Axios-Ipsos poll: Climate change seen as mounting health threat
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Two-thirds of Americans see climate change as a threat to human health, and most are bracing for a summer of extreme weather they expect will be as bad as or worse than last year, according to the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index.
The big picture: There's a perception that the record heat, wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events that played out vividly across screens last summer is a new baseline, though sentiment varies by age and political affiliation.
- 5% identified climate change as the top threat to public health, ranking ahead of COVID-19 and alcohol abuse but far behind perennial fears like the drug crisis (24%), obesity (18%) and mental health (16%).
"People are concerned about potential health effects of climate change, but it's not consistently top of mind. In day-to-day life, most don't see it as a large risk to their well-being," said Ipsos vice president Mallory Newall.
- Just 12% said they or someone in their immediate family last summer personally experienced extreme weather effects, such as heat stroke, flooding or asthma from wildfire smoke.
- 36% said they expect that extreme weather this summer will be similar to last year. About the same proportion said they think it will be worse.
- However, those expectations are perhaps not surprisingly shaded by partisanship. Democrats (51%) were far more likely than Republicans (21%) to say they expect this summer will be worse.
- Hispanic people and those living in the West were also likelier to have such sentiments.
Between the lines: The poll also found broad confidence in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggesting the agency's missteps during the COVID-19 pandemic haven't tarnished its reputation.
- By about a 2:1 margin, people said the agency is concerned about the public's well-being and follows through on its mission to protect public health.
- Notably, 82% agree that parents should follow the CDC's recommended schedule for childhood immunizations.
- "That's broad, strong agreement in a period when vaccines are highly politicized and can be a lightning rod for some parents," Newall said.
As cases of COVID-19 hit their lowest levels, more of the public than ever says the coronavirus poses no personal risk (24%).
- 27% said it poses a large or moderate risk, down 10 percentage points from this February amid a small winter wave.
The intrigue: While most people are unfamiliar with the newest state-level abortion restrictions, Democrats remain far more acquainted with these efforts than Republicans in the post-Roe landscape. And big majorities oppose strict measures.
- Overall, 1 in 3 said they were very or somewhat familiar with Florida's six-week ban that took effect last month. 1 in 4 said the same about Louisiana's new first-in-the-nation law reclassifying abortion pills as controlled substances.
- 60% oppose making it illegal possess abortion pills without a doctor's prescription, as the new Louisiana law does.
- "This is yet another example of politicians at the state level enacting bans and severe restrictions around abortion access that are simply out of step with where most of the American public is on the issue," Newall said.
Methodology: This Axios/Ipsos Poll was conducted May 31 - June 3 by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,042 general population adults age 18 or older.
- The margin of sampling error is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults.
