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Climate Change Risk Perceptions of Audiences in the Climate Change Blogosphere

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Climate Change Risk Perceptions of Audiences in the Climate Change Blogosphere Article Climate Change Risk Perceptions of Audiences in the Climate Change Blogosphere Supplement 1. Climate Change Blogs that Published the Survey 1. ... and Then There’s Physics This blog is run by Ken Rice, a Professor of Computational Astrophysics at the University of Edinburgh. While the blog’s initial goal was to address climate science claims made on Watts Up With That, the blog now has a wider scope on climate change. In 2019, the blog published 100 blog posts. A typical post receives between 50–200 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://andthentheresphysics.wordpress.com/2019/10/09/a-survey-of-blog- audiences/ 2. Brussels Blog The Brussels Blog is run by Geoff Beacon, who mostly writes about climate science and the need for climate change adaptation and climate mitigation. In 2019, the blog published 32 blog posts. A typical blog post receives between 0-5 comments approximately. Link to survey: http://www.brusselsblog.co.uk/a-survey-for-research-at-cambridge-and- wageningen-universities/ 3. Climate Action Australia Climate Action Australia is run by John Pratt, who mostly writes about the need for climate change action and posts about different climate events. A typical blog post receives between 0-5 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://climateactionaustralia.wordpress.com/ 4. Climate Denial Crock of the Week This blog is run by Peter Sinclair, a videographer specializing in issues of climate change and renewable energy solutions. Sinclair has produced more than 100 videos on his blog, which are “sharply satirical and scientifically rigorous responses to the many bits of climate science misinformation, and disinformation, often seen on the internet, which Mr. Sinclair calls the “Climate Crocks””. A typical blog posts receives between 0–20 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://climatecrocks.com/2019/10/08/take-the-climate-blog-survey 5. Climate Sight ClimateSight is run by Dr Kaitlin Naughten, who is an ocean modeller at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. The blog is a record of her research as a young climate scientists, which was initially setup to help address the gap between climate science and public understanding. On 16th September 2020, ClimateSight had 641,421 hits. In 2019, four blog posts were published on the blog. A typical blog post receives between 0-20 comments. Link to survey: https://climatesight.org/2019/10/21/we-need-your-help-share-your-views-on- climate-change-with-us/ 6. Don’t Look Now The blog Don’t look now is run by Geoff Beacon, who mostly writes about climate science and the need for climate change adaptation and climate mitigation. In 2019, the blog published 17 blog posts. A typical blog post receives between 0–5 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://dontlooknow.org/2019/10/11/a-survey-for-research-at-cambridge-and- wageningen-universities/ 7. The Green New Wave This blog is run by Thomas Fuller. The blog aims to show how the Green New Deal could works in practice. In the blog posts, analyses and opinions about the Green New Deal are shared. In 2019, the blog published 26 blog posts. On 17th September 2020, The Green New Wave had 1702 hits. A typical blog post receives between 0–5 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://thegreennewwave.com/2019/10/11/a-climate-survey-not-mine/ 8 Hot Whopper The blog HotWhopper is run by Sou (pseudonym), a woman with an interest climate science. The blog is about climate, with humor, and solid science. In 2019, the blog published 25 blog posts. A typical blog post receives between 10–50 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://blog.hotwhopper.com/2019/10/do-your-bit-help-with-survey-of- climate.html 9. Real Climate RealClimate is run by working climate scientists. The blog aims to provide quick commentary on climate science by contextualizing mainstream commentary. In 2019, the blog published 44 blog posts. A typical blog post receives between 20–500 comments approximately. Link to survey: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2019/10/do-you-want-to-share- your-views-on-climate-change-and-reading-blogs/ 10. Stoat Stoat is run by William M. Connolley, who was formerly a climate modeller and currently a software engineer for Cambridge Silicon Radio (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Connolley#Writing_and_editing). The blog publishes about climate issues. On 17/09/2020, Stoat had 7,970 hits last month. In 2019, the blog published 31 blog posts. A typical blog post receives between 0–75 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://mustelid.blogspot.com/2019/10/a-survey-of-blog-audiences.html 11. Under the Banyan Under the Banyan is run by Mike Shanahan, who is a rainforest biologist, journalist, and author of the book Ladders to Heaven. The blog is about the environment and in particularly climate change and biodiversity loss. On 17th September 2020, 4276 people subscribed to the blog to receive notification via email. In 2019, the blog published 6 blog posts. A typical blog post receives between 0–5 comments approximately. The survey was published in a text box on top of the website: https://underthebanyan.blog/ 12. 3000 Quads. This blog is run by Thomas Fuller, who mostly writes about energy. On 17th September 2020, 3000 Quads had 60,786 hits. In 2019, the blog published 2 blog posts. A typical blog post receives between 0– 10 comments approximately. Link to survey: https://3000quads.com/2019/10/10/a-climate-survey-and-its-not-even-mine/ Supplement 2. Survey Items Risk Perception Index Items Measurement Scale (M = 5.73, SD = 1.40, α = 0.95) (1 = Not concerned at all, 7 = How concerned are you about climate change? Very concerned) In your judgment, how likely are you, sometime during your life, to experience (1 = Very unlikely, 7 = Very serious threats to your health or overall well-being, as a result of climate likely) change? (1 = Very unlikely, 7 = Very In your judgment, how likely do you think it is that climate change will have likely) very harmful, long-term impacts on society? How serious of a threat do you think that climate change is to the natural (1 = Not serious at all, 7 = environment? Very Serious) How serious would you rate current impacts of climate change around the (1 = Not serious at all, 7 = world? Very Serious) How serious of a threat do you believe that climate change is, to you (1 = Not serious at all, 7 = personally? Very Serious) (1 = Not serious at all, 7 = How serious would you estimate the impacts of climate change for your Very Serious) country of residence? (1 = Very Rarely, 7 = Very How often do you worry about the potentially negative consequences of climate Frequently) change? Measurement Scale Knowledge about Climate Change Natural Cause-Knowledge Index Items (1 = Major, 2 = Minor, 3 = No (M = 0.85, SD = 0.19, α = 0.40) Contribution to Climate The sun, Volcanic eruptions, Influence of other planets, Flat earth, Natural Change, 4 = I really don’t know) variability (e.g. El Niño). Human Cause-Knowledge Index Items (M = 0.86, SD = 0.12, α =0.45) Burning fossil fuels (coil, oil, gas) for heat and electricity, Flying/Commercial air travel, Toxic waste, Steadily rising CO2 emissions (1 = Major, 2 = Minor, 3 = No (carbon dioxide), Smoking cigarettes, Nuclear power plants, Driving a Contribution to Climate fossil fuel based car, Rising global sea level, Agricultural activities such as Change, 4 = I really don’t know) cattle breeding (cows raised for meat consumption), Acid rain, Deforestation (e.g. deconstruction of rainforests), Aerosol spray cans (containing CFCs). Impact-Knowledge Index Items (M = 0.86, SD = 0.18, α =0.77) Global sea level, Melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, Areas in the world (1 = Likely to Decrease 2 = No experiencing drought, Global spread of infectious disease, Light pollution, Change, 3 = Likely to Increase, 4 Global average temperature, Extreme weather events (e.g. flooding, = I really don’t know) hurricanes, etc.), Global biodiversity (i.e. variety of plants and animals), Volcanic eruptions, Household waste, Frequency of hot days and nights, Global fresh water supply. Response-Knowledge Index Items (M = 0.85, SD = 0.16, α = 0.68) (1 = Reduce climate change a lot, Switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal), 2 = Reduce climate change a Generating less toxic waste (nuclear, chemical), Recycling paper, glass, and little, 3 = Not going to reduce plastic, Stop drinking sugar calories, Insulating buildings, Reducing the climate change at all, 4 = Don’t amount of (commercial) airline flights, Conserving energy, Fixing the hole know) in the ozone layer, Switching from petrol to electric cars, Eating less meat, Using more public transportation, Planting trees. Scientific Consensus (M = 93.68, SD = 13.69) (0%–100%) To the best of your knowledge, what percentage of climate scientists have concluded that human-caused climate change is happening? Affect Index Items Measurement Scale (M = 6.55, SD = 0.82, α = 0.94) (1 = Very unpleasant, 7 = Very pleasant) I see climate change as something that is... (1 = Very unfavourable, 7 = Very favourable) Overall, I think that climate change is... I believe that climate change is something very positive... (1 = Strongly disagree, 7 = Strongly agree) Personal Experience with Extreme Weather Item Measurement Scale (M = 0.81, SD = 0.39) Considering roughly the last 5 years, how often (in total) have you personally (1 = Never, 2 = Once, 3 = experienced any type of extreme weather event in your local area within your Twice, 4 = More than three, 5 country of residence? For example, flooding, severe heat waves, droughts, = Can’t remember) freak storms or hurricanes? Measurement Scale Social Norms Items Descriptive Norm (Index) (M = 4.01, SD = 1.46, α = 0.87) (1 = Strongly disagree, 7 = Most people who are important to me, are personally doing something to Strongly agree) help reduce the risk of climate change.
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