Warren 1

Thesis Proposal: What are the common misconceptions in Ohio about climate change and global

warming? Why do these misconceptions occur and how can we better educate people to avoid

this?

Summary Statement

The proposed project will investigate the knowledge of the general public in Ohio on

global climate change and global warming and the misconceptions that people have as well as

why these misconceptions occur. It will also assess education techniques being used currently to

inform them of this issue and how the types of education impact public perception of climate

change and global warming. I will administer, via mail and email, a basic questionnaire designed

to gain insight on people’s knowledge of the topics of global warming and climate change as

well as their feelings and opinions on it. I will then assemble and analyze the responses and send

out a second questionnaire with more detailed questions to a selected group based on the

responses of the first round of questionnaires. I will also research current types of education at

college and high school levels throughout Ohio regarding global warming and climate change

and assess how effective they are at persuading the public either in favor or against the theory of

global warming. Finally, I will research ways in which education techniques and media can be

used to increase the percentage of people that support the theory of global warming. As Dr.

Bryan Mark, a professor of Global Climate Change and researcher at The Ohio State University

states, “Climate change would be a larger encompassing term that covers a fact of life for

climate. Climate, by its nature, changes… global warming is specifically speaking of this

enhanced greenhouse effect; so anthropogenically induced climatic change.” Many people argue

that climate change is natural and therefore not an issue to worry about so they debunk the theory
 Warren 2

of global warming. However, they are two different issues and I want to investigate why the

public does not understand this and how we can separate these two.

Proposal Overview and Related Scholarship

Global warming has been a highly relevant and controversial topic for a few decades.

Research has shown that in the past 15 years the percentage of people who feel global warming

is occurring due to humans has decreased by over 20% (Reynolds et al. 2010: 1523). This same

study shows that people are confused about the concept of global warming despite readily

available information. A large issue we are facing is the fact that the public is, in general,

untrusting of science. There have been many instances in the past where science has proven to be

corrupt while trying to prove a point or win a debate. Some climate scientists have skewed data

in the past and this has led to reluctance in trusting scientific data, especially in regards to global

warming (Oreskes and Conway 2010). The lack of understanding about the contributions to

global climate change and the function of climate and the atmosphere have led to denial of global

warming. It’s been found that when asked about contributions to global warming, only 18%-25%

of Americans could correctly identify carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels

(Whitmarsh, 2009). The processes of the environment are confusing to the majority of laypeople

whom have no educational background in this field. When people cannot understand something,

often times they psychologically dismiss it as a hoax (Terrarossa, 2012). However, it is

imperative that we find a way to educate them and get the message of urgency across that global

warming is occurring and it needs to be fixed.

 Warren 3

Objectives

The purpose of the proposed project is to determine specifically what the misconceptions

are about global warming and climate change as well as where these misunderstandings come

from. A second goal is to explore barriers to better understanding of global warming, particularly

in terms of conceptual challenges or source-related problems. If the sources are corrupt or giving

out misinformation I want to determine how that can be changed or what other methods can be

used. Many education techniques that are factual are too scientific for the general public to

understand and therefore the information is disregarded. Much research has been done on the

beliefs and opinions on global warming of the general populations in the United States and the

world but I am going to focus on the residents of Ohio.

Methods

To address these questions, I will begin by mailing questionnaires to people of various

education backgrounds, ages, professions, and regional locations. This questionnaire is included

in Appendix 1. These questionnaires will assess current opinions on global warming and climate

change, knowledge on terms related to global warming, where they get their information on

global warming from, and what type of advertising or educational technique do they feel would

be engaging enough to address global warming. I will also look at their educational background,

any exposure to global warming in classes, as well as their major and geographic location. In

addition to understanding how people feel about global warming and how we can better educate

them, I am interested in how strongly their opinions are correlated with education and

geographic location. The participants will have seven days to return the questionnaires. I will

also visit various research and education facilities throughout Ohio such as the Columbus Zoo
 Warren 4

and Aquarium and the Byrd Polar Research Center in Columbus, Ohio. At these places I will

take photographs of their visual aids of education and their advertising as well as the facility

itself. I will assess the ways in which they educate the public and how accessible these places

are.

Analysis

I will then organize and analyze the data. I will group similar responses to evaluate

people’s current opinions and beliefs. After analyzing the data, I will send out another

questionnaire to select participants from the first group in order to gather more detailed

information on opinions and reasons for their beliefs. I will also spend time researching various

education techniques such as classes at both the high school and college levels in Ohio with an

even distribution between city, rural, and suburb communities. I will compare the research and

education facilities based on their education techniques and accessibility to the public to see

which education techniques are successful and which are not.

Personal Interests Related to the Proposed Research

As a physical geography major, I have had multiple classes that have revolved around the

Earth’s atmosphere, climate change, and global warming. Global warming is a highly debated

topic and has been for many years. It is a political, environmental, and ethical issue that affects

every person on the planet. However, many people dismiss the theory that the Earth is warming

and that the climate is changing in a negative way. Furthermore, most people refuse to admit that

the climate is being affected by humans and the burning of fossil fuels. The science, evidence,

and data are available to the public and shocking. Unfortunately more science does not always
 Warren 5

mean a stronger argument. I wish to investigate why people deny global warming and how the

media has such a strong affect on that. I want to know if there is a correlation between this

disbelief and the misconceptions between climate change and global warming. The aspect of

human geography and how and why people feel the way that they do about climate change is

imperative in revealing the best method of climate change education (Brace 2010).

Results Anticipated and General Relevance

I hypothesize that the majority of people do not support the theory of global warming,

especially anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming. I believe this will be so due to the

media and political pressure to use the term “climate change” in all instances when discussing

fossil fuel emissions and the changing climate. I also believe most of the general public is poorly

informed about the facts of global warming and greenhouse gasses. Lack of education is the

reason there is so much disbelief that our climate is changing due to human actions. I also expect

to find that most people are open to learning more about global warming but we must find an

interesting way to convey the facts. We are damaging our environment at an exponential rate and

many people are unaware of this fact. The media, politics, and the economy have a large hold on

people and this prevents the truth from being known and accepted. It is important that we

understand the best methods to get the message that global warming (specifically anthropogenic

global warming) is harmful and we must take action.