Michael Kaelin, Crystal Owens, Bruno Semenzato
Ocean acidification, which has recently surfaced in the public view, is the process through which atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the oceans, making them more acidic. Researchers at Duke University conducted a survey to explore public attitudes towards reducing CO2 emissions. Respondents were found from a global pool using the survey site Mechanical Turk. The survey first investigated baseline public opinion of CO2 mitigation. The public was then presented with a brief educational overview of the effects of global climate change and ocean acidification. Results demonstrate how education affects public perception of climate change mitigation. A strong correlation between education and support for mitigation would imply that educating the public on ocean acidification is the best way to increase support for environmental action.