Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 1

Canary in the Coal Mine: Assessing Public Understanding and

Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico

Mónica Rivera-Rosado

Final Seminar in Environmental Conservation Education

ENYC-GE 2023

Prof. Raul Lejano

December 20, 2017

Abstract

There is no literature on the state of climate knowledge among Puerto Rican residents, or on the

scope of individual climate action. The purpose of this study is to fill that research gap by

assessing the level of climate change knowledge in the Puerto Rican public, as well as

reassessing awareness and perceptions about climate change and delving into individual action,

agency, and what factors influence them. A sample of Puerto Rico residents was surveyed to

measure these parameters. Results suggest that Puerto Ricans believe in climate change, feel

worried about it, and know a lot about is impacts. The population recognizes climate change as

having affected Puerto Rico (and themselves) and as an issue that needs to be addressed. While

the administered survey shows that climate awareness, concern, risk perception, and willingness

to act are surprisingly high in Puerto Rico, there are some gaps in knowledge (of climate causes

and appropriate action) and a missing bridge between knowledge and action, due mostly to lack

of accessible resources or lack of information. These findings communicate a need for climate

change education that covers causes and science as well as effects, and for public services and

alternatives that enable concerned, willing citizens to tackle climate change individually.

Keywords climate change; climate knowledge; public perception; behavior change; climate

action; Puerto Rico

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 2

Introduction

The world’s climate is undoubtedly changing. In recent decades, the indisputable warming of the

climate system has had unparalleled and far-reaching global impacts on both human and natural

systems (IPCC, 2014). The source of this new warming is also unquestionable; anthropogenic

greenhouse gas emissions have driven record-setting increases in atmospheric concentrations of

carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, all of which trap heat and provide energy for the

global climate system (Cook et al., 2013; IPCC, 2014; Melillo, Richmond, & Yohe, 2014).

Human activity will continue to escalate air, land, and ocean temperatures, leading to changes in

precipitation, increases in sea level, reductions in snow and ice, disruptions of terrestrial and

aquatic ecosystems, and changes in extreme weather events (IPCC, 2014). While climate impacts

have reached virtually the entire planet, some areas are especially vulnerable.

Oceanic islands will be among the most impacted by negative climate change effects on

ecosystems, rainfall and weather patterns, sea level, and tourism (Fordham & Brook, 2008;

Jennings, Douglas, Treasure, & González, 2014; PRCCC, 2013). In fact, Puerto Rico, a small

island in the Caribbean, has been called a “canary in the coal mine” for climate change (Cantieri,

2016). With rising sea levels and heat waves threatening life on the island, raising public

awareness of climate change should be prioritized. There is no literature on the state of climate

knowledge among Puerto Rican residents, or on the scope of individual climate action. An

assessment of current climate awareness in Puerto Rico could gauge the public’s understanding

and perception of global climate change and help design potential education or engagement

initiatives to equip the public for current challenges and prepare them for the ones that lie ahead.

THE CANARY IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE COAL MINE

Puerto Rico is an archipelago of mostly mountainous islands located to the east of the Dominican

Republic, between the eastern Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, with a total area of 11,700

sq km. The main island includes 500 km of coastline, along which over half of the 3.4 million

residents live (CIA, 2017; Melillo et al., 2014). Annual precipitation varies tremendously

between zones, with the Luquillo Sierra (where El Yunque National Forest is located) receiving

the maximum 4,365 mm per year and the southern coastal town of Guánica receiving the

minimum 768 mm per year (Gómez-Gómez, Rodríguez-Martínez, & Santiago, 2014). Mean

temperatures also vary by zone; coastal areas (24-27 ºC) are slightly warmer than municipalities

in the interior of the island (22-25 ºC) (Gómez-Gómez et al., 2014). Puerto Rico’s hurricane

season, caused by the passage of Easterly waves, ranges from May to November (Gómez-Gómez

et al., 2014).

Atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased 40% in the last three centuries, triggering

global temperatures to go up by 0.5 ºC since 1960 (EPA, 2016). Heat in the atmosphere is mostly

absorbed by the ocean, which has warmed 0.5 ºC in the last 80 years and risen 2.5 cm in the last

fifteen (EPA, 2016). In Puerto Rico, climate change impacts on temperature and sea level are

numerically worse than the global average. The ocean surrounding the Puerto Rican archipelago

has warmed 1 ºC since 1901 and risen 10 cm in the last 60 years (EPA, 2016). Sea level rise, at a

current rate of 1 cm per year in Puerto Rico (Cantieri, 2016), can severely affect mangroves,

essential protection against coastal erosion and flooding (Hernandez-Delgado, 2015). On the

northeastern coast of the island, the human impact of climate change is evident, with coastal

erosion washing away trees, roads and sidewalks, and floodwaters pervasively invading homes

(Cantieri, 2016; Rodríguez, 2014). Inland flooding is also expected to get worse, with storms

generating a third more rain since 1958 (EPA, 2016). Conversely, precipitation in Puerto Rico

may decrease to the point of drought due to high heat (Melillo et al., 2014). Warmer

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 3

temperatures will also impact ecosystems, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and human health, with

the population at risk of heat stroke and dehydration, as well as vector- and water-borne diseases

(EPA, 2016).

The human impact of climate change was also evident when the fiercest hurricane to

make landfall in Puerto Rico in almost a century ravaged the island on September 20, 2017

(Venes, 2017). With winds of over 240 km/h and as much as 100 cm of rain, Hurricane Maria

caused severe flooding and utter destruction across the island, leaving all Puerto Ricans in the

dark, with no drinking water or means of communication. The year’s Atlantic hurricane season,

deemed by the National Hurricane Center as “the 5th most active on record to date in the

[Atlantic] basin” (Monthly Atlantic Tropical Weather Summary, 2017), also included other major

hurricanes, such as Harvey and Irma, the latter of which grazed Puerto Rico a week before

Maria’s landfall. Just two years before, climate change impacts in Puerto Rico were on the other

end of the weather spectrum; a state of emergency was called as the island faced its worst

drought in 20 years (Bury, 2015). Strict water rationing (shutting off the water supply for up to

72 hours) was in effect for over 400,000 customers throughout five months (AssociatedPress,

2015; Bury, 2015). Whether it is dangerous lulls in precipitation, roads than run like rivers, or

ground being swallowed by the sea, Puerto Rico is no stranger to climate change. It begs the

question if the public is aware of this fact.

AWARENESS: DOES THE CANARY KNOW IT IS IN THE COAL MINE?

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States. Throughout the first half of the

twentieth century, the island was granted self-government bit by bit, whose three-branch

structure parallels that of the mainland. Although Puerto Rican life and culture remain rich and

unique, decades of exposure to U.S. influence have left its mark on the archipelago; American

customs, cuisine, music, slang, and, especially, pop culture have become enmeshed in the culture

of Puerto Rico. It would be interesting to assess if this prolonged exposure to U.S. culture and

media, across geographical and historical divides, has shaped the Puerto Rican population’s

attitudes toward environmental issues, including climate change.

Global warming awareness in the U.S. reached an all-time high (71%) in 2008 and

remained practically the same in a May 2017 survey (Leiserowitz, Maibach, Roser-Renouf,

Rosenthal, & Cutler, 2017). Although climate awareness is fairly widespread, concern levels

have not followed closely, with only 57% of Americans at least moderately concerned about

global warming (Leiserowitz et al., 2017). Achieving behavior changes (even in the concerned

population) is a great challenge, as many factors influence the public’s advancement from

knowledge to worry to action. Considered alone, climate change elicits attitudes that are rooted

in concern and could potentially motivate climate action. However, when pooled with other

issues, climate change is not prioritized (Pidgeon, 2012) and any effort or action is usually

directed at issues that are higher on the list. In a 2016 Gallup poll on Americans’ concern for

problems in the U.S., climate change ranked 12th (out of 13), behind issues like healthcare, the

economy, terrorism, unemployment, and immigration (McCarthy, 2016). Another survey-based

study found that the environment ranked 6th in a list of 8 issues, with healthcare and the economy

reprising as top priorities for Americans, as well as for people around the world (Smith, Kim, &

Son, 2017).

Being a U.S. territory, any worldwide study (including those on global climate

awareness) will most likely submit any data regarding Puerto Rico under the U.S. bucket; any

findings specific to the island are virtually lost. Therefore, a study conducted in 2015 on the

public perception of climate change in Puerto Rico is extremely valuable. According to this

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 4

study, 65% of Puerto Ricans consider climate change a main environmental problem for the

island, although the percentage was higher for water scarcity, ecosystem destruction, solid waste,

air pollution, and extreme weather (Santos-Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017). These results

mirror those obtained by a 2015 Gallup poll conducted in the U.S.; climate change ranked last in

a list of six environmental issues that concern Americans (Jones, 2015). Both of these findings

reinforce the space at the bottom of the list climate change seems to continually occupy, even if

some of the items above it are other environmental issues.

While 57-60% of Americans worry about climate change (Leiserowitz et al., 2017;

McCarthy, 2016), concern about climate change is relatively high in Puerto Rico with 78% of

those surveyed feeling worried about its impacts (Santos-Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017).

Generally, people don’t feel personally threatened by climate change and perceive greater

climate risk for the planet and for future generations, which perpetuates the perception of climate

change as “a temporally and spatially distant issue” (Pidgeon, 2012, p. S89). In the U.S., where

residents mostly associate climate change with sea level rise and tropical storms (Brody, Grover,

& Vedlitz, 2012), this perception might be held by people who have not experienced either of

these climate impacts due to their geographical location. News and media spread this perception

of climate change by showing impacts in distant places (Weber & Stern, 2011). In Puerto Rico,

this is not the case as climate impacts (such as heat waves and stronger storms) are more blatant,

potentially increasing public awareness and risk perception, and framing climate change as a

current, local issue.

My experience as an environmentalist who was born, raised, and educated in Puerto Rico

has led me to believe that environmental literacy and awareness are low among Puerto Rican

residents. My perspective was influenced by things like the recent decrease in the municipal

recycling rate (AutoridadDeDesperdiciosSólidos, 2007; Banuchi, 2014), or the outrage of the

University of Puerto Rico’s student body when the sale of bottled water was banned on campus

(Márquez-Ramos, 2014a, 2014b), or even the resistance of the general public to the recently

implemented fee on plastic bags (Santiago-Caraballo, 2016). Climate awareness, which was

possibly lower before Puerto Rico’s last drought in 2015, might have increased due to the recent

disasters brought on by hurricanes. However, I believe knowledge and understanding about

climate change and climate science is limited, due in part to the lack or low quality of formal

education around the issue. When I was in school, lessons about the earth’s atmosphere were

generally limited to its basic composition; terms like “greenhouse effect” were not household

names in my school. The term ‘climate change’ did not show up in my research on Puerto Rico

Department of Education science standards until 2014, five years after I graduated from high

school (DepartamentoDeEducación, 2014). I assume Puerto Ricans who are older than me

received similar content in their science classrooms; we all lacked climate change education. As

far as I know, there have not been any government public education initiatives (beyond

classrooms) focused on climate change. In fact, 83% of Puerto Ricans believe the government

should prioritize public climate change education (Santos-Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017).

A study conducted on secondary science teachers who claimed they taught climate

change in their classroom indicates that around 50% of the Puerto Rican teachers surveyed

erroneously identified insecticides, aerosols, and nuclear energy among the main contributors of

climate change (Herman, Feldman, & Vernaza-Hernandez, 2015). Furthermore, only 19%

actively teach about carbon cycle disruption, while the primary focus of the teachers’ curriculum

is the impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise, disrupted weather patterns, and threats to

biodiversity (Herman et al., 2015). Teachers who don’t succeed in promoting understanding of

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 5

climate science and the causes of climate change (rather than the effects) may have contributed

to the gap between awareness and understanding. This could explain why, even though 78% of

the Puerto Rican population is concerned about climate change impacts, 44% claim they do not

have enough knowledge about climate change (Santos-Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017).

BEHAVIOR: IS THE CANARY ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE THE COAL MINE?

Although studies (Brody et al., 2012; Masud, Akhtar, Afroz, Al-Amin, & Kari, 2013; Ortega-

Egea, García-de-Frutos, & Antolín-López, 2014) have shown that knowledge about the science

and the impacts of climate change is positively related to climate action, information alone

cannot elicit behavior changes from the public (Busch & Osborne, 2014; Parant et al., 2016;

Pidgeon, 2012). Engaging in pro-environmental behavior is dependent upon many elements,

including environmental values, perceptions, attitudes, geographical locations, capabilities, and

habits (Brody et al., 2012). Consequently, there is often a disconnect between perception and

behavior. Out of 374 people surveyed in Puerto Rico, 82% said they were willing to take action

to address climate change, but only 58% claimed they actually took individual action (Santos-

Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017). More research would have to be done to shed light on why

Puerto Ricans who recognize the existence and threat of climate change do not translate their

beliefs into action. I hypothesize the reason why willing Puerto Ricans have not changed their

behavior is related to either finances or access.

Financial hardship could certainly be a factor that influences potential action; forty-four

percent of the people in Puerto Rico live under the poverty line ("Quick Facts: Puerto Rico,"

2016). This might explain why half of those who answered the questionnaire expressed that they

would have to be compensated in order to take environmental action (Santos-Corrada &

Méndez-Tejeda, 2017). For many Puerto Ricans, climate change is not at the top of their list,

seeing as they have more immediate needs, like food, jobs, and healthcare. Furthermore, there

are costs associated with pro-environmental behavior (Brody et al., 2012) and many on the island

cannot bear these costs, which significantly limits their power to take transformative action.

Lack of access might also be something Puerto Ricans consider. For example, if a

resident of Puerto Rico wanted to reduce their carbon footprint by limiting automobile use, they

would have a hard time getting around, as the public transportation system is severely limited

and inefficient. A similar thing happens with attempts to reduce individual waste; municipal

recycling programs are not comprehensive by any means and do not reach all neighborhoods in

each municipality. According to Brody et al. (2012), “one component of changing the existing

behaviours is in providing viable options for individuals to do so, which requires establishing

public transportation systems, bike lanes and sidewalks in sprawling suburban areas…” (p. 14).

Therefore, the lack of easily available resources, options, and services could deprive Puerto

Rican residents of their agency to combat climate change and other environmental problems.

Climate change awareness and understanding could be a key element in informing and

promoting behavior changes and climate action, including policy action (Lee, Markowitz, Howe,

Ko, & Leiserowitz, 2015). People that are aware of climate change and its impacts are more

likely to take action (Masud et al., 2013). Furthermore, the urgency and imminence of climate

change impacts demand timely shifts in personal and political behavior (Ortega-Egea et al.,

2014). Before planning and implementing any climate change education efforts that could lead to

climate action in Puerto Rico, the current state of climate change awareness needs to be studied

and evaluated. Although Santos-Corrada and Méndez-Tejeda (2017) shed some light on climate

awareness, perception, and concern in Puerto Rico, more research needs to be done on the realm

of climate knowledge and understanding among Puerto Ricans and its relation (if any) to climate

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 6

action. The purpose of this study is to fill that research gap by assessing the level of climate

change knowledge in the Puerto Rican public, as well as reassessing awareness and perceptions

about climate change and delving into individual action, agency, and what factors influence

them. The results of such a study will provide insight into the public’s understanding and

perception of climate change, uncover what barriers to behavior change exist (in the presence of

climate knowledge), and inform the future development of public education and engagement

initiatives that could increase climate knowledge, encourage behavior changes, and effect policy

action.

Methods To answer my research questions, I created a survey on Qualtrics, software that allowed me to

collect and analyze data online. The survey included 18 content questions and 4 additional ones

to record demographic data (i.e. age, formal education, income, and location). The objective of

the survey was to gauge climate change awareness, concern, knowledge, perception, and

willingness to take action in Puerto Rican residents. I hypothesized that knowledge of climate

science and perception of climate risk would be low among Puerto Ricans, while I suspected

awareness to be higher due to the recent extreme weather events. Content questions were mostly

either multiple-choice (such as the questions assessing knowledge of climate causes and effects)

or utilize a Likert scale (to record climate concern, perception of risk and vulnerability, and

willingness to take action), with a few that included spaces for write-in answers (e.g. for

specifying individual climate actions among other things). With the purpose of comparing results

across geographies, the phrasing of four questions (1, 2, 5, and 9b) was modeled after

corresponding questions in a U.S. climate survey that has been conducted several times a year

since 2008 by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. The only difference is the

use of terminology; I swapped out the term ‘global warming’ from the U.S. survey for ‘climate

change’ to reflect the current custom in the climate science community. As Spanish is the

dominant language in Puerto Rico, survey questions were translated from English to better serve

the population and ensure understanding. A complete list of survey questions can be found in the

Appendix.

Surveys were distributed to Puerto Rican residents via Facebook using an anonymous

link, which was also shared through messaging apps and word of mouth by friends, family, and

peers. Responses were recorded on Qualtrics, where the collected data was analyzed, partly by

applying filters and observing the resulting changes when selecting certain demographic

elements. Write-in answers were read one by one and processed by hand. The answers for

questions 1, 2, 5, and 9b where compared to the results obtained by Leiserowitz et al. (2017).

Furthermore, other responses were loosely compared to questions in the 2015 climate perception

survey published by Santos-Corrada and Méndez-Tejeda (2017); no questions were written

exactly the same way, so these results were not as comparable.

Results

The survey was live over the course of two weeks, at the end of which 132 responses were

recorded. The population sample posed some limitations, which are evident when observing the

demographic data included in Figure 1. In a post-hurricane Puerto Rico, with over half of the

people still without power and internet access, survey takers were among the few who were able

to charge their phones or computers and had access to Wi-Fi. Additionally, most responses came

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 7

from people (many of them friends, or friends of friends) who saw the survey announcement of

my Facebook page, which narrowed it down to a younger demographic, including a large amount

of students or recent graduates, as well as residents of the metropolitan area (San Juan and the

municipalities around the capital), as shown in Figure 1.4. Almost 70% of survey takers were

under 35 (Figure 1.1) and had completed at least a Bachelor’s degree (Figure 1.2). Over half of

responders earned $20,000 or less annually (Figure 1.3), which reflects the large student

population. Therefore, this survey failed to capture a representative sample of the Puerto Rican

population, missing data from the older demographic (over 35), people who lack formal

education, and residents of municipalities outside the metro area.

AWARENESS AND CONCERN

The results pertaining to climate change awareness and concern among survey takers can be

found in Figure 2. Virtually every person who took the survey (99%) believes in climate change.

No responder denied the existence of climate change, although one did select the ‘I don’t know’

option (Figure 2.1). According to the latest survey from the Yale Program on Climate Commu-

nication, 70% of Americans think climate change is happening (Leiserowitz et al., 2017), which

stands in stark contrast with the 99% obtained for Puerto Rico. This contrast is also evident, and

perhaps more so, when looking at concern for climate change (Figure 2.2). Ninety-eight percent

of Puerto Ricans are worried about climate change (88% very, 10% somewhat), while only 58%

expressed concern in the U.S. (17% very, 40% somewhat) (Leiserowitz et al., 2017). In the 2015

climate perception survey conducted in Puerto Rico, 78% of those surveyed expressed concern

about climate change impacts (Santos-Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017).

Figure 1 Demographic data collected by the survey (age (1.1), formal education (1.2), annual income (1.3), and

municipality (1.4)).

Figure 1.1 Figure 1.2

Figure 1.3 Figure 1.4

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 8

KNOWLEDGE

Figure 3 shows the results obtained for the survey questions on climate knowledge. When asked

to self-assess the amount of climate knowledge they have, 85% of survey takers said they knew a

moderate amount or more (2% a great deal, 18% a lot; Figure 3.1). These numbers can be loosely

compared with a knowledge self-assessment in the 2015 Puerto Rico survey. According to

Santos-Corrada and Méndez-Tejeda (2017), 44% of Puerto Ricans claimed to have a good

understanding of climate change. Survey takers were also asked where they learn about climate

change (Figure 3.2). The top three sources of climate change information for Puerto Ricans are

the internet (90%), news (75%), and social media (66%); the government ranked last as an

information source for the public, chosen by only 14% of responders.

When asked about climate change causes and effects, knowledge among Puerto Ricans

proved to be higher for the latter. While 90% of survey takers think climate change is mainly

caused by human activity (Figure 3.3), compared to 58% in the U.S. (Leiserowitz et al., 2017),

30% incorrectly identified the cause of global warming, with 24% choosing the hole in the ozone

layer (Figure 3.4). Furthermore, 46% were unable to correctly label the factor that contributes

most to climate change, as shown in Figure 3.5. Surprisingly, a third of responders cited

deforestation and 8% chose ozone depletion. On the other hand, when asked to select climate

change impacts from a list that only contained these, the vast majority correctly selected stronger

storms with more rainfall (86%), sea level rise (83%), heat waves (82%), and droughts (82%);

coastal erosion, threats to biodiversity, and threats to agriculture, also climate change effects,

were also selected, albeit by a slightly smaller portion of the sample: 67%, 66%, and 66%

respectively (see Figure 3.6).

PERCEPTION OF RISK AND VULNERABILITY

Perceived climate risk and vulnerability are high among Puerto Ricans; the results can be found

in Figure 4. Ninety-eight percent of survey takers think climate change is affecting Puerto Rico

now (88% strongly agree, 9% somewhat agree; Figure 4.1), while 96% perceive climate change

as affecting them personally (76% strongly agree, 20% somewhat agree; Figure 4.2). The latter

number contrasts with the percentage obtained in the U.S. survey; forty percent consider that

they have personally experienced climate change impacts (Leiserowitz et al., 2017).

Furthermore, the majority of responders drew a connection between recent extreme weather

events and climate change; 92% related the 2015 drought to climate change (see Figure 4.3), and

94% linked the recent hurricanes (Irma and Maria) and climate change (see Figure 4.4). Finally,

95% think Puerto Rico is very or extremely vulnerable to climate change (see Figure 4.5).

Figure 2 Climate change awareness and concern among Puerto Ricans.

Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 9

Figure 3.1 Figure 3.2

Figure 3.3

Figure 3.4

Figure 3.5

Figure 3.6

Figure 3 Knowledge about climate science (3.4),

causes (3.3, 3.5) and effects (3.6) among Puerto

Ricans, as well as a self-assessment of climate

knowledge (3.1) and sources of climate change

information (3.2)

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 10

BEHAVIOR

Figure 5 illustrates the willingness of Puerto Ricans to take climate action as well as their current

participation and related challenges. Virtually every responder (99%) agrees that climate change

is something we should address (97% strongly, 2% somewhat), as seen in Figure 5.1. One-

hundred percent of survey takers are willing to take action to address climate change (with

varying degrees of enthusiasm; see Figure 5.2), compared to 82% in the 2015 survey (Santos-

Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017). Forty-three percent of responders awarded the main

responsibility of addressing climate change (see Figure 5.3) to citizens, followed by the

government (37%), business and industry (12%), and non-governmental organizations (4%). In

2015, 82% of Puerto Ricans awarded this responsibility to citizens (Santos-Corrada & Méndez-

Tejeda, 2017).

Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2

Figure 4.3 Figure 4.4

Figure 4.5

Figure 4 Perception of risk and vulnerability to climate change among Puerto Ricans.

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 11

Although every single survey taker expressed willingness to address climate change, only

59% claim they are currently participating in individual climate action (Figure 5.4), a very

similar number to the 58% obtained in 2015 (Santos-Corrada & Méndez-Tejeda, 2017). People

who responded ‘yes’ to this question wrote in answers (in Spanish), which indicated that

recycling was the top climate action, followed by things like reducing energy use, reducing

waste, planting trees, and sharing information (Figure 5.6). A quarter of the sample responded

that they didn’t know if they were taking individual action, as shown in Figure 5.4. When asked

what was the biggest obstacle for participating in climate action, 41% cited the lack of resources,

services, or options, 28% said it was the lack of information about the climate phenomenon or

about appropriate actions, and 25% claimed it was difficult to break habits, as Figure 5.5 shows.

Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2

Figure 5.3

Figure 5.4

Figure 5.5

Figure 5.6

Figure 5 Climate action and willingness, assigned responsibility, and obstacles among Puerto Ricans.

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 12

Discussion

Semenza et al. (2008) found a link between individual climate action and awareness, concern,

willingness, and ability, which is why studies like this one are so relevant, as they could provide

the key for motivating climate action in citizens. These are precisely the parameters I set out to

investigate with this survey, with the purpose of offering insight into participation and behavior

change among Puerto Ricans.

AWARENESS AND CONCERN

Climate change awareness has been proved to increase climate action (Masud et al., 2013).

Fortunately, the results of this survey overwhelmingly show that Puerto Ricans believe in climate

change. This finding was vastly unexpected judging by my isolating experience as an

environmentalist on the island. Perhaps in hypothesizing low climate awareness among the

residents of Puerto Rico, I misinterpreted the absence of climate change from casual, political,

and national conversations as an indicator for climate denial or ignorance. In fact, when reading

Santos-Corrada and Méndez-Tejeda’s (2017) reported numbers (65%) on Puerto Rican

recognition of climate change as a main environmental problem for the island, I was skeptical. If

we compare awareness levels obtained by this survey with the Leiserowitz et al. (2017) U.S.

climate survey, there is almost a 30-percent difference. This might be due merely to a variation

in demographics, especially education, since it has been shown to predict climate awareness (Lee

et al., 2015), and the majority of survey takers had a high level of formal education. It may also

have been affected by an association between extreme weather events and belief in climate

change (Konisky, Hughes, & Kaylor, 2016). Perhaps living through weather anomalies and

having to adapt to climate impacts has resulted in a higher proportion of climate believers in

Puerto Rico than in the United States.

Not only are they climate believers, Puerto Rico residents are also extremely worried

about the changing climate, which supports findings from Konisky et al. (2016) establishing a

correlation between experiencing extreme weather events and concern about climate change.

Extreme heat, no rainfall for extended periods of time, and flooding can stimulate climate

concern in citizens, generally for a month after the event (Konisky et al., 2016). This survey was

circulated two months after Hurricane Maria, which was surely on responders’ minds while

answering the questions. Even though weeks had passed since the storm, severe weather events

(like a category-4 hurricane) can continue to influence concern up to four months ago after the

fact. With a slow and painful recovery, this timeframe might even be longer for Puerto Rico.

Concern for climate change proved to be much lower in the mainland, a fact that could be

explained by a lack of extreme weather activity encouraging increases in concern. If facing a

hurricane indeed intensifies concern, victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and

Florida, respectively, would most likely express higher levels of concern than the rest of the

country. Furthermore, current findings on climate awareness and concern in Puerto Rico are

higher than those of Santos-Corrada and Méndez-Tejeda (2017) from two years ago, which

probably better represented the Puerto Rican population demographically. While the recentness

of Hurricane Maria indeed pushed my responders into expressing climate concern, their results

were also likely to have been influenced by an extreme weather event: the 2015 drought, which

might have similarly skewed levels of climate awareness and concern on the island.

KNOWLEDGE AND RISK PERCEPTION

Understanding environmental problems, such as climate change, positively impacts pro-

environmental behavior (Brody et al., 2012). More specifically, knowledge about climate change

causes is positively associated with climate action (Ortega-Egea et al., 2014). Therefore,

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 13

ensuring the public understands climate change, the science behind it, as well as its causes and

effects, could be a key component of education and engagement programs aimed at motivating

individual action and triggering changes in citizen behavior. As such, assessing the public’s level

of climate knowledge is a critical first step in the eventual design of such programs and one of

the main objectives of this survey.

The Puerto Rican public is very clear about the role of human activity in advancing

climate change, which, according to Busch and Osborne (2014), is a prerequisite for inspiring

climate action. This could indicate that the population will be receptive to public initiatives

seeking to trigger behavior changes to address climate change. In the U.S., however, Americans

might not yet be ready for taking climate action, as only half of the population recognizes

humans cause climate change. Furthermore, Lee et al. (2015) found that recognizing human

activity as the main cause of climate change makes people perceive a greater risk, which matches

the results of the survey, as the vast majority of responders (the vast majority of which know

humans changed the climate) consider Puerto Rico (and themselves) very vulnerable to climate

change. Similarly, having experienced climate change impacts affects personal risk perception

(Konisky et al., 2016), so Puerto Ricans might have been influenced by the climate-related

events they have faced, including, of course, Hurricane Maria. In turn, people who perceive

personal climate risk (which is virtually every resident of Puerto Rico) are more likely to take

action (Brody et al., 2012).

One of the most interesting findings of this survey was the fairly counterintuitive

discrepancy between knowledge of climate causes and knowledge of climate effects among

Puerto Ricans. While most survey takers (as little as 66% and as many as 87%) were able to

correctly identify climate change impacts, there seems to be confusion about climate science,

evidenced by a quarter of the sample blaming the hole in the ozone layer for global warming and

a third citing deforestation as the main contributor to climate change. This suggests that Puerto

Rico residents have been using extreme weather events, such as droughts and hurricanes, as

education, an experiential learning of sorts. Perhaps for people living on the island, climate

change-causing greenhouse gases are invisible, but climate impacts are what people see, what

people suffer, what people have been obligated to adapt to.

Knowledge about climate change effects (and, to some extent, climate science) could

have also been facilitated through self-informing and searches on the internet (the number-one

source of climate change information for Puerto Ricans) brought on by experiences with weather

anomalies; interest in climate change increases with powerful weather events (Konisky et al.,

2016). Other sources of information should be considered as well. Although school was ranked

fourth as a source of climate change information, the percentage of people that selected it is high

enough to warrant questioning what students are being taught, considering the gaps in climate

knowledge recorded by the survey. Herman et al. (2015) found that Puerto Rico science teachers

who claimed to include climate change in their curricula might not all be prepared to facilitate

climate knowledge in the classroom; half of the teachers surveyed made the same mistake 46%

of Puerto Rican responders did: incorrectly identify things that contribute to climate change.

With curricula focused on climate impacts (Herman et al., 2015), it is no wonder the survey I

administered points to an ignorant population. At any rate, since understanding of climate change

causes could result in climate action (Ortega-Egea et al., 2014), there is a desperate need for

climate change education that focuses on the activities and events that have triggered the life-

threatening effects people are so familiar with.

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 14

BEHAVIOR

The literature on climate action shows that awareness, understanding, knowledge, and risk

perception are all positively associated with motivating behavior changes to address climate

change (Brody et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2015; Masud et al., 2013; Ortega-Egea et al., 2014;

Semenza et al., 2008). However, research also shows that information alone will not result in

behavior changes (Busch & Osborne, 2014; Parant et al., 2016; Pidgeon, 2012). There is a wide

range of factors on which taking climate action depends on, including physical elements

(income, education, culture, engagement in social networks) and personal aspects, such as

values, preferences, attitudes, habits, and psychosocial factors (Brody et al., 2012). I suspect the

multiplicity of influences (both positive and negative) that can impact a citizen’s choice to

change behavior may be responsible for the contrast between Puerto Ricans’ willingness to

tackle climate change and their collective participation in climate action. According to the survey

results, even though all responders are willing to take action on climate, people who are currently

addressing climate change individually are just over half of the sample. It is clear there are many

things at play regarding public climate action; these results confirm that, while there might be

certain trends (likely featuring people with money or resources), there is no guarantee that

merely providing information and increasing concern will automatically trigger behavior changes

in citizens.

An essential component of any effort to bridge the gap between awareness and action is

ensuring capacity, making sure citizens have the means to act on their beliefs and concerns about

climate change. When survey takers were asked about the biggest obstacle in taking personal

climate action, almost half cited a lack of resources or options, suggesting aware, willing Puerto

Ricans are deprived of their agency to fight climate change. Like I hypothesized, limited access

to existing services or the lack of certain services altogether (i.e. public transportation)

negatively impacts climate action in Puerto Rico residents. Furthermore, the definition of

‘climate action’ might vary among responders (and people in general), which probably

influenced self-assessments of participation in climate action. In fact, close to a quarter of

responders could not determine if they were (or weren’t) taking climate action. Also, the sample

that claimed they were addressing climate change through individual action could (a) include

people who erroneously thought their actions would truly help and (b) be missing people who

didn’t recognize their actions as effective. It is imperative to educate the public about what

actions are truly ‘climate actions’ as knowledge of appropriate action positively impacts citizen

participation (Ortega-Egea et al., 2014).

Semenza et al. (2008) found that the number-one barrier to behavior change was not

knowing how to take action. Unsurprisingly, the second highest obstacle in taking action among

survey takers was lack of information (about the climate problem itself or about what actions

were appropriate to address it), which might be related to the recorded top (self-assessed) climate

action: recycling. Generally, according to Pidgeon (2012), people will propose climate actions

that won’t achieve the main purpose of addressing climate change, reducing carbon emissions.

Moreover, confusion about what climate change encompasses (and doesn’t) may lead people to

believe actions like recycling help address the human-caused phenomenon (Weber & Stern,

2011). While information may not spontaneously elicit behavior changes in favor of climate

action, it is important to facilitate knowledge and understanding to populations that are already

engaging (or at least consider themselves to be) in the fight against climate change.

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 15

Conclusion

Environmental education is a field dedicated to developing awareness, knowledge, and

understanding of environmental issues, as well as the attitudes and skills needed to engage in

pro-environmental action. As such, this discipline is a key piece in the climate change solutions

puzzle, especially on an island that has already been fairly impacted by climate change, with

many more impacts on the way. Whether it is motivating individual action or policy action,

environmental education can make a difference. In the absence of government intervention,

individual action (likely inspired by environmental education) represents immediate, voluntary

behavior changes that can tackle climate change until policies are implemented (Semenza et al.,

2008). In turn, environmental policies themselves are influenced by public perception of climate

change (Masud et al., 2013), which can be shaped by environmental education. As an

environmental educator myself, I set out to pre-assess knowledge and beliefs about climate

change [a “best practice for science teachers”, according to Busch and Osborne (2014, p. 30)]

with the purpose of informing future education programs and initiatives designed to engage the

Puerto Rican public and motivate action on the island to address what is arguably the biggest and

toughest environmental issue yet.

My findings suggest that the residents of Puerto Rico believe in climate change, feel

worried about it, and know a lot about is impacts. The population recognizes climate change as

having affected Puerto Rico (and themselves) and as an issue that needs to be addressed. While

the administered survey shows that climate awareness, concern, risk perception, and willingness

to act are surprisingly high in Puerto Rico, there are some gaps in knowledge (of climate causes

and appropriate action) and a missing bridge between information and action. While there is a

widely reported knowledge-action gap (Brody et al., 2012; Busch & Osborne, 2014; Ortega-Egea

et al., 2014; Parant et al., 2016; Pidgeon, 2012), my findings suggest that this missing bridge

might be linked instead to the number-one reported obstacle for taking action: lack of accessible

resources. This finding is pivotal and holds implications for government, community

organizations, and citizens themselves. It communicates a clear area where work needs to be

done, both for future engagement initiatives and for government intervention. If accessibility is

one of the main issues befalling Puerto Rican individuals who are concerned about climate

change and want to take action, any future programs and policies should strive to address it by

providing these services (or even creating them if they don’t yet exist) and ensuring equitable

access to all interested communities.

Although demographics was a big limitation for this study (the sample was not

representative), I think the results of this survey provide key insight into understanding of and

attitudes toward climate change among the educated youth of Puerto Rico. Further limitations

include utilizing a survey as a research tool, which limited the amount and quality of data that

was collected, and not conducting statistical analyses on the survey results. For future research, I

would suggest conducting a similar study with a representative sample of the Puerto Rican

population to truly assess levels of knowledge, concern, and behavior changes around the entire

island and across age groups and education levels. Additionally, I would propose performing

deeper research on barriers to climate action; the question designed to capture this in my survey

was missing one or two choices (related to finances or the existence of more pressing issues) that

could have changed my results. Also, studying obstacles for action could reveal important

information about how to bridge the knowledge-action gap in Puerto Rico. Finally, collecting

stories from communities that have been impacted by climate change and obligated to adapt

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 16

could yield a painful, yet beautiful and very valuable record of community-based climate

adaptation and a set of lessons for the future.

Having suffered a major climate disaster, Puerto Rico may now be facing a ‘critical

discourse moment’, a point “in the public policy and media cycle where the current frames and

modes of understanding can be radically challenged”, a temporary opportunity that gives

“legislators the licence to take specific bold actions that, ordinarily, they would not otherwise

believe possible or politically acceptable” (Pidgeon, 2012, p. S96). Now is the time for change,

for everyone (not just legislators) to assume that ‘license’ and take bold action. Now is the time

to prioritize place-based climate education that brings climate change into the “here and now”

(Busch & Osborne, 2014) by localizing climate impacts and risk. Now is the time to “move the

knowledge base away from the government officials and scientists and into local communities

and their classrooms” (Brody et al., 2012, p. 14), where teachers are fully prepared to facilitate

the content and empower their students to take bold action. Now is the time to create public

education programs that avoid catastrophic and alarming messaging and provide doable,

accessible solutions for community members to take local bold action. Now is the time for the

public to mobilize and demand bold policy action on climate change, and for legislators to come

through. Now is the time for a resilient, sustainable Puerto Rico.

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Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 19

Appendix

SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. Do you think climate change is happening?

-Yes -No (write-in why not) -Don’t know

2. How worried are you about climate change?

-Very worried

-Somewhat worried

-Not very worried

-Not at all worried

3. How would you rate your level of knowledge about climate change?

-A great deal o f knowledge

-A lot of knowledge

-A moderate amount of knowledge

-A little knowledge

-No knowledge

4. Where do you obtain information about climate change? Select all that apply.

-School/university

-Social media

-Internet

-Family and friends

-News

-TV/movies

-Government

-Other (write-in)

5. Assuming climate change is happening, do you think it is...?

-Caused mostly by human activity

-Caused by natural changes in the environment

-Neither because climate change is not happening

-Other (write-in)

6. Why do you think the planet is getting warmer?

-There is a hole in the ozone layer due to increased aerosol use.

-Greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide) trap heat in the atmosphere.

-The planet is experiencing a natural warming phase.

-The planet is not getting warmer.

-Don’t know

7. Which of the following do you think contributes most to climate change?

-Destruction of forests

-Nuclear power generation

-Burning of fossil fuels

-Depletion of ozone

-Meat and dairy industry

-Landfills

-Agriculture

-Climate change isn’t

happening.

8. Which of the following do you think are effects of climate change? Select all that apply.

-Sea level rise

-Heat waves

-Coastal erosion

-Droughts

-Stronger storms with more rainfall

-Threats to biodiversity

-Threats to agriculture

-Climate change isn’t happening.

Understanding and Perception of Climate Change in Puerto Rico 20

9. Rate your agreement with the following statements.

Strongly

agree

Somewhat

agree

Neither

agree nor

disagree

Somewhat

disagree

Strongly

disagree

a) Climate change is affecting Puerto

Rico right now.

b) I have personally experienced climate

change impacts.

c) The 2015 drought is connected to

climate change.

d) The recent hurricanes are connected to

climate change.

10. How vulnerable to do think Puerto Rico is to climate change?

-Extremely vulnerable

-Very vulnerable

-Moderately vulnerable

-Slightly vulnerable

-Not at all vulnerable

11. Rate your agreement with the following statement.

Climate change is something we should address.

-Strongly agree

-Somewhat agree

-Neither agree nor disagree

-Somewhat disagree

-Strongly agree

12. Who do you think should be primarily responsible for addressing climate change?

-Citizens

-Government

-Business and industry

-Non-governmental organizations

-Scientists

-It’s not necessary to address climate

change.

13. How willing are you to take action to address climate change?

-Extremely willing

-Very willing

-Moderately willing

-Slightly willing

-Not at all willing

14. Are you currently taking action to address climate change?

-Yes -No -Don’t know

15. What is the biggest obstacle for taking action to address climate change in your life?

-It’s difficult to break habits.

-There are no accessible resources, services, or options.

-I don’t know enough about climate change itself or about what actions are appropriate to

address it.

-I think climate change is a huge issue and my individual action won’t make a difference.

-Climate change isn’t happening.

-Other (write-in)