Climate change, or global warming, is a hot topic. We are all aware there are certain things we could be doing to help alleviate the issue, but how much would we actually be prepared to do? Solar installation company, Sandbar Solar, polled 3,500 Americans to gauge if they would be prepared to make significant lifestyle changes, such as eating less meat or driving their cars less, if it helped to stop, slow or reverse global climate change. Overall, just over half – 52% – of people said they would make significant lifestyle changes, though when broken down by gender, only 44% of men would be prepared to, compared to 59% of women. And when the results were broken down by state, it was revealed that the good people from the Great Lakes State are among those most willing in the country to make big lifestyle changes (55%), compared to Kansans who are the least prepared to do so, where only 28% of people said they would change their habits. To see how each state compares, check out Sandbar Solar’s interactive map: https://www.sandbarsolar.com/news/fighting-climate-change/ When asked specifically about what lifestyle changes they would make, a significant 43% of respondents say they would consider cutting down on meat (perhaps surprising for a country which lays claim to inventing the hamburger), and 71% would consider driving their cars less. Encouragingly, two thirds (66%) of respondents said they try to cut down on their energy use, such as turning off lights when not being used and powering down their computers after work etc. And 65% of Americans say they take measures to lower water usage (such as turning off the tap when brushing teeth). 84% also say they try to reduce their use of plastic in every day life. However, there seems to be a fair deal of misunderstanding around the topic, too: 58% of people did not correctly identify the scientific community’s widely-assumed causes of global warming (farming, burning fossil fuels and deforestation). Instead, 44% think it is due to cyclical weather patterns, 7% think the sun is getting hotter and 7% think the earth is moving closer to the sun. Lastly, 66% of people have never researched how they could save on bills by using alternative sources of energy.
“Solar energy reduces global demand for fossil fuels and makes it easier for people to shrink their carbon footprints. There are many incentives and financing options available for homeowners to help them make the switch to solar”, says Scott Laskey, President, Sandbar Solar.
This article was submitted by Sandbar Solar
