The country’s largest scientific society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is launching a public awareness campaign about climate change.
In a report released Tuesday, the Association compared the dispute over whether climate change is happening and whether it’s human-caused to the debate that once surrounded cigarettes and cancer. The report warns of a wide-range of potential impacts from climate change, from extreme weather events like drought to increased wildfires and changes in animal migration.
The report doesn’t present any new evidence or scenarios; it just reiterates that 97 percent of climate scientists agree on the issue of climate change and encourages Americans to think of it as a risk management issue.
The Association is facing an uphill battle though. Currently only half of Americans believe climate change is happening and just four in ten believe there’s scientific consensus about the issue.
In a press conference, Association CEO Alan Leshner said the organization is hoping that it can move the conversation from ‘is it happening?’ to ‘what should we do?’