Progress 07/01/15 to 06/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The main target audience includes researchers and policy makers, primarily in the USA, who have interests in citizen attitudes and behaviors concerning climate change, air pollution, renewable energy, and other important environmental issues. Another target audience includes researchers and policy makers, primarily in the USA, who have interests in food security as connected to climate change and drought. Changes/Problems:Delays in the publication process, overall, are prominent but to be expected. The study of climate change, drought, produce prices, and food security has been immensely challenging in terms of assembling the relevant national data sets and finalizing a suitable statistical analysis. The retirement of a co-PI also hindered the food security project, but we have recovered. Everything else has been on schedule. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Five graduate students received training and professional development on this project. This included: (1) Fortifying technical writing and data analysis skills; and (2) fortifying scientific communication skills via poster presentations at professional meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have five major publications that will emerge from this project. To-date, only one (non-copyrighted) output has been posted online for public consumption, and that is a summary of survey results of Utah residents concerning air pollution. All other outputs will have results disseminated via regular academic channels once they are published. No other formal outreach to public stakeholders is planned at this time. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have four other outputs at various stages in the publication pipeline. One item is in the last stages of publication approval, another will be submitted this month, and two others will be submitted near the end of the 2020 calendar year. Despite that project 1210 has officially ended, we will diligently pursue the publication process in all cases.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Project 1210 was organized around two major goals. The first was to determine factors influencing attitudes of Utahns towards climate change, renewable energy, air pollution, and other environmental issues. Major activities completed in support of this goal included: (1) Completion of 26 key informant interviews in 2016; (2) completion of a state-wide survey of 1,300 Utah residents in 2017; and (3) completion of another state-wide survey of 1,600 Utah residents in 2019. A research brief completed by Howe et al. (2018) summarized key findings on air pollution from the 2017 survey and was posted online for the public after review by UAES editorial staff. Key findings include that a clear majority of Utahns feel that air quality has become worse and it poses threats to well-being. Most concerns about poor air quality occur in Weber and Salt Lake counties. Industry and automobiles are seen as the major sources of air pollution. Respondents address poor air quality via home energy conservation and changes in driving behavior. A manuscript by Olson-Hazboun et al. (revised and re-submitted) that covers core findings from interviews and 2017 survey is in final stage of peer review at a journal called "Energy Research & Social Science." Key findings based on survey and interviews of Utahns confirm that national public opinion patterns concerning climate change and renewable energy prevail in Utah. Namely, while there is a split between conservatives and liberals concerning the validity of climate change science, support of renewable energy is broadly supported by all. If renewable energy issues are framed without mention of climate change, more progress on public policy initiatives supporting renewable energy is likely. A manuscript by Givens et al. (in preparation) is focused on sociological predictors of general environmental concerns among Utah residents. It will be submitted by September 2020 to a journal called "The Sociological Quarterly." In a survey-based analysis of predictors of citizen concern about environmental issues, findings indicate the most important defining factor is political affiliation (liberal or conservative), followed by economic class, respondent age, whether a respondent expects to be impacted by policy, and level of trust in government or business. The mix of factors varies with respect to the environmental issue under debate. These findings can help stakeholders better understand what most influences citizens to support or oppose various environmental initiatives. Another manuscript by Howe et al. (in preparation) is based on data from the 2019 survey and concerns effects of peer beliefs and supplemental information on the climate change attitudes of Utahns. This manuscript will be submitted to a journal called "Annals of the Association of American Geographers" before January 2021. In this survey an experimental format was used to assess how labile the attitudes are among Utah residents concerning human-caused global warming. As has been found among other groups across the USA, Utah residents are ill-informed about the extent that the scientific community supports the idea of human-caused global warming. Utahns also typically underestimate the extent that human-caused global warming is believed by others across the country. However, once Utahns are made aware of the strong scientific consensus concerning human-caused climate change, their previous opinions discounting the phenomena can be readily changed. Policy makers should have interest in these results because they illustrate that climate-change education can alter public opinion. All specific project objectives were met under the auspices of the major goal above. These objectives were related to the step-wise completion of interviews and survey activities. We lack key impacts from these studies at this time, however. The second major goal was to characterize linkages between climate change, drought, and food security for Utah residents. The hypothesis was that climate change has contributed to extended droughts in states such as California that are vital for supplying fruit and vegetable produce across the nation. Droughts should reduce production, and thus consumer prices should spike as a result. Rising prices could have consequences for lower-income consumers. Surging prices may cause lower-income households to switch to cheaper food items or forego certain types of produce. Connections among drought, produce volumes, and wholesale prices will be established via analysis of secondary data at national and regional scales of resolution, while consumer behavior in response to commodity price dynamics is assessed via literature review. Major activities completed in support of this goal have included: (1) Identification of key fruits and vegetables based on consultation with food- and consumer-science experts; (2) compilation of wholesale prices for these produce items for the period 2000 to 2019; (3) compilation of yields for these produce items for the period 2000-2019; and (4) compilation of national drought maps (based on the Palmer Drought Severity Index or PDSI) relevant to production locations for key fruits and vegetables for the period 2000-2019. A manuscript by Coppock et al. is currently in the mid-stages of preparation, and will be submitted to a journal called "Climate, Weather & Society" by January 2021. Policy makers should have interest in this work because vulnerabilities in domestic food systems as related to climate change will be illustrated.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers who study US citizen attitudes about climate change and researchers who have interest in climate change effects on US food production and thus food security for US citizens. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One student who recently finished her BS degree in Environmental Studies spent one month as an hourly employee developing the database and conducting preliminary statistical analyses for the new survey of 1,600 Utahns. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?No further dissemination of research results has occurred. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the final six months of this project our plan of work is straightforward. We will first resubmit the manuscript based on the 26 key informant interviews. We will also submit the remaining three manuscripts concerning: (1) the Utah survey of 1,300 citizens on attitudes about climate change, pollution, and renewable energy; (2) the Utah survey of 1,600 citizens where effects of education and peer opinions were observed on climate change attitudes and beliefs; and (3) the study of climate change (drought) effects on commodity prices for fruits and vegetables across the USA over the past 20 years.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For Objective 1--Climate Change Attitudes in Utah--we have engaged in three activities during the past year. First, we submitted a manuscript based on the 26 key informant interviews (described in previous reports) to a prominent social science journal called Society and Natural Resources. We are currently in the process of revising and resubmitting this work. Second, we are in the process of developing a second manuscript based on the state-wide survey of 1,300 Utahns that concerns citizen attitudes towards climate change, air pollution, and investment in renewable energy technologies (described in previous reports). Third, we completed a new survey of 1,600 Utahns to assess attitudes about climate change issues before and after exposure to factual information concerning climate change science and estimates of citizen opinions from other surveys conducted at national, state, and county levels of resolution. Preliminary findings from this last survey clearly show positive effects of education and peer opinions concerning respondent beliefs. These significant shifts in attitudes include the following issues: (1) Climate change is happening; (2) climate change is human caused; (3) there is a scientific consensus on climate change; (4) climate change impacts merit personal concern; (5) climate change issues merit more discussion with peers; and (6) climate change risks merit pro-active public policies. These results all point to the labile nature of citizen beliefs about climate change and point to the need for more and creative dissemination of climate change information to the public. For Objective 2--Food Security and Climate Change--we have finalized all data analyses and are now in the process of preparing a manuscript for the journal Climate, Weather, and Society.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Presentations
Coppock, D. D., 72nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management, "Beyond the Range Ecology Debate--Embracing the Human Component of Rangeland Systems," Society for Range Management, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (February 12, 2019)
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Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers who study US citizen attitudes about climate change and researchers who have interest in climate change effects on US food production and thus food security for US citizens. Changes/Problems:Activities to meet Objective 1 have proceeded on schedule, both this year and in years past. Activities to meet Objective 2 have faced many more challenges. We originally hoped to have just a regional focus for this objective, but we were forced to go national because of the national homogenization of commodity prices. This resulted in us having to expand our focus on national data bases and hence has greatly complicated the work. One of the co-PIs on the project (DeeVon Bailey) retired as of June 30. His expertise as an economist has led us to decide to drop item (d) under Objective 2 which involved more in-depth analyses of commodity prices as affected by drought or climate change. To fill this gap we propose to add another output (e) for objective 1, namely to see whether the opinions of Utah residents concerning climate change, air quality, and renewable energy can be rapidly altered by knowledge of what other residents think about the same issues. This work can reveal the extent that public opinion can shift according to political ideology or demographic features. As mentioned above, we also want to begin development of a rancher survey to assess how beef cattle operators in Utah are coping with climate change, with a particular focus on how aging of the population reduces adaptive capacity and whether risk management can be improved by increasing access to fodder reserves on federal grazing lands, among other priority interventions. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two USU graduate students (all MS-level) have received some training on this project in 2018. Some has been thesis-related and some non-thesis related. One student learned how to analyze social survey data and prepare a research poster. Another refined her skills in accessing national data bases and using statistical analysis to inter-relate aspects of prices, production, and drought risk. One early career researcher now employed as a tenure-track faculty member at a liberal arts college after completing her PhD at USU, has gained more writing and analytical skills as the lead author of the manuscript on the in-depth interviews of 26 conservative Utahns described above. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A research brief on Utah citizen attitudes and beliefs about air quality has been posted at the USU Digital Commons site since February 2018. It was purposefully released before the end of the Utah legislative session with the guidance of the UAES outreach and publications team given the interest of Utah policy makers on Utah's air quality problems. A poster outlining environmental concerns of Utahns more broadly was delivered at the 2018 ISSRM meeting at Snowbird, co-authored by the leaders of this project. No other dissemination has occurred because other research outputs have either been recently submitted to journals, or final write ups remain pending. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For objective 1, part (d) the work plan includes (1) finalizing publication of the SNR manuscript; and (2) submitting a manuscript on the statewide survey results concerning attitudes and beliefs of 1,300 Utahns on climate change, air quality, and renewable energy. The target journal for this second manuscript has not been identified yet. We also propose a third line of effort under this objective that involves implementation of a follow-up survey of Utah residents that examines how easily such attitudes and beliefs can change. This fills a gap created by the retirement of a project co-PI (see below). The research methods are merely an extension and slight modification of what has been achieved thus far under this objective. For objective 2 part (d), a manuscript will be submitted to the journal called Weather, Climate, and Society. We also propose a fully new objective 3 that can also help fill the gap created by the retirement of a project co-PI. We want to determine how the Utah community of beef cattle ranchers is coping with climate change; for the coming year we would develop a rancher survey using methods developed in this and previous UAES projects (0919). This survey would not be implemented until late 2019 and early 2020, however.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For Objective 1, Climate Change Attitudes part (c), we have completed the data analysis for the state-wide survey of 1,300 Utah citizen attitudes concerning climate change and air pollution. We have submitted a research brief containing key results on citizen attitudes and beliefs about air quality, and this is posted online in the USU Digital Commons. Findings include that Utahns are very concerned about air pollution and regard it as a health threat. Utahns are activity engaged in mitigating air pollution problems in a variety of ways. We have also submitted a manuscript for peer review based on 26 in-depth interviews with conservative Utahns that reveals the sources of their attitudes about climate change and air quality. In a nutshell, conservative Utahns remain skeptical about climate change, but are very concerned about air pollution. They also heavily advocate for alternative energy technologies. This suggests that public messaging about support for alternative energy can directly address air pollution and indirectly address climate change concerns. This manuscript has been submitted to Society and Natural Resources (SNR). For Objective 2, Food Security and Climate Change part (c), we downloaded national data on prices, production, and drought risk concerning key fruits and vegetables. We have also conducted statistical analyses that demonstrate drought effects on raising the prices of many of these crops since 2000. We are in the initial stages of preparing a manuscript for peer review that summarizes these findings. The results will offer a link between climate change, drought, and commodity prices.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Givens, J., Howe, P., Spradlin, T., Coppock, D. L. (Author Only), 24th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, "Environmental Concern in Utah, 2017," International Society on Society and Resource Management, Snowbird, Utah. (June 19, 2018)
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Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers who study US citizen attitudes about climate change and researchers who have interest in climate change effects on US food production and thus food security for US citizens. Changes/Problems:There are no major changes or problems encountered thus far. The project is generally on schedule. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two USU graduate students (both MS-level) have received some training on this project in 2017. One has focused on the collection of commodity price data and has refined her previous work on mapping key regions for food production and extreme weather events. This work is not for a thesis but rather for a non-thesis publication. The other student is using some of the data from the state-wide citizen survey to assess attitudes about climate change and the use of renewable energy. This work would appear in her thesis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Nothing has been disseminated thus far. We are not yet far enough along to do so. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For objective 1 concerning climate change attitudes, parts (a) and (b), we are still in the process of preparing a research manuscript based on the KII results from 2016. We will also begin to draft manuscripts from the state-wide survey effort conducted in 2017. For objective 2 food security and climate change, and concerning parts (a) and (b), we will continue to develop our spatially explicit database compilation for weather patterns and food production. We most likely will be able to track both back to the year 2000. After this compilation is complete, we will explore some analytical approaches to gauge the extent that climate change is affecting food production in the US and whether production dynamics are also affecting prices for key fruits and vegetables relevant to Utah markets. We are working with the UAES outreach team to disseminate some of the preliminary state-wide survey results to Utah state law makers in 2018; results on air pollution will be particularly timely.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For Objective 1, Climate Change Attitudes, and concerning part (b), we have completed the data collection for the state-wide survey of Utah citizens concerning climate change and air pollution. For Objective 2, Food Security and Climate Change, and concerning part (b), we have identified and downloaded regional wholesale price data for key fruits and vegetables for Utah consumers.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience Researchers who study US citizen attitudes about climate change and researchers who have interest in climate change effects on US food production and thus food security for US citizens Changes/Problems:Changes/Problems There are no major changes or problems encountered thus far. The project is generally on schedule. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities The 26 KII's were conducted by a USU doctoral student who will use some of the data in her dissertation and will use other data in project publications. This experience has helped further develop her knowledge and research skills. The data compilation for weather and food production patterns has been conducted by a USU master's student in an activity that is outside of her thesis research. This experience has helped further develop her knowledge and research skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination Nothing has been disseminated thus far. We are not yet far enough along to do so. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Plan of Work For objective 1 concerning climate change attitudes, parts (a) and (b), we will prepare a research manuscript based on the KII results. We will also use the KII results to help us prepare a statewide survey on climate change attitudes that will be implemented in the coming year. For objective 2 food security and climate change, and concerning parts (a) and (b), we will continue our spatially explicit database compilation for weather patterns and food production. We ideally want to track both through the 1990s, but variation in data sets and data quality may make this goal difficult to reach. After this compilation is complete, we will explore some analytical approaches to gauge the extent that climate-change is affecting food production sites that are relevant to Utah markets.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments For Objective 1, Climate Change Attitudes, and concerning part (a), we have completed the 26 key informant interviews (KII). For Objective 2, Food Security and Climate Change, and concerning part (a), we have identifed key produce items for Utah consumers. We have also begun to compile data concerning the points of origin for these produce items. We have compiled data concerning drought and extreme weather events, with a focus on the western region where produce for Utah is grown.
Publications
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Progress 07/01/15 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience Researchers who study climate change and food security for lower-income citizens in Utah Changes/Problems: Changes/Problems For Objective 1, Climate Change Attitudes, and concerning part (a), we have decided to rely on about 20 to 30 KIIs and omit the focus groups because we feel the latter approach would introduce significant bias (i.e., contagious, mono-cultural group responses) among participants. We will identify participants in Cache Valley for the KIIs who are socially and economically representative of the Utah citizen profile at-large, rather than attempt a state-wide sampling process per se. This will still yield useful results as well as conserve project funds. For Objective 2, Climate Change and Food Security, and concerning part (a), we have obtained a list of priority vegetables and fruits for Utah consumers based on general inquiries among large food retailers in Utah (as originally proposed) as well as carefully vetted, nutritionally detailed information provided by Extension personnel in the USU Dept. of Food Sciences. This latter element adds a more diversified and precise source of information and makes for stronger justifications for the foods we select for study. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities No training has occurred thus far. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination Nothing has been disseminated thus far. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Plan of Work For calendar year 2016: For Objective 1, Climate Change Attitudes, and concerning part (a), we will finalize the list of KII questions. We will prepare the results for public presentation as well as for use in drafting a publication. We will use the KII input to lead us into Objective 1 part (b), namely starting the development of a statewide social survey. For Objective 2, Food Security and Climate Change, and concerning part (a), we will enlist the help of USU seniors in the context of capstone projects in GIS classes to develop regional maps that identify the primary origins of the 30 important vegetables and fruits and also categorize said origins with respect to risks of climate-change related stressors. This latter aspect of the work will occur in collaboration with staff of the USU Climate Center.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments For Objective 1, Climate Change Attitudes, and concerning part (a), we have identified a USU Sociology doctoral student who will conduct key informant interviews (KII) for us in 2016 exchange for priority authorship on a publication. We are developing a list of KII questions and finalizing a plan for selecting KI interviewees. For Objective 2, Food Security and Climate Change, and concerning part (a), we have obtained a list of about 30 vegetables and fruits that are important in the diets of Utah consumers. These foods will form the basis of the regional food-shed mapping exercise in 2016.
Publications
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