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Do weather fluctuations cause people to seek information about climate change?

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  • Corey Lang

Abstract

Learning about the causes and consequences of climate change can be an important avenue for supporting mitigation policy and efficient adaptation. This paper uses internet search activity data, a distinctly revealed preference approach, to examine if local weather fluctuations cause people to seek information about climate change. The results suggest that weather fluctuations do have an effect on climate change related search behavior, however not always in ways that are consistent with the projected impacts of climate change. While search activity increases with extreme heat in summer and extended periods of no rainfall and declines in extreme cold in winter, search activity also increases with colder winter and spring average temperatures. Some of the surprising results are magnified when heterogeneity by political ideology and educational attainment in responsiveness is modeled, which could suggest that different people have different perceptions about what types of weather define climate change or that climate science deniers seek information through Google. However, the results also indicate that for all groups in the political and educational spectrum, there exist weather events consistent with the predicted impacts of climate change that elicit increased information seeking. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Corey Lang, 2014. "Do weather fluctuations cause people to seek information about climate change?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 291-303, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:125:y:2014:i:3:p:291-303
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-014-1180-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Sisco, Matthew R. & Bosetti, Valentina & Weber, Elke U., 2016. "Do Extreme Weather Events Generate Attention to Climate Change?," MITP: Mitigation, Innovation and Transformation Pathways 244330, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    2. David M. Konisky & Llewelyn Hughes & Charles H. Kaylor, 2016. "Extreme weather events and climate change concern," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 533-547, February.
    3. Guglielmo Zappalà, 2023. "Drought Exposure and Accuracy: Motivated Reasoning in Climate Change Beliefs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 85(3), pages 649-672, August.
    4. Alexander Guzmán & Cristian Pinto-Gutiérrez & María-Andrea Trujillo, 2020. "Attention to Global Warming and the Success of Environmental Initial Coin Offerings: Empirical Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-16, November.
    5. David Konisky & Llewelyn Hughes & Charles Kaylor, 2016. "Extreme weather events and climate change concern," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 134(4), pages 533-547, February.
    6. Lang, Corey & Opaluch, James J. & Sfinarolakis, George, 2014. "The windy city: Property value impacts of wind turbines in an urban setting," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 413-421.
    7. Carr-Harris, Andrew & Lang, Corey, 2019. "Sustainability and tourism: the effect of the United States’ first offshore wind farm on the vacation rental market," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 51-67.
    8. Christopher Crellin & Robert MacNeil, 2023. "Extreme weather events and public attention to climate change in Australia," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(9), pages 1-7, September.
    9. Leanne Giordono & Hilary Boudet & Alexander Gard-Murray, 2020. "Local adaptation policy responses to extreme weather events," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 53(4), pages 609-636, December.
    10. Guglielmo Zappalà, 2022. "Drought exposure and accuracy: Motivated reasoning in climate change beliefs," Working Papers 2022.02, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    11. Chad Zanocco & Hilary Boudet & Roberta Nilson & Hannah Satein & Hannah Whitley & June Flora, 2018. "Place, proximity, and perceived harm: extreme weather events and views about climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 349-365, August.
    12. Lea Gärtner & Harald Schoen, 2021. "Experiencing climate change: revisiting the role of local weather in affecting climate change awareness and related policy preferences," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Matthew R. Sisco & Valentina Bosetti & Elke U. Weber, 2017. "When do extreme weather events generate attention to climate change?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 227-241, July.
    14. Stephanie Shepard & Hilary Boudet & Chad M. Zanocco & Lori A. Cramer & Bryan Tilt, 2018. "Community climate change beliefs, awareness, and actions in the wake of the September 2013 flooding in Boulder County, Colorado," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(3), pages 312-325, September.
    15. Daniel Osberghaus & Christina Demski, 2019. "The causal effect of flood experience on climate engagement: evidence from search requests for green electricity," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 191-207, September.
    16. Sifan Hu & Jin Chen, 2016. "Place-based inter-generational communication on local climate improves adolescents’ perceptions and willingness to mitigate climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 425-438, October.
    17. Nick Obradovich, 2017. "Climate change may speed democratic turnover," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 135-147, January.
    18. Johnston, David W. & Knott, Rachel & Mendolia, Silvia, 2022. "Climate Change Salience, Economic Insecurity, and Support for Mitigation Policies," IZA Discussion Papers 15562, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Liao, Yanjun & Ruiz Junco, Pablo, 2022. "Extreme weather and the politics of climate change: A study of campaign finance and elections," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    20. Fidel Gonzalez, 2018. "Pollution Control with Time-Varying Model Mistrust of the Stock Dynamics," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 51(3), pages 541-569, March.
    21. Carla L. Archibald & Nathalie Butt, 2018. "Using Google search data to inform global climate change adaptation policy," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 447-456, October.
    22. Carley M. Eschliman & Emma Kuster & Joseph Ripberger & Adrienne M. Wootten, 2020. "Preparing to adapt: are public expectations in line with climate projections?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 851-871, November.
    23. Olaya Álvarez-García & Jaume Sureda-Negre & Rubén Comas-Forgas & Miquel F. Oliver-Trobat, 2023. "The Spanish population’s interest in climate change based on Internet searches," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    24. Corey Lang & John David Ryder, 2016. "The effect of tropical cyclones on climate change engagement," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 625-638, April.
    25. Wändi Bruine de Bruin & Andrew Dugan, 2022. "On the differential correlates of climate change concerns and severe weather concerns: evidence from the World Risk Poll," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(3), pages 1-24, April.

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