceptance of gene editing for babies depends on how it will be used, and views often differ by age and religion.