DELAWARE RESIDENTS’ OPINIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE …...rise are happening but are only mostly...

DELAWARE RESIDENTS’ OPINIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE

Conducted for the State of Delaware and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program

by Responsive Management

2014

DELAWARE RESIDENTS’ OPINIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE

2014

Responsive Management National Office Mark Damian Duda, Executive Director

Martin Jones, Senior Research Associate Tom Beppler, Research Associate Sarah Butzen, Research Associate

Steven J. Bissell, Ph.D., Qualitative Research Associate Andrea Criscione, Research Associate Patrick Doherty, Research Associate

Gregory L. Hughes, P.E., Research Associate Alison Lanier, Business Manager

130 Franklin Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801

Phone: 540/432-1888 Fax: 540/432-1892 E-mail: [email protected]

www.responsivemanagement.com

Acknowledgments

Responsive Management would like to thank Kelly Valencik, Susan Love, and Jennifer DeMooy

of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Jennifer

Merrill of the University of Delaware for their input, support, and guidance on this project.

Delaware Residents’ Opinions on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY

This study was conducted for the State of Delaware and the Delaware Sea Grant College

Program to determine residents’ opinions on climate change and sea level rise, whether residents

believe they are happening, the perceived threats posed by them, and opinions on the potential

mitigative actions that could taken. The study entailed a telephone survey of Delaware residents

18 years old and older. Specific aspects of the research methodology are discussed below.

For the survey, telephones were selected as the preferred sampling medium because of the

almost universal ownership of telephones among Delaware residents (both landlines and cell

phones were called in their proper proportions). Additionally, telephone surveys, relative to mail

or Internet surveys, allow for more scientific sampling and data collection, provide higher quality

data, obtain higher response rates, are more timely, and are more cost-effective. Telephone

surveys also have fewer negative effects on the environment than do mail surveys because of

reduced use of paper and reduced energy consumption for delivering and returning the

questionnaires.

The telephone survey questionnaire was developed cooperatively by Responsive Management

and Delaware research team. Responsive Management conducted pre-tests of the questionnaire

to ensure proper wording, flow, and logic in the survey. The sample of Delaware residents was

obtained from SSI and DatabaseUSA, companies that specialize in providing scientifically valid

samples for surveys. Telephone surveying times are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to

9:00 p.m., Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., local time.

The survey was conducted in August 2014. The software used for data collection was

Questionnaire Programming Language. Responsive Management obtained a total of 1,508

completed interviews. The analysis of data was performed using Statistical Package for the

Social Sciences as well as proprietary software developed by Responsive Management.

In general, the trends analysis shows that fluctuations in responses from 2009 to 2014 were not

dramatic and often only slight, even when statistically significant. Overall, it seems that

Delaware residents have become slightly more supportive of or agreeable to the concept of and

ii Responsive Management

actions related to climate change and, to a lesser degree, sea level rise and may be slightly more

likely to consider them threats, but concern for both has not increased substantially. Self-

reported knowledge levels about climate change and sea level rise have also not experienced

increases, even though strong agreement that we should take immediate action to reduce the

impacts related to each showed substantial and statistically significant increases: 35% strongly

agreed we should take immediate action to reduce the impacts of climate change in 2009

compared to 54% in 2014, and 35% strongly agreed we should take immediate action to reduce

the impacts of sea level rise in 2009 compared to 49% in 2014.

It is worth noting that many of the increases and decreases that were seen in the trends analysis

are in the extreme categories, such the responses that are qualified with strongly or very,

suggesting the changes in attitudes could be more a shift in degree, that is, perhaps some who

were previously only slightly or moderately of an opinion have now progressed to a more

solidified or stronger opinion. Nonetheless, there are also some small yet encouraging decreases

in responses that suggest a denial or misinformed stance on climate change and sea level rise.

PERCEPTIONS OF IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

� To test where climate change and sea level rise rank in the concerns that Delaware residents

have, the survey presented a list of seven areas of possible concern and asked residents to

indicate if they were very concerned, somewhat concerned, or not at all concerned about

each. Both climate change and sea level rise are the lowest ranked of the items. While a

majority of residents are very concerned about the economy (72% are very concerned), public

education (69%), health care (67%), crime rates (62%), and the environment (60%), less than

a majority are very concerned about climate change (41%) and sea level rise (25%).

� Similar to the above question, the survey presented a list of nine possible environmental

concerns and asked residents to rate their concern (very, somewhat, or not at all). Again,

climate change (the 7th ranked) and sea level rise (the 9th ranked) are low on the ranking by

very concerned. A majority of residents are very concerned about water pollution (71%),

toxic waste (68%), air quality (61%), loss of forest habitat (54%), and declining fish and

Delaware Residents’ Opinions on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise iii

wildlife populations (52%). This compares to 43% being very concerned about climate

change and 36% being very concerned about sea level rise.

KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE

� Two questions asked residents to rate their knowledge about climate change and sea level

rise. They claim to know a bit more about climate change than sea level rise.

• Most Delaware residents say that they know at least a moderate amount about climate

change: 62% say that they know either a great deal (14%) or a moderate amount (48%).

At the other end, 32% claim to know a little, and only 5% say that they know nothing.

• In looking at knowledge of sea level rise, 41% of residents say that they know a great

deal or moderate amount; meanwhile, 58% say that they know a little or nothing.

OPINION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE AND WHETHER THEY

ARE HAPPENING

� Residents fall into three camps: deniers/the misinformed (making up about a quarter of

residents), those on the fence, so to speak (making up about a third), and those who think that

climate change and sea level rise are happening (making up just under half).

• The deniers/misinformed are the 20% who are not so or not at all convinced that climate

change is happening, and the 26% who are not so or not at all convinced that sea level

rise is happening. They include all of the 3% who say that most scientists think climate

change is not happening, and a portion of the 31% who say that there is a lot of

disagreement among scientists about whether it is happening.

• The middle ground consists of those who are convinced that climate change and sea level

rise are happening but are only mostly convinced (rather than completely convinced).

This group consists of the 32% who are mostly convinced about climate change and the

31% who are mostly convinced about sea level rise. Some of this group say that there is

a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether it is happening, while some know

that most scientists think climate change is happening.

• The final group are those who think that climate change and sea level rise are happening.

This group consists of those who are completely convinced that climate change (46%)

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and sea level rise (39%) are happening and the 49% who say that most scientists think

climate change is happening.

o The survey questions that made up this section summary are discussed below.

� In basic questions, the survey directly asked residents about their opinions on whether

climate change and sea level rise are happening.

• Regarding climate change, 20% of Delaware residents say that they are not so convinced

or not at all convinced that climate change is happening. At the other end, 79% are

completely or mostly convinced; however, a substantial portion of that consists of

residents who are only mostly convinced (46% are completely and 32% are mostly

convinced—rounding on the graph causes the apparent discrepancy in the sum, which is

79% when calculated on unrounded numbers).

• Likewise, 26% of residents are not so convinced or not at all convinced that sea levels are

rising; 70% are completely or mostly convinced, the latter split between completely

convinced (39%) and mostly convinced (31%).

o The survey included another way to assess opinion on whether climate change is

happening. The survey asked residents if they agree or disagree that “Scientists are

right that climate change is occurring”: while the majority of residents agree (83%), a

substantial percentage (11%) disagree.

o Another question asked residents to say, regardless of their personal views, whether

or not most scientists think climate change is happening. Misinformation is rampant,

as 31% say that there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether it is

happening or not, and another 3% say that most scientists think climate change is not

happening. Only 49% of residents correctly say that most scientists think that climate

change is happening.

o A follow-up question asked residents to say whether climate change, if it is indeed

happening, is caused mostly by human activities, mostly by natural changes in the

environment, or both about equally. Most commonly, residents say it is caused

mostly by human activities (41%), while 24% say mostly natural causes, and 29% say

both about equally.

Delaware Residents’ Opinions on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise v

o Another question asked if residents agree or disagree that “Climate change is

contributing to the rise in sea levels.” The majority (79%) agree, but 11% disagree.

� The survey delved into personal experiences with climate change and sea level rise, asking

residents if they agree or disagree that they have personally experienced the impacts of

climate change and sea level rise.

• A slight majority agree that they have “personally experienced or observed local impacts

of climate change” (53%), but 40% disagree.

• Just over a quarter agree that they have “personally experienced the impacts of sea level

rise” (28%), but the majority disagree (66%).

PERCEPTIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE AS A THREAT

� About a fifth of Delaware residents (19%) are complacent about climate change, saying that

climate change as a threat is not very serious or not at all serious. At the other end of the

scale, 34% say it is a somewhat serious threat, and 45% say it is a very serious threat.

� A question asked about level of worry about sea level rise: 31% of residents are not at all

worried about sea level rise. Moving up the scale, 24% are only a little worried, 31% are

worried a moderate amount, and 13% are worried a great deal.

� The survey presented ten items and asked respondents to rate how much of a threat climate

change was to each. The items fall into four tiers:

• The top tier consists of people’ health and Delaware’s agriculture: 45% and 44%,

respectively, say that climate change is a very serious threat to the items.

• The next tier consists of people’s safety and the natural resources of Delaware: 38% and

34% say it is a very serious threat to them.

• The third tier is made up of Delaware’s economy, Delaware’s infrastructure, and outdoor

recreation in Delaware: 30%, 29%, and 28%, respectively, say climate change is a very

serious threat to these.

• The bottom tier consists of national security, the local community, and people’s homes:

less than 25% think climate change is a very serious threat to these.

vi Responsive Management

� Similar to the above series, another series presented 15 items to residents and asked them to

say how much of a threat sea level rise is to each. In looking at the percentages who think

that sea level rise is a very serious threat, three tiers emerge:

• Two items are at the top substantially ahead of the rest of the items: Delaware’s beaches

and ocean-front cities and towns in Delaware. On these, 57% and 56%, respectively,

think sea level rise is a very serious threat.

• A middle tier consists of 9 of the 15 items, with a quarter to just under half saying sea

level rise is a very serious threat: these include marsh and wetlands areas and riverfront

cities and towns in Delaware, as well as Delaware’s public works systems, its wildlife

populations, its economy, and outdoor recreation in Delaware.

• The bottom tier is people’s local community, themselves, their property, and their

families. Each of these has less than 25% saying that sea level rise is a very serious threat

to it.

� Two questions examined perceptions of the timing of climate change and sea level rise.

• Residents were asked when they think climate change will have an impact on their area.

The most common response is that it is having impacts now (41% give this response).

Another 33% give a time of 25 years or less. However, 18% consist of those saying 50 or

100 years or saying never (i.e., climate change is not happening).

• Regarding sea level rise, 20% say now, 40% give a time of 25 years or less, and 29%

saying 50 or 100 years or never.

PERCEPTIONS OF EFFICACY OF TAKING ACTION TO MITIGATE CLIMATE

CHANGE

� A majority of Delaware residents (72%) agree that the impacts of climate change can be

reduced by human efforts; on the other hand, 21% disagree. Likewise, 59% agree that sea

level rise can be reduced by human efforts, while 29% disagree.

• Similarly, 65% agree that they can personally take actions that will help reduce climate

change; meanwhile, 28% disagree.

Delaware Residents’ Opinions on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise vii

� Two questions delved into the amount of action that can be taken to reduce climate change,

both asking about agreement or disagreement with statements. The first statement says that

“There is limited action that can be taken to reduce climate change,” and the second

statement says that “There are many actions that can be taken to reduce climate change.” A

greater percentage agree that there are many actions that can be taken than agree that there is

limited action that can be taken.

• For limited action, 49% of residents agree that there is limited action that can be taken to

reduce climate change. However, 42% disagree with this statement.

• For many actions, 70% of residents agree that there are many actions that can be taken to

reduce climate change, while only 19% disagree.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES PERTAINING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

� Regardless of their opinions on climate change and sea level rise, the large majority of

residents say that action should be taken to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in

their area before impacts occur (74% say this) rather than as impacts begin (8%) or after

impacts cause problems (3%). Note that 8% said never because sea levels are not rising.

� Two questions looked at whether action should be taken now or whether more study should

be done.

• A large majority of Delaware residents (76%) agree that we should take immediate action

to reduce the impacts of climate change; on the other hand, 18% disagree.

• This compares to 63% who agree that we should conduct more research before taking

any action to address climate change and 32% who disagree.

• A similar pairing of questions asked the same thing about sea level rise. A large majority

of Delaware residents (72%) agree that we should take immediate action to reduce the

impacts of sea level rise, while 21% disagree. Meanwhile, 64% agree that we should

conduct more research before taking any action to address sea level rise, and 30%

disagree.

� A large majority of residents (74%) agree that the state of Delaware needs to conduct more

research to identify the impacts of sea level rise in the state; 18% disagree.

viii Responsive Management

� The survey presented ten actions that could be taken to address sea level rise in Delaware.

For each action, residents were asked if they would support or oppose it.

• Two actions are in a top tier: change building codes and regulations to reduce risk in

flood prone areas and avoid building new structures in areas at risk from sea level rise:

63% and 62%, respectively, strongly support those actions.

• The next tier consists of those actions with well more than a third to a half in strong

support: increasing funding for research (50%); elevating buildings in areas of risk

using private funding (46%); allowing beaches and wetlands to naturally migrate inland

(41%); building dikes, seawalls, and bulkheads to keep water back (38%); and elevating

the land surface in areas of risk (38%).

• The bottom tier are those that explicitly entail using government funds: elevating

buildings in areas at risk from sea level rise using government funds (34%), purchasing

or acquiring land and open space at risk from sea level rise from willing land sellers

using government funds (29%), and purchasing or buying out frequently flooded

properties using government funds (24%).

� The large majority of Delaware residents (70%) support having their local and state

governments spend more money on public construction projects if it means that the structures

could withstand or accommodate sea level rise; however, 20% oppose.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR TAKING ACTION

� The survey presented five entities and asked whether each should be doing more to address

or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware. In looking at the percentages who say

that the entities should be doing much more, there is little separation between the top four

entities: business and industry (43% say that they should do much more), the federal

government (41%), the state government (40%), and the local/county government (38%). At

the bottom are Delaware’s residents (34% of residents say that Delaware’s residents should

be doing much more).

Delaware Residents’ Opinions on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise ix

PERSONAL ACTIONS TAKEN RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL

RISE

� About 2 in 5 Delaware residents (41% of them) say that they have personally taken action

within the past 2 years to try to reduce climate change.

� The survey presented six things that people could have done pertaining to addressing sea

level rise or learning more about sea level rise. The majority of residents have read a

newspaper or magazine article about sea level rise (53%), and nearly half have had a

conversation with a friend or family member about sea level rise (45%). Lesser percentages

have read about sea level rise on social media (29%), have visited a website for sea level rise

information (24%), have read a brochure or handout about sea level rise (17%), or have

attended a public meeting or workshop about sea level rise (7%).

SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE

� The most popular sources of information about environmental issues in Delaware are

television (47% get environmental information this way), newspapers (44%), and the Internet

(42%). No other source was named by more than 15% of residents.

� The topics about climate change and sea level rise most in demand include the impacts of

climate change and sea level rise, the impacts specifically on the Delaware Bay and the

state’s beaches, actions that can be taken to mitigate climate change and sea level rise,

impacts on specific resources or groups, how to protect property, how climate change and sea

level rise correlate, and funding needs to address the impacts.

� Residents are split on whether there is enough available information about sea level rise:

46% agree that there is, but 44% disagree.

x Responsive Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction and Methodology ........................................................................................................1

Use of Telephones for the Survey ...........................................................................................1

Questionnaire Design ..............................................................................................................1

Survey Sample .........................................................................................................................1

Telephone Interviewing Facilities ...........................................................................................2

Interviewing Dates and Times .................................................................................................2

Telephone Survey Data Collection and Quality Control .........................................................2

Data Analysis ...........................................................................................................................3

Sampling Error ........................................................................................................................3

Additional Information About the Presentation of Results in the Report ...............................4

Perceptions of Important Environmental Issues ..............................................................................6

Knowledge and Awareness of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise .............................................52

Opinion on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise and Whether They Are Happening ..................64

Perceptions of Climate Change and Sea Level Rise as a Threat .................................................108

Potential Actions Perceived to Affect Climate Change ...............................................................182

Perceptions of Efficacy of Taking Action to Mitigate Climate Change .............................182

Management Strategies Pertaining to Climate Change .......................................................210

Responsibility for Taking Action ........................................................................................292

Personal Actions Taken Related to Climate Change and Sea Level Rise ...........................307

Sources of Information About Climate Change and Sea Level Rise ...........................................316

Demographic Data .......................................................................................................................332

About Responsive Management ..................................................................................................380

Delaware Residents’ Opinions on Climate Change and Sea Level Rise 1

INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY

This study was conducted for the State of Delaware and the Delaware Sea Grant College

Program to determine residents’ opinions on climate change and sea level rise, whether residents

believe they are happening, the perceived threats posed by them, and opinions on the potential

mitigative actions that could taken. The study entailed a telephone survey of Delaware residents

18 years old and older. Specific aspects of the research methodology are discussed below.

USE OF TELEPHONES FOR THE SURVEY

For the survey, telephones were selected as the preferred sampling medium because of the

almost universal ownership of telephones among Delaware residents (both landlines and cell

phones were called in their proper proportions). Additionally, telephone surveys, relative to mail

or Internet surveys, allow for more scientific sampling and data collection, provide higher quality

data, obtain higher response rates, are more timely, and are more cost-effective. Telephone

surveys also have fewer negative effects on the environment than do mail surveys because of

reduced use of paper and reduced energy consumption for delivering and returning the

questionnaires.

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

The telephone survey questionnaire was developed cooperatively by Responsive Management

and Delaware research team, based in part on a similar survey administered in 2009. Responsive

Management conducted pre-tests of the questionnaire to ensure proper wording, flow, and logic

in the survey.

SURVEY SAMPLE

The sample of Delaware residents was obtained from SSI and DatabaseUSA, companies that

specialize in providing scientifically valid samples for surveys. The sample was stratified in two

ways: by county, with a goal of 500 completed interviews per county, and by cell

phone/landline, with these being sampled proportionally in each county so that cell phones and

landlines would be in their proper proportions. For statewide results, the sample was weighted to

be representative of all residents across the state 18 years old and older.

2 Responsive Management

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWING FACILITIES

A central polling site at the Responsive Management office allowed for rigorous quality control

over the interviews and data collection. Responsive Management maintains its own in-house

telephone interviewing facilities. These facilities are staffed by interviewers with experience

conducting computer-assisted telephone interviews on the subjects of outdoor recreation and

natural resources.

To ensure the integrity of the telephone survey data, Responsive Management has interviewers

who have been trained according to the standards established by the Council of American Survey

Research Organizations. Methods of instruction included lecture and role-playing. The Survey

Center Managers and other professional staff conducted a project briefing with the interviewers

prior to the administration of this survey. Interviewers were instructed on type of study, study

goals and objectives, handling of survey questions, interview length, termination points and

qualifiers for participation, interviewer instructions within the survey questionnaire, reading of

the survey questions, skip patterns, and probing and clarifying techniques necessary for specific

questions on the survey questionnaire.

INTERVIEWING DATES AND TIMES

Telephone surveying times are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Saturday

from noon to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., local time. A five-callback

design was used to maintain the representativeness of the sample, to avoid bias toward people

easy to reach by telephone, and to provide an equal opportunity for all to participate. When a

respondent could not be reached on the first call, subsequent calls were placed on different days

of the week and at different times of the day. The survey was conducted in August 2014.

TELEPHONE SURVEY DATA COLLECTION AND QUALITY CONTROL

The software used for data collection was Questionnaire Programming Language (QPL). The

survey data were entered into the computer as each interview was being conducted, eliminating

manual data entry after the completion of the survey and the concomitant data entry errors that

may occur with manual data entry. The survey questionnaire was programmed so that QPL


branched, coded, and substituted phrases in the survey based on previous responses to ensure the

integrity and consistency of the data collection.

The Survey Center Managers and statisticians monitored the data collection, including

monitoring of the actual telephone interviews without the interviewers’ knowledge, to evaluate

the performance of each interviewer and ensure the integrity of the data. The survey

questionnaire itself contains error checkers and computation statements to ensure quality and

consistent data. After the surveys were obtained by the interviewers, the Survey Center

Managers and/or statisticians checked each completed survey to ensure clarity and completeness.

Responsive Management obtained a total of 1,508 completed interviews.

DATA ANALYSIS

The analysis of data was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences as well as

proprietary software developed by Responsive Management. The results were weighted by

demographic and geographic characteristics in each county and then by county population for

statewide results, so that the sample was representative of residents of Delaware as a whole.

Crosstabulations were run on many questions by county of residence and by coastal/non-coastal

residency. For each question, these graphs are in the body of the report following the main graph

of the question. Additionally, trends based on the aforementioned 2009 survey are included on

some questions.

SAMPLING ERROR

Throughout this report, findings of the telephone survey are reported at a 95% confidence

interval. The sampling errors for all residents and the various subsamples are shown in the

tabulation that follows. Sampling error was calculated using the formula described after the

tabulation.


Sample Sizes and Sampling Errors

Sample Number in Sample Population Sampling Error

Overall (all State

Residents) 1,508 692,169 2.52

Half the Sample* 754 692,169 3.57

New Castle County 506 413,400 4.35

Kent County 500 121,931 4.37

Sussex County 502 156,838 4.37

Coastal Residents** 309 141,895 5.57

Non-Coastal

Residents** 1,199 550,274 2.83

*Because the survey was long, in some places the sample was randomly split, with half the sample getting some

questions and the other half getting other questions. This shows the sampling error on a random half of the sample.

**This categorization was based on the subjective opinion of the respondent, who was asked if he/she lived in a

coastal or non-coastal area. Based on the proportions who say that they are coastal/non-coastal, an estimated

population was calculated and then the sampling error was determined.

Sampling Error Equation

( )

( )96.11

25.25.

−

−

=p

s

p

N

N

N

B

Derived from formula: p. 206 in Dillman, D. A. 2000. Mail and Internet Surveys. John Wiley & Sons, NY.

Note: This is a simplified version of the formula that calculates the maximum sampling error using a 50:50

split (the most conservative calculation because a 50:50 split would give maximum variation).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRESENTATION OF RESULTS IN THE REPORT

In examining the results, it is important to be aware that the questionnaire included several types

of questions:

• Open-ended questions are those in which no answer set is read to the respondents; rather,

they can respond with anything that comes to mind from the question.

• Closed-ended questions have an answer set from which to choose.

• Single or multiple response questions: Some questions allow only a single response,

while other questions allow respondents to give more than one response or choose all that

apply. Those that allow more than a single response are indicated on the graphs with the

label, “Multiple Responses Allowed.”

• Scaled questions: Many closed-ended questions (but not all) are in a scale, such as

excellent-good-fair-poor.

Where: B = maximum sampling error (as decimal)

NP = population size (i.e., total number who could be surveyed)

NS = sample size (i.e., total number of respondents surveyed)


• Series questions: Many questions are part of a series, and the results are primarily

intended to be examined relative to the other questions in that series (although results of

the questions individually can also be valuable). Typically, results of all questions in a

series are shown together.

Most graphs show results rounded to the nearest integer; however, all data are stored in decimal

format, and all calculations are performed on unrounded numbers. For this reason, some results

may not sum to exactly 100% because of this rounding on the graphs. Additionally, rounding

may cause apparent discrepancies of 1 percentage point between the graphs and the reported

results of combined responses (e.g., when “strongly support” and “moderately support” are

summed to determine the total percentage in support).


PERCEPTIONS OF IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

� To test where climate change and sea level rise rank in the concerns that Delaware residents

have, the survey presented a list of seven areas of possible concern and asked residents to

indicate if they were very concerned, somewhat concerned, or not at all concerned about

each. Both climate change and sea level rise are the lowest ranked of the items. While a

majority of residents are very concerned about the economy (72% are very concerned), public

education (69%), health care (67%), crime rates (62%), and the environment (60%), less than

a majority are very concerned about climate change (41%) and sea level rise (25%).

• Two other graphs of statewide results are included along with the percentages who are

very concerned: the percentages who are very or somewhat concerned, and the

percentages who are not at all concerned. The “not at all” graph shows that about a fifth

to a quarter of Delaware residents are not at all concerned about climate change or sea

level rise.

• In the trends analysis, the percentage of Delaware residents who are very concerned about

sea level rise decreased (from 30% in 2009 to 25% in 2014), and this change is

statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05, meaning the correlation would happen by chance only

5 out of 100 times. Although the percentage of those very concerned about climate

change increased (36% to 41%), this change is not statistically significant. For the other

items on the list, the percentage of those who are very concerned decreased for health

care and the economy and increased for public education, crime rates, and the

environment.

o This list was presented to a random half of the sample; the other half received the list

discussed below.

� Similar to the above question, the survey presented a list of nine possible environmental

concerns and asked residents to rate their concern (very, somewhat, or not at all). Again,

climate change (the 7th ranked) and sea level rise (the 9th ranked) are low on the ranking by

very concerned. A majority of residents are very concerned about water pollution (71%),

toxic waste (68%), air quality (61%), loss of forest habitat (54%), and declining fish and

wildlife populations (52%). This compares to 43% being very concerned about climate

change and 36% being very concerned about sea level rise.


• Two other graphs of statewide results are included along with the percentages who are

very concerned: the percentages who are very or somewhat concerned, and the

percentages who are not at all concerned. The “not at all” graph shows that about a

quarter of Delaware residents are not at all concerned about climate change or sea level

rise.

• In the trends analysis, the percentage of Delaware residents who are very concerned

increased for both sea level rise (32% in 2009 to 36% in 2014) and climate change (from

36% to 43%) while decreasing for each other item on the list with the exception of the

loss of marsh or wetlands, which remained approximately the same. It is important to

note that the increases in the percentage of those who are very concerned about sea level

rise and climate change are not statistically significant. While the percentage of those

who are very concerned increased for both, note that overall concern (very and somewhat

concerned combined) did not change substantially for sea level rise, climate change, nor

any other item on the list.

o This list was presented to a random half of the sample; the other half received the list

discussed above.


72

69

67

62

60

41

25

0 20 40 60 80 100

The economy

Public education

Health care

Crime rates

The environment

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent

Q14-Q20. Percent of respondents who are very concerned about each of the following in the

U.S.


96

93

92

92

91

78

66

0 20 40 60 80 100

The economy

Public education

Health care

The environment

Crime rates

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent

Q14-Q20. Percent of respondents who are very or somewhat concerned about each of the

following in the U.S.


28

20

8

8

8

5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Sea level rise

Climate change

Crime rates

Theenvironment

Health care

Publiceducation

The economy

Percent

Q14-Q20. Percent of respondents who are not at all concerned about each of the following in the

U.S.


72

72

67

62

61

44

26

70

75

66

56

63

35

23

60

69

70

59

63

38

25

0 20 40 60 80 100

Public education

The economy

Health care

The environment

Crime rates

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent


U.S.

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


96

94

93

92

90

81

69

96

93

88

90

92

74

64

96

93

92

92

95

73

62

0 20 40 60 80 100

The economy

Public education

Health care

Crime rates

The environment

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


27

16

9

8

7

5

4

31

25

7

9

12

6

4

31

27

5

7

8

5

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Sea level rise

Climate change

The environment

Crime rates

Health care

Public education

The economy

Percent


U.S.

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


72

71

64

64

60

54

33

72

67

60

61

72

38

24

0 20 40 60 80 100

The economy

Health care

Theenvironment

Crime rates

Publiceducation

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent


U.S.

Coastal

Non-coastal


96

95

95

91

89

80

75

91

96

91

94

93

78

65

0 20 40 60 80 100

Crime rates

The economy

Theenvironment

Publiceducation

Health care

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


23

20

11

7

5

4

4

29

20

7

4

8

3

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

Sea level rise

Climate change

Health care

Public education

The environment

The economy

Crime rates

Percent


U.S.

Coastal

Non-coastal


54.2

52.0

51.0

51.0

49.1

46.6

46.1

45.0

44.3

42.8

42.6

41.5

41.2

41.1

40.2

38.5

38.0

35.8

35.4

35.2

33.7

32.5

16.8

12.5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Lives in a coastal area

Has taken action in the past 2 years to prevent climate change

Knows a great deal or a moderate amount about sea level rise

Is completely or mostly convinced that sea levels are rising

Is completely or mostly convinced that climate change ishappening

Knows a great deal or a moderate amount about climatechange

Female

Disagrees that there is enough available information aboutsea level rise

Lives in New Castle County

Education level is at least a bachelor's degree

Younger than the median age (48)

Total

Agrees that there is enough available information about sealevel rise

Education level is less than bachelor's degree

Median age (48) or older

Lives in a non-coastal area

Lives in Sussex County

Male

Knows a little or nothing about sea level rise

Lives in Kent County

Has not taken action in the past 2 years to prevent climatechange

Knows a little or nothing about climate change

Is not so or not at all convinced that sea levels are rising

Is not so or not at all convinced that climate change ishappening

Percent

Percent who are very concerned about climate change as a national issue:


The graph on the previous page shows the demographic and attitudinal groups that are either

more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) concerned about climate change as a

national issue relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 41.5% of Delaware residents are very

concerned about climate change as a national issue (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to

be very concerned are above that bar (for instance, 54.2% of those who live in a coastal area are

very concerned); those groups less inclined to be very concerned are below that bar (for instance,

only 35.2% of Kent County residents are very concerned).


37.5

33.5

32.9

32.6

30.9

29.6

28.0

27.6

26.7

26.6

26.5

25.3

24.5

24.0

24.0

23.8

23.3

22.8

22.6

20.2

18.4

17.0

5.8

5.3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Knows a great deal or a moderate amount about sea levelrise



Has taken action in the past 2 years to prevent climatechange






Female


Total


Male











Percent

Percent who are very concerned about sea level rise as a national issue:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) concerned about sea level rise as a

national issue relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 25.3% of Delaware residents are very

concerned about sea level rise as a national issue (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to be

very concerned are above that bar (for instance, 32.9% of those who live in a coastal area are

very concerned); those groups less inclined to be very concerned are below that bar (for instance,

only 22.6% of Kent County residents are very concerned).


65

29

60

69

24

52

0

20

40

60

80

100

Very concerned Somewhat concerned Not at all concerned Don't know

Perc

en

tQ14. Thinking about issues that the country faces, how concerned are you about public education in the U.S.?

2009

2014


72

22

61

67

24

8

00

20

40

60

80

100

Very concerned Somewhatconcerned

Not at all concerned Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q15. Thinking about issues that the country faces, how concerned are you about health care in the U.S.?

2009

2014


52

42

60

62

30

8

00

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q16. Thinking about issues that the country faces, how concerned are you about crime rates in the U.S.?

2009

2014


30

38

29

3

25

41

28

5

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q17. Thinking about issues that the country faces, how concerned are you about sea level rise in the U.S.?

2009

2014


75

22

2 1

72

24

40

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

tQ18. Thinking about issues that the country faces, how

concerned are you about the economy in the U.S.?

2009

2014


55

37

7

1

60

31

8

00

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q19. Thinking about issues that the country faces, how concerned are you about the environment in the U.S.?

2009

2014


36 37

25

2

4137

20

2

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q20. Thinking about issues that the country faces, how concerned are you about climate change in the U.S.?

2009

2014


71

68

61

54

52

45

43

38

36

0 20 40 60 80 100

Water pollution

Toxic waste

Air quality

Loss of foresthabitat

Declining fish andwildlife populations

Loss of marsh orwetlands

Climate change

Flooding

Sea level rise

Percent

Q23-Q31. Percent of respondents who are very concerned about each of the following in

Delaware.


94

92

89

86

84

81

74

73

69

0 20 40 60 80 100

Water pollution

Toxic waste

Air quality




Flooding

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent


following in Delaware.


28

26

25

16

12

12

10

7

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Sea level rise

Climate change

Flooding




Air quality

Toxic waste

Water pollution

Percent

Q23-Q31. Percent of respondents who are not at all concerned about each of the following in

Delaware.


74

70

65

54

51

48

44

42

35

69

68

61

53

52

36

43

32

35

64

60

52

55

53

38

50

34

38

0 20 40 60 80 100

Water pollution

Toxic waste

Air quality



Climate change


Flooding

Sea level rise

Percent


Delaware.

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


96

93

92

86

85

82

75

73

66

94

91

88

86

82

79

68

75

72

90

88

84

86

84

79

76

71

73

0 20 40 60 80 100

Water pollution

Toxic waste

Air quality




Flooding

Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


30

26

24

15

12

12

8

5

3

24

24

32

17

13

16

12

8

5

26

28

23

17

11

12

16

11

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

Sea level rise

Climate change

Flooding




Air quality

Toxic waste

Water pollution

Percent


Delaware.

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


71

69

65

62

61

51

51

50

45

70

68

48

61

50

42

41

35

32

0 20 40 60 80 100

Water pollution

Toxic waste


Air quality

Loss of forest habitat


Climate change

Flooding

Sea level rise

Percent


Delaware.

Coastal

Non-coastal


94

91

91

88

84

81

78

75

73

94

88

92

83

86

71

81

71

67

0 20 40 60 80 100

Water pollution

Air quality

Toxic waste



Flooding


Climate change

Sea level rise

Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


26

22

18

17

12

9

8

7

5

29

28

28

16

12

14

12

8

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Sea level rise

Climate change

Flooding



Declining fish andwildlife

populations

Air quality

Toxic waste

Water pollution

Percent


Delaware.

Coastal

Non-coastal


57.5

52.6

52.6

50.5

49.8

49.7

48.0

47.8

46.3

44.6

43.8

43.7

43.5

42.1

41.9

41.1

39.7

38.2

36.6

36.2

35.5

33.5

14.5

6.8

0 20 40 60 80 100





Female








Total






Male






Percent

Percent who are very concerned about climate change as an environmental issue in Delaware:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) concerned about climate change as an

environmental issue, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 43.5% of Delaware residents are

very concerned about climate change as an environmental issue (striped bar). Those groups

more inclined to be very concerned are above that bar (for instance, 50.5% of those who live in a

coastal area are very concerned); those groups less inclined to be very concerned are below that

bar (for instance, only 35.5% of Kent County residents are very concerned).


48.0

45.4

44.9

44.1

41.9

41.6

40.3

40.0

39.9

38.1

37.2

36.0

35.8

35.4

34.9

33.3

31.6

31.0

29.4

29.3

28.7

27.1

13.2

12.8

0 20 40 60 80 100






Female







Total






Male






Percent

Percent who are very concerned about sea level rise as an environmental issue in Delaware:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) concerned about sea level rise as an


very concerned about sea level rise as an environmental issue (striped bar). Those groups more

inclined to be very concerned are above that bar (for instance, 44.9% of those who live in a


bar (for instance, only 29.4% of males are very concerned).


50.2

45.8

45.7

43.8

43.1

42.8

42.7

42.5

41.5

39.4

39.1

38.2

38.1

37.7

37.7

34.7

34.2

33.1

33.1

32.7

32.0

30.8

16.8

14.8

0 20 40 60 80 100





Female







Total







Male






Percent

Percent who are very concerned about flooding as an environmental issue in Delaware:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) concerned about flooding as an


very concerned about flooding as an environmental issue (striped bar). Those groups more

inclined to be very concerned are above that bar (for instance, 50.2% of those who live in a


bar (for instance, only 32.0% of Kent County residents are very concerned).


76

17

6

0

71

23

51

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q23. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about water pollution in

Delaware?

2009

2014


72

19

72

68

24

7

1

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

tQ24. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about toxic waste in Delaware?

2009

2014


65

22

12

1

61

28

10

00

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

tQ25. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about air quality in Delaware?

2009

2014


36 35

27

2

43

2926

1

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q26. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about climate change in

Delaware?

2009

2014


42

35

23

1

38 36

25

10

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q27. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about flooding in Delaware?

2009

2014


54

30

13

2

52

33

12

3

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q28. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about declining fish and

wildlife populations in Delaware?

2009

2014


45

34

18

3

45

36

16

4

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q29. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about loss of marsh or

wetlands in Delaware?

2009

2014


58

28

12

2

54

32

12

2

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q30. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about loss of forest habitat in

Delaware?

2009

2014


32 3530

3

3633

28

3

0

20

40

60

80

100


Perc

en

t

Q31. Thinking specifically about environmental issues, how concerned are you about sea level rise in

Delaware?

2009

2014


KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE

� Two questions asked residents to rate their knowledge about climate change and sea level

rise. They claim to know a bit more about climate change than sea level rise.

• Most Delaware residents say that they know at least a moderate amount about climate

change: 62% say that they know either a great deal (14%) or a moderate amount (48%).

At the other end, 32% claim to know a little, and only 5% say that they know nothing.

• In looking at knowledge of sea level rise, 41% of residents say that they know a great

deal or moderate amount; meanwhile, 58% say that they know a little or nothing.

o The trends analysis found that self-professed knowledge levels regarding climate

change dropped slightly from 2009 to 2014: 70% reported knowing at least a

moderate amount about climate change in 2009 compared to 62% in 2014, while the

percentage reporting they know a little increased from 25% to 32%. The increase in

those reporting they know a little is statistically significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the

correlation would happen by chance only 1 out of 100 times. The self-reported

knowledge levels regarding sea level rise are about the same as they were in 2009.


14

48

32

5

0

11

30

39

19

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderateamount

A little

Nothing

Don't know

Percent

Q34/Q56. How much would you say you know about [climate change / sea level rise]?

Climate change

Sea level rise


15

49

32

4

0

11

46

38

5

1

16

48

30

6

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderate amount

A little

Nothing

Don't know

Percent

Q34. How much would you say you know about climate change?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


20

43

30

6

1

13

49

34

4

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderateamount

A little

Nothing

Don't know

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


88.0

71.1

70.3

67.1

67.0

66.8

64.4

64.3

63.6

63.6

63.4

62.3

61.6

59.9

58.3

58.0

56.7

56.6

56.2

56.1

52.4

43.8

0 20 40 60 80 100




Male








Total




Female







Percent

Percent stating they know a great deal or a moderate amount about climate change:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to say that they know a great

deal or moderate amount about climate change, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 62.3%

of Delaware residents say that they know a great deal or moderate amount about climate change

(striped bar). Those groups more inclined to say that they know a great deal or moderate amount

are above that bar (for instance, 67.1% of males say this); those groups less inclined to say that

they know a great deal or moderate amount are below that bar (for instance, only 56.6% of Kent

County residents say this).


16

54

25

50

14

48

32

50

0

20

40

60

80

100

A great deal A moderateamount

A little Nothing Don't know

Perc

en

t


2009

2014


11

30

39

20

0

9

28

39

22

1

11

33

40

14

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderateamount

A little

Nothing

Don't know

Percent

Q56. How much would you say you know about sea level rise?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


17

35

37

10

1

10

29

40

22

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderate amount

A little

Nothing

Don't know

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


58.0

52.2

49.6

49.3

48.3

47.0

46.7

45.7

43.9

42.6

40.8

40.8

38.1

37.4

37.3

34.9

34.7

34.7

33.5

33.5

26.9

13.0

0 20 40 60 80 100



Male








Total






Disagrees that there is enough available information about sealevel rise



Female



Percent

Percent stating they know a great deal or a moderate amount about sea level rise:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to say that they know a great

deal or moderate amount about sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 40.8% of

Delaware residents say that they know a great deal or moderate amount about sea level rise

(striped bar). Those groups more inclined to say that they know a great deal or moderate amount

are above that bar (for instance, 52.2% of those who live in a coastal area say this); those groups

less inclined to say that they know a great deal or moderate amount are below that bar (for

instance, only 33.5% of females say this).


9

31

40

19

1

11

30

39

19

10

20

40

60

80

100


A little Nothing Don't know

Perc

en

t


2009

2014


OPINION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE AND WHETHER THEY ARE HAPPENING

� Section summary: This section includes several questions that probe Delaware residents’

beliefs regarding climate change and concomitant sea level rise; with so many related

questions, this summary is included. Residents fall into three camps: deniers/the

misinformed (making up about a quarter of residents), those on the fence, so to speak

(making up about a third), and those who think that climate change and sea level rise are

happening (making up just under half). Note that the questions discussed below were

randomized; some respondents received some questions, and other respondents received

other questions, although all of them received Question 38 about whether climate change is

happening.

• The deniers/misinformed are the 20% who are not so or not at all convinced that climate

change is happening, and the 26% who are not so or not at all convinced that sea level

rise is happening. They include all of the 3% who say that most scientists think climate

change is not happening, and a portion of the 31% who say that there is a lot of

disagreement among scientists about whether it is happening.

• The middle ground consists of those who are convinced that climate change and sea level

rise are happening but are only mostly convinced (rather than completely convinced).

This group consists of the 32% who are mostly convinced about climate change and the

31% who are mostly convinced about sea level rise. Some of this group say that there is

a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether it is happening, while some know

that most scientists think climate change is happening.

• The final group are those who think that climate change and sea level rise are happening.

This group consists of those who are completely convinced that climate change (46%)

and sea level rise (39%) are happening and the 49% who say that most scientists think

climate change is happening.

o The survey questions that made up this section summary are discussed on the

following pages.


� In basic questions, the survey directly asked residents about their opinions on whether

climate change and sea level rise are happening.

• Regarding climate change, 20% of Delaware residents say that they are not so convinced

or not at all convinced that climate change is happening. At the other end, 79% are

completely or mostly convinced; however, a substantial portion of that consists of

residents who are only mostly convinced (46% are completely and 32% are mostly

convinced—rounding on the graph causes the apparent discrepancy in the sum, which is

79% when calculated on unrounded numbers).

o In the trends analysis, the percentages of Delaware residents who say they are

completely convinced climate change is happening increased: 40% said they were

completely convinced in 2009 compared to 46% in 2014; however, this increase is not

statistically significant.

• Likewise, 26% of residents are not so convinced or not at all convinced that sea levels are

rising; 70% are completely or mostly convinced, the latter split between completely

convinced (39%) and mostly convinced (31%).

o Although the percentage of Delaware residents who are completely convinced that sea

levels are rising remains lower than the percentage who are completely convinced

that climate change is happening, the trends analysis shows a substantial increase in

the percentage who are completely convinced that sea levels are rising from 2009 to

2014: 29% in 2009 compared to 39% in 2014. The increases in the percentage of

those who are completely convinced as well as the overall percentage of those who

are completely or mostly convinced (from 63% to 70% combined) are both

statistically significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlation would happen by chance

only 1 out of 100 times.

o The survey included another way to assess opinion on whether climate change is

happening. The survey asked residents if they agree or disagree that “Scientists are

right that climate change is occurring”: while the majority of residents agree (83%), a

substantial percentage (11%) disagree. In sum, 17% do not agree (they respond

neutrally, that they disagree, or that they do not know). The trends analysis shows

that the percentage of Delaware residents who strongly agree that “Scientists are right

that climate change is occurring” increased from 51% in 2009 to 58% in 2014;


however, the overall increase in agreement (strongly and moderately combined) with

this statement is not statistically significant.

o Another question asked residents to say, regardless of their personal views, whether

or not most scientists think climate change is happening (the overwhelming majority

of climate scientists think climate change is happening). Misinformation is rampant,

as 31% say that there is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether it is

happening or not, and another 3% say that most scientists think climate change is not

happening. Only 49% of residents correctly say that most scientists think that climate

change is happening. In the trends analysis, the percentage who say most scientists

think climate change is happening increased (from 42% to 49%); while this increase

is not statistically significant, the decrease among those who say there is a lot of

disagreement and the increase among those who say they don’t know enough to say

are each statistically significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlation would happen by

chance only 1 out of 100 times.

o A follow-up question asked residents to say whether climate change, if it is indeed

happening, is caused mostly by human activities, mostly by natural changes in the

environment, or both about equally. Most commonly, residents say it is caused

mostly by human activities (41%), while 24% say mostly natural causes, and 29% say

both about equally.

o Another question asked if residents agree or disagree that “Climate change is

contributing to the rise in sea levels.” The majority (79%) agree, but 11% disagree.

(The remainder answer neutrally or do not know.) The percentage who strongly

agree that “Climate change is contributing to the rise in sea levels” increased (from

52% in 2009 to 57% in 2014), but it is not a statistically significant change.

� The survey delved into personal experiences with climate change and sea level rise, asking

residents if they agree or disagree that they have personally experienced the impacts of

climate change and sea level rise.

• A slight majority agree that they have “personally experienced or observed local impacts

of climate change” (53%), but 40% disagree. (The remainder answer neutrally or do not

know.)


• Just over a quarter agree that they have “personally experienced the impacts of sea level

rise” (28%), but the majority disagree (66%). (The remainder answer neutrally or do not

know.)

o In the trends analysis, the percentage of those who agree (strongly or moderately

combined) that they have personally experienced the impacts of sea level rise

increased substantially from 22% in 2009 to 30% in 2014. This increase is

statistically significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlation would happen by chance

only 1 out of 100 times.


46

32

13

7

1

39

31

17

9

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Completelyconvinced

Mostly convinced

Not so convinced

Not at all convinced

Don't know

Percent

Q38/Q58. How convinced are you that [climate change is happening / sea levels are rising]?

Would you say you are completely convinced, mostly convinced, not so convinced, or not at

all convinced?

Climate change ishappening

Sea levels are rising


48

33

12

6

0

49

29

14

7

1

39

33

15

11

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Completely convinced

Mostly convinced

Not so convinced


Don't know

Percent

Q38. How convinced are you that climate change is happening? Would you say you are

completely convinced, mostly convinced, not so convinced, or not at all convinced?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


50

31

9

9

1

45

33

14

7

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Completelyconvinced

Mostly convinced

Not so convinced

Not at allconvinced

Don't know

Percent

Q38. How convinced are you that climate change is happening? Would you say you are

completely convinced, mostly convinced, not so convinced, or not at all convinced?

Coastal Non-coastal


91.4

90.7

84.3

84.1

83.2

81.5

81.4

81.3

81.1

80.6

79.6

78.8

78.1

78.0

77.8

77.3

76.5

74.6

74.0

72.6

70.0

46.0

0 20 40 60 80 100





Female







Total







Male




Percent

Percent who are (completely or mostly) convinced climate change is happening:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to say that they are completely

or mostly convinced that climate change is happening, relative to residents as a whole. Overall,

78.8% of Delaware residents are completely or mostly convinced that climate change is

happening (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to say so are above that bar (for instance,

83.2% of females say that they are completely or mostly convinced); those groups less inclined

to say so are below that bar (for instance, only 74.0% of males are completely or mostly

convinced).


40

30

17

10

3

46

32

13

7

10

20

40

60

80

100

Completelyconvinced

Mostly convinced Not so convinced Not at allconvinced

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q38. How convinced are you that climate change is happening?

2009

2014


39

31

17

8

5

40

30

17

8

5

38

31

16

11

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Completely convinced

Mostly convinced

Not so convinced


Don't know

Percent

Q58. How convinced are you that sea levels are rising? Would you say you are completely

convinced, mostly convinced, not so convinced, or not at all convinced?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


47

26

14

10

3

38

32

17

8

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Completelyconvinced

Mostly convinced

Not so convinced


Don't know

Percent

Q58. How convinced are you that sea levels are rising? Would you say you are completely

convinced, mostly convinced, not so convinced, or not at all convinced?

Coastal Non-coastal


84.1

80.6

80.3

77.2

75.4

73.2

72.9

71.8

71.1

70.8

70.4

70.3

70.2

70.1

69.6

69.6

69.2

69.2

63.0

62.5

61.8

30.5

0 20 40 60 80 100









Female




Total





Male





Percent

Percent who are (completely or mostly) convinced sea levels are rising:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to say that they are completely

or mostly convinced that sea level rise is happening, relative to residents as a whole. Overall,

70.2% of Delaware residents are completely or mostly convinced that sea level rise is happening

(striped bar). Those groups more inclined to say so are above that bar (for instance, 72.9% of

those who live in a coastal area say that they are completely or mostly convinced); those groups

less inclined to say so are below that bar (for instance, only 69.2% of males are completely or

mostly convinced).


2934

22

11

5

39

31

17

95

0

20

40

60

80

100

Completelyconvinced

Mostly convinced Not so convinced Not at allconvinced

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q58. How convinced are you that sea levels are rising?

2009

2014


58

25

4

4

7

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree

Neither agree nordisagree

Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q83. Scientists are right that climate change is occurring. (Do you agree or disagree with this

statement?)


62

23

4

5

5

1

49

31

2

6

8

3

52

26

4

3

11

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


statement?)

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


61

26

3

1

7

2

57

25

3

5

7

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


statement?)

Coastal Non-coastal


94.2

94.2

92.1

89.6

87.2

87.2

86.6

86.5

85.5

85.1

83.3

82.8

82.7

82.6

82.3

82.2

81.2

80.3

80.2

78.1

77.4

76.3

50.0

38.0

0 20 40 60 80 100





Female








Total








Male




Percent

Percent who agree (strongly or moderately) that scientists are right that climate change is

occuring:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that scientists are right

that climate change is occurring, relative to what residents as a whole think. Overall, 82.7% of

Delaware residents agree that scientists are right that climate change is occurring (striped bar).

Those groups more inclined to agree are above that bar (for instance, 87.2% of females agree);

those groups less inclined to agree are below that bar (for instance, only 77.4% of males agree).


51

28

5 58

3

58

25

4 47

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree

Neither agreenor disagree

Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

tQ83. Do you agree or disagree with this statement:

Scientists are right that climate change is occurring.

2009

2014


49

31

3

17

0 20 40 60 80 100

Most scientists thinkclimate change is

happening.

There is a lot ofdisagreement among

scientists aboutwhether or not climatechange is happening.

Most scientists thinkclimate change isNOT happening.

I don't feel I knowenough to say.

Percent

Q39. Which of the following statements best describes your own view of climate change?


53

29

2

15

44

31

3

22

42

37

3

18

0 20 40 60 80 100


happening.


scientists aboutwhether climate change

is happening.

Most scientists thinkclimate change is not

happening.


Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


42

38

1

18

51

30

3

16

0 20 40 60 80 100


happening.




happening.


Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


42 42

5

12

49

31

3

17

0

20

40

60

80

100


happening.




happening.


Perc

en

t


2009

2012


41

24

29

3

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Caused mostly byhuman activities

Caused mostly bynatural changes in the

environment

Caused about equallyby human activities

and natural changes

None of these becauseclimate change isn't

happening

Don't know

Percent

Q40. Please tell me which comes closer to your own view. If climate change is happening, do

you think it is...?


44

23

27

2

0

3

39

28

29

2

1

1

33

25

34

6

0

2

0 20 40 60 80 100


Caused mostly bynatural changes inthe environment

Caused aboutequally by human

activities andnatural changes

None of thesebecause climate

change isn'thappening

Other

Don't know

Percent


you think it is...?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


41

19

33

5

0

3

40

26

29

3

1

2

0 20 40 60 80 100


Caused mostly bynatural changes inthe environment

Caused aboutequally by human

activities andnatural changes

None of thesebecause climate

change isn'thappening

Other

Don't know

Percent


you think it is...?

Coastal Non-coastal


57

22

4

3

8

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q98. Climate change is contributing to the rise in sea levels. (Do you agree or disagree with

this statement?)


63

19

5

3

6

5

48

29

2

4

10

6

49

25

4

3

14

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


this statement?)

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


60

18

4

2

12

5

57

22

5

4

7

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


this statement?)

Coastal

Non-coastal


90.7

90.6

88.2

86.0

85.5

82.9

82.9

82.7

82.6

81.3

81.3

80.0

79.2

79.0

78.3

78.0

77.0

75.7

74.9

74.8

74.3

50.4

46.4

0 20 40 60 80 100







Female







Total





Male





Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who agree (strongly or moderately) that climate

change is contributing to the rise in sea levels:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that climate change is

contributing to sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 79.0% of Delaware

residents agree (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to agree are above that bar (for

instance, 82.9% of females agree); those groups less inclined to agree are below that bar (for

instance, only 74.9% of males agree).


52

23

36

10 7

57

22

4 38

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en


Climate change is contributing to the rise in sea levels.

2009

2014


33

20

6

16

24

2

16

12

4

18

48

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q84. I have personally experienced or observed local impacts of climate change.

Q99. I have personally experienced the impacts of sea level rise.

(Do you agree or disagree with these statements?)

Climate change

Sea level rise


34

19

6

14

24

2

29

22

5

16

26

3

31

21

5

19

23

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q84. I have personally experienced or observed local impacts of climate change. (Do you agree

or disagree with this statement?)

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


43

24

4

10

16

2

30

19

6

18

27

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q84. I have personally experienced or observed local impacts of climate change. (Do you agree

or disagree with this statement?)

Coastal Non-coastal


67.5

66.0

65.2

63.8

61.4

58.0

57.4

56.1

55.3

55.2

54.9

53.5

52.7

52.2

51.6

50.9

50.7

50.1

48.7

44.9

44.0

43.6

19.1

18.6

0 20 40 60 80 100










Female



Total





Male







Percent

Percent who agree (strongly or moderately) that they have personally experienced or observed

local impacts of climate change:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that they have

personally experienced or observed local impacts of climate change, relative to residents as a

whole. Overall, 52.7% of Delaware residents agree (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to

agree are above that bar (for instance, 67.5% of those who live in a coastal area agree); those

groups less inclined to agree are below that bar (for instance, only 50.1% of males agree).


14

11

5

18

50

2

14

15

3

17

50

2

21

14

2

17

45

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q99. I have personally experienced the impacts of sea level rise. (Do you agree or disagree with

this statement?)

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


32

15

4

17

30

2

11

11

4

18

54

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q99. I have personally experienced the impacts of sea level rise. (Do you agree or disagree with

this statement?)

Coastal

Non-coastal


47.0

35.2

34.8

34.4

33.0

32.8

32.7

30.8

29.4

28.7

28.3

28.2

28.0

27.8

27.5

26.9

26.2

25.6

25.0

24.6

21.9

8.9

6.9

0 20 40 60 80 100





Agrees that there is enough available information about sea…

Disagrees that there is enough available information about…

Is completely or mostly convinced that climate change is…


Female



Knows a great deal or a moderate amount about climate…


Total



Male





Is not so or not at all convinced that climate change is…


Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who agree (strongly or moderately) that s/he has

personally experienced the impacts of sea level rise:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that they have

personally experienced the impacts of sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall,

27.8% of Delaware residents agree (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to agree are above

that bar (for instance, 47.0% of those who live in a coastal area agree); those groups less inclined

to agree are below that bar (for instance, only 26.2% of males agree).


139

1

17

56

3

1612

4

18

48

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

tQ99. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: I have personally experienced the impacts of sea level

rise.

2009

2014


PERCEPTIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE AS A THREAT

� About a fifth of Delaware residents (19%) are complacent about climate change, saying that

climate change as a threat is not very serious or not at all serious. At the other end of the

scale, 34% say it is a somewhat serious threat, and 45% say it is a very serious threat.

• The trends analysis shows a substantial increase in the percentage of those who say

climate change is a very serious threat, increasing from 38% in 2009 to 45% in 2014; this

increase is significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlation would happen by chance only

1 out of 100 times. The percentage of those who think climate change is a somewhat

serious threat decreased, while opinions that climate change is not very or not at all

serious and “don’t know” responses remained relatively stable, suggesting that perhaps

those who already thought climate change was a somewhat serious threat now progressed

to believing it is a very serious threat.

� A question asked about level of worry about sea level rise: 31% of residents are not at all

worried about sea level rise. Moving up the scale, 24% are only a little worried, 31% are

worried a moderate amount, and 13% are worried a great deal.

• In the trends analysis, the percentages of residents who worry about sea level rise a great

deal and a moderate amount both increased slightly, resulting in a combined increased

from 39% who were worried a great deal or a moderate amount in 2009 to 44% in 2014.

The combined increase is significant at p ≤ 0.05, meaning the correlation would happen

by chance only 5 out of 100 times.

� The survey presented ten items and asked respondents to rate how much of a threat climate

change was to each. The items fall into four tiers:

• The top tier consists of people’ health and Delaware’s agriculture: 45% and 44%,

respectively, say that climate change is a very serious threat to the items.

• The next tier consists of people’s safety and the natural resources of Delaware: 38% and

34% say it is a very serious threat to them.


• The third tier is made up of Delaware’s economy, Delaware’s infrastructure, and outdoor

recreation in Delaware: 30%, 29%, and 28%, respectively, say climate change is a very

serious threat to these.

• The bottom tier consists of national security, the local community, and people’s homes:

less than 25% think climate change is a very serious threat to these.

� Similar to the above series, another series presented 15 items to residents and asked them to

say how much of a threat sea level rise is to each. In looking at the percentages who think

that sea level rise is a very serious threat, three tiers emerge:

• Two items are at the top substantially ahead of the rest of the items: Delaware’s beaches

and ocean-front cities and towns in Delaware. On these, 57% and 56%, respectively,

think sea level rise is a very serious threat.

• A middle tier consists of 9 of the 15 items, with a quarter to just under half saying sea

level rise is a very serious threat: these include marsh and wetlands areas and riverfront

cities and towns in Delaware, as well as Delaware’s public works systems, its wildlife

populations, its economy, and outdoor recreation in Delaware.

• The bottom tier is people’s local community, themselves, their property, and their

families. Each of these has less than 25% saying that sea level rise is a very serious threat

to it.

o In the trends analysis, the percentages of residents who think sea level rise is a very

serious threat increased the most for river-front cities and towns in Delaware (from

34% in 2009 to 43% in 2014), the State of Delaware (from 33% to 42%), the mid-

Atlantic U.S. (from 30% to 38%), ocean-front cities and towns in Delaware (from

48% to 56%), and outdoor recreation in Delaware (from 24% to 29%). These

increases were each significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlations would happen by

chance only 1 out of 100 times. The percentages of residents who think sea level rise

is a very serious threat also increased slightly for nearly every other item on the list

except for Delaware’s economy and residents themselves.


� Two questions examined perceptions of the timing of climate change and sea level rise.

• Residents were asked when they think climate change will have an impact on their area.

The most common response is that it is having impacts now (41% give this response).

Another 33% give a time of 25 years or less. However, 18% consist of those saying 50 or

100 years or saying never (i.e., climate change is not happening).

• Regarding sea level rise, 20% say now, 40% give a time of 25 years or less, and 29%

saying 50 or 100 years or never.

o In the trends analysis, the percentage of residents who say sea level rise is having

impacts now in the area where they live increased from 14% in 2009 to 20% in 2014;

this increase is significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlation would happen by


� The majority of Delaware residents choose Sussex County (74%) as the county that is most

threatened by sea level rise, with only 7% choosing New Castle County and 7% choosing

Kent County.

• The trends analysis shows that the percentages of Delaware residents who think one of

Delaware’s three counties is the county most threatened by sea level rise changed slightly

for each county, but these changes are not statistically significant.


45

34

10

9

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Very serious

Somewhat serious

Not very serious

Not at all serious

Don't know

Percent

Q36. How serious a threat do you think climate change is?


47

36

9

8

1

44

33

10

10

4

42

32

14

10

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Very serious

Somewhat serious

Not very serious

Not at all serious

Don't know

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


51

32

7

8

2

44

35

11

9

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Very serious

Somewhat serious

Not very serious

Not at all serious

Don't know

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


91.8

91.6

89.9

87.2

84.6

82.7

82.5

82.1

81.8

80.9

80.6

79.9

79.9

79.5

79.3

79.0

77.1

76.6

75.8

73.9

73.4

70.8

51.1

33.0

0 20 40 60 80 100





Female









Total






Male





Percent

Percent who think that climate change is a very or somewhat serious threat:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to say that climate change is a

very or serious threat, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 79.5% of Delaware residents say

that climate change is a very or somewhat serious threat (striped bar). Those groups more

inclined to say so are above that bar (for instance, 84.6% of females say this); those groups less

inclined to say so are below that bar (for instance, only 73.9% of males say this).


38 39

11 10

2

45

34

10 9

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Very serious Somewhatserious

Not very serious Not at all serious Don't know

Perc

en

t


2009

2014


13

31

24

31

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderate amount

Only a little

Not at all

Don't know

Percent

Q59. How much do you personally worry about sea level rise? Would you say a great deal, a moderate amount, only a little, or not at all?


13

30

26

31

1

15

26

28

30

1

14

36

18

31

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderate amount

Only a little

Not at all

Don't know

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


24

34

14

27

1

11

30

28

31

0

0 20 40 60 80 100

A great deal

A moderate amount

Only a little

Not at all

Don't know

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


70.0

58.4

57.9

56.4

53.4

53.3

51.6

50.4

49.4

49.2

46.5

44.1

42.4

42.3

41.7

41.1

40.2

38.8

38.2

37.3

35.3

31.8

12.6

10.9

0 20 40 60 80 100










Female


Total






Male







Percent

Percent who worry a great deal or moderate amount about sea level rise:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to say that they worry a great

deal or moderate amount about sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 44.1% of

Delaware residents worry a great deal or moderate amount (striped bar). Those groups more

inclined to worry are above that bar (for instance, 58.4% of those who live in a coastal area are

worried a great deal or moderate amount); those groups less inclined to be worried are below that

bar (for instance, only 38.8% of males are worried a great deal or moderate amount).


11

28 29 31

1

13

31

24

31

10

20

40

60

80

100


Only a little Not at all Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q59. How much do you personally worry about sea level rise?

2009


45

44

38

34

30

29

28

24

21

18

0 20 40 60 80 100

People’s health

Delaware’s agriculture

People’s safety

Natural resources ofDelaware

Delaware’s economy

Delaware’s infrastructure

Outdoor recreationin Delaware

National security

Your localcommunity

Your home

Percent

Q44-Q53. Percent of respondents who think climate change is a very serious threat to each

of the following.


78

77

72

70

66

65

65

57

53

49

0 20 40 60 80 100

People’s health


People’s safety





Your localcommunity

National security

Your home

Percent

Q44-Q53. Percent of respondents who think climate change is a very or somewhat serious

threat to each of the following.


25

24

17

17

13

12

12

12

10

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your home

National security

Outdoor recreation inDelaware

Your localcommunity




People’s safety

People’s health


Percent

Q44-Q53. Percent of respondents who think climate change is not at all a threat to each of

the following.


49

39

38

31

29

28

25

24

21

18

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your home

National security

Your localcommunity




People’s safety


People’s health


Percent

Q44-Q53. Percent of respondents who think climate change is not at all a threat or not a very

serious threat to each of the following.


47

44

38

35

31

28

27

26

20

19

45

45

36

32

23

26

34

21

19

15

41

46

36

32

27

29

33

18

25

20

0 20 40 60 80 100

People’s health


People’s safety

Natural resourcesof Delaware




National security

Your localcommunity

Your home

Percent


of the following.

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


80

78

74

72

67

66

65

57

57

48

77

76

70

68

60

64

66

48

54

44

71

75

69

67

63

62

66

47

60

54

0 20 40 60 80 100

People’s health


People’s safety





National security

Your localcommunity

Your home

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


25

22

16

16

13

11

10

10

8

7

26

28

20

19

11

13

13

13

11

8

25

25

15

16

17

14

14

14

13

12

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your home

National security

Your localcommunity





People’s safety

People’s health


Percent


the following.

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


49

38

37

29

29

28

24

23

19

17

52

40

42

27

35

28

28

24

20

18

45

37

45

31

34

31

28

26

27

22

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your home

Your localcommunity

National security




People’s safety


People’s health


Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


49

48

46

44

37

36

35

31

31

24

45

44

31

36

26

29

18

15

29

23

0 20 40 60 80 100

People’s health


Natural resources of Delaware

People’s safety



Your local community

Your home


National security

Percent


of the following.

Coastal

Non-coastal


78

77

75

72

71

71

69

67

58

57

77

71

79

64

70

64

65

54

52

47

0 20 40 60 80 100


People’s safety

People’s health




Outdoor recreation in Delaware


National security

Your home

Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


18

18

17

13

13

12

12

11

11

9

25

27

16

12

18

12

14

11

9

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

National security

Your home




People’s safety



People’s health


Percent


the following.

Coastal

Non-coastal


42

34

31

30

24

23

23

21

20

18

50

41

42

31

19

31

29

26

24

18

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your home

National security



People’s health



People’s safety



Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


57

56

47

43

42

39

38

34

33

30

29

22

18

16

16

0 20 40 60 80 100

Delaware beaches

Ocean-front cities and towns in Delaware

Marsh and wetlands in Delaware

River-front cities and towns in Delaware

The State of Delaware

The Mid-Atlantic U.S.

The United States

Delaware's public works systems, such aspublic buildings, roads, and sewer systems

Delaware's wildlife populations

Delaware's economy



You personally

Your property

Your family

Percent

Q62-Q76. Percent of respondents who think sea level rise is a very serious threat to each of the

following.


83

81

77

77

76

76

76

69

66

65

61

49

45

41

37

0 20 40 60 80 100


Delaware beaches



The United States





Delaware's economy



You personally

Your family

Your property

Percent

Q62-Q76. Percent of respondents who think sea level rise is a very or somewhat serious threat

to each of the following.


39

37

32

23

15

13

13

12

11

10

9

8

8

8

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your property

Your family

You personally





Delaware's economy


The United States



Delaware beaches



Percent

Q62-Q76. Percent of respondents who think sea level rise is not at all a threat to each of the

following.


60

57

52

48

34

30

29

27

21

20

19

19

17

15

13

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your property

Your family

You personally



Delaware's economy





The United States



Delaware beaches


Percent

Q62-Q76. Percent of respondents who think sea level rise is not at all a threat or not a very



59

56

46

43

43

42

41

32

31

27

26

18

18

16

15

55

58

49

44

35

41

38

37

34

32

33

24

15

14

13

56

56

48

42

28

42

35

33

39

37

34

31

21

16

23

0 20 40 60 80 100

Delaware beaches




The United States





Delaware's economy



You personally

Your family

Your property

Percent


following.

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


82

81

80

78

77

76

76

69

64

63

59

46

46

43

37

83

85

70

76

77

79

73

64

64

60

61

42

48

37

32

83

80

70

71

75

77

77

72

72

76

67

47

59

38

42

0 20 40 60 80 100


Delaware beaches


The United States






Delaware's economy


You personally


Your family

Your property

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


38

36

31

23

17

15

13

12

11

8

8

8

7

7

6

44

41

34

29

14

10

15

14

8

7

9

10

9

5

4

37

38

32

20

12

11

13

11

13

9

15

12

8

12

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your property

Your family

You personally





Delaware's economy



The United States



Delaware beaches


Percent

Q62-Q76. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to each of the following?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


60

55

51

51

37

32

31

26

20

18

17

17

17

15

13

64

61

55

47

31

32

28

29

20

20

14

19

23

13

13

58

60

51

40

30

22

25

26

24

19

18

26

24

18

14

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your property

Your family

You personally



Delaware's economy






The United States


Delaware beaches


Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


67

65

60

53

52

52

51

50

49

48

44

39

38

38

31

54

56

40

29

39

46

29

36

15

25

27

12

38

10

12

0 20 40 60 80 100


Delaware beaches


Delaware's public works systems, such as publicbuildings, roads, and sewer systems







Delaware's economy

You personally

The United States

Your property

Your family

Percent


following.

Coastal

Non-coastal


87

85

84

82

81

80

78

77

77

76

75

73

60

60

55

83

74

82

77

75

77

66

63

77

58

62

43

41

31

36

0 20 40 60 80 100



Delaware beaches






The United States


Delaware's economy


You personally

Your property

Your family

Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


29

24

23

14

11

11

10

10

10

9

9

9

8

5

4

40

34

43

12

11

7

14

16

10

14

27

8

9

6

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your family

You personally

Your property

Delaware's economy


Delaware beaches



The United States







Percent

Q62-Q76. Percent of respondents who think sea level rise is not at all a threat to each of the

following.

Coastal

Non-coastal


44

39

38

27

23

22

21

20

19

16

15

14

14

11

10

62

66

56

54

38

32

32

29

19

21

20

17

15

13

20

0 20 40 60 80 100

Your family

Your property

You personally



Delaware's economy



The United States




Delaware beaches



Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


89.5

87.1

86.0

84.3

82.4

82.1

82.0

81.5

79.3

78.0

77.9

77.4

77.4

76.8

76.6

76.6

75.7

74.7

74.1

73.0

71.5

69.3

44.7

44.5

0 20 40 60 80 100






Female








Total







Male




Percent

Percent who think sea level rise is a very or somewhat serious threat to the state of

Delaware:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to think that sea level rise is a

very or somewhat serious threat to Delaware, relative to what residents as a whole think.

Overall, 76.8% of Delaware residents think that sea level rise is a very or somewhat serious

threat to Delaware (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to think this are above that bar (for

instance, 82.1% of females think so); those groups less inclined to think so are below that bar

(for instance, only 71.5% of males think so).


73.0

59.5

58.7

56.9

56.7

56.1

56.0

50.8

49.8

49.2

48.6

48.1

47.9

47.9

47.0

46.7

45.8

44.5

42.6

42.6

41.1

39.6

25.2

22.3

0 20 40 60 80 100






Female




Total











Male




Percent

Percent who think sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat to the local community:




very or somewhat serious threat to their local community, relative to what residents as a whole

think. Overall, 49.2% of Delaware residents think that sea level rise is a very or somewhat

serious threat to their local community (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to think this

are above that bar (for instance, 73.0% of those who live in a coastal area think so); those groups

less inclined to think so are below that bar (for instance, only 41.1% of males think so).


60.4

55.2

55.0

53.6

53.2

52.1

50.6

48.3

46.6

46.3

46.1

45.7

45.5

45.4

44.9

44.2

42.4

41.7

41.2

39.9

38.6

37.2

20.8

16.8

0 20 40 60 80 100








Female






Total



Male








Percent

Percent who think sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat to themselves:




very or somewhat serious threat to themselves, relative to what residents as a whole think.

Overall, 45.4% of Delaware residents think that sea level rise is a very or somewhat serious

threat to themselves (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to think this are above that bar

(for instance, 48.3% of females think so); those groups less inclined to think so are below that

bar (for instance, only 42.4% of males think so).


31

42

1013

4

38 38

10 10

4

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q62. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to the United States?

2009

2014


30

38

1215

5

38 38

10 104

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q63. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to the Mid-Atlantic U.S.?

2009

2014


3338

12 13

4

42

35

10 11

2

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q64. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to the State of Delaware?

2009

2014


53

26

711

4

57

24

7 83

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q65. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to Delaware beaches?

2009

2014


42

32

10 11

5

47

30

8 86

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q66. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to marsh and wetlands in Delaware?

2009

2014


48

28

912

3

56

27

7 6 4

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q67. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to ocean-front cities and towns in Delaware?

2009

2014


3437

12 14

3

43

32

118 6

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

tQ68. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is

to river-front cities and towns in Delaware?

2009

2014


24

37

17 18

4

2932

1915

4

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en


to outdoor recreation in Delaware?

2009

2014


32

38

13 13

3

33 33

1613

5

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en


to Delaware's wildlife populations?

2009

2014


3235

14 15

4

3035

1712

5

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q71. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to Delaware's economy?

2009

2014


3036

15 14

5

34 35

13 13

5

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q72. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to Delaware's public works systems, such as public

buildings, roads, and sewer systems?

2009

2014


19

2924

26

3

22

2725 23

3

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en


to your local community?

2009

2014


13

23 23

38

3

1621 22

39

2

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q74. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to your property?

2009

2014


14

2722

34

3

16

2520

37

2

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en


to your family?

2009

2014


18

31

20

30

2

18

28

20

32

3

0

20

40

60

80

100



Perc

en

t

Q76. How serious a threat do you think sea level rise is to you personally?

2009

2014


41

12

11

10

6

6

6

7

20

10

12

18

10

10

9

11

0 20 40 60 80 100

It is havingimpacts now

In 5 years

In 10 years

In 25 years

In 50 years

In 100 years

Never

Don't know

Percent

Climate change

Sea level rise

Q54/Q79. When do you think [climate change / sea level rise] will start to have impacts on the area where you live in Delaware? Is it having impacts

now, will it have impacts in 5 years, 10 years, in 25 years, in 50 years, in 100 years, or will it never have

impacts?


40

14

11

10

6

6

5

7

43

9

12

9

6

6

7

8

43

11

8

11

5

5

9

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

It is having impactsnow

5 years

10 years

25 years

50 years

100 years

Never / climatechange is not

happening

Don't know

Percent

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Q54. When do you think climate change will start to have impacts on the area in which you live in

Delaware? Is it having impacts now, or will it start to have impacts in 5 years? 10 years? 25 years? 50

years? 100 years? Or never because climate change is not happening?


52

13

7

8

2

4

7

5

39

12

12

11

7

6

6

7

0 20 40 60 80 100


5 years

10 years

25 years

50 years

100 years

Never / climatechange is not

happening

Don't know

Percent

Coastal Non-coastal

Q54. When do you think climate change will start to have impacts on the area in which you live in

Delaware? Is it having impacts now, or will it start to have impacts in 5 years? 10 years? 25 years? 50

years? 100 years? Or never because climate change is not happening?


52.4

51.9

50.4

49.2

48.5

47.5

47.4

45.5

44.0

43.1

42.6

42.3

41.3

40.3

39.7

38.6

38.5

37.2

34.6

34.5

34.2

33.8

19.0

6.7

0 20 40 60 80 100







Female






Total







Male





Percent

Percent who think climate change is having impacts now:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to think that climate change is

having impacts now, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 41.3% of Delaware residents think

that climate change is having impacts now (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to think so

are above that bar (for instance, 52.4% of those who live in a coastal area think climate change is

having impacts now); those groups less inclined to think so are below that bar (for instance, only

34.5% of males think so).


17

9

12

20

11

10

9

11

14

15

15

15

9

8

12

12

31

10

9

17

7

9

7

10

0 20 40 60 80 100


In 5 years

In 10 years

In 25 years

In 50 years

In 100 years

Never / sea levelsare not rising

Don't know

Percent

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Q79. When do you think sea level rise will start to have impacts on the area where you live in

Delaware? Is it having impacts now, will it have impacts in 5 years, 10 years, in 25 years, in 50

years, in 100 years, or will it never have impacts?


36

14

11

12

4

7

4

11

16

10

12

20

12

11

10

9

0 20 40 60 80 100


In 5 years

In 10 years

In 25 years

In 50 years

In 100 years


Don't know

Percent

Coastal Non-coastal

Q79. When do you think sea level rise will start to have impacts on the area where you live in

Delaware? Is it having impacts now, will it have impacts in 5 years, 10 years, in 25 years, in 50

years, in 100 years, or will it never have impacts?


36.1

30.7

26.5

24.8

23.9

23.5

23.3

22.6

22.2

21.8

21.0

20.4

19.6

17.3

16.9

16.9

16.7

16.4

15.7

14.5

14.3

12.9

7.9

7.6

0 20 40 60 80 100




Female









Total







Male





Percent

Percent who think sea level rise is having impacts now:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to think that sea level rise is

having impacts now, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 19.6% of Delaware residents think

that sea level rise is having impacts now (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to think so

are above that bar (for instance, 36.1% of those who live in a coastal area think that sea level rise

is having impacts now); those groups less inclined to think so are below that bar (for instance,

only 14.5% of males think so).


149

1317

12 11 12 12

20

10 12

18

10 10 9 11

0

20

40

60

80

100

It is havingimpacts

now

In 5 years In 10 years In 25 years In 50 years In 100years

Never / sealevels arenot rising

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q79. When do you think sea level rise will start to have impacts on the area where you live in Delaware?

2009

2014


7

7

74

12

0 20 40 60 80 100

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Don't know

Percent

Q77. In your opinion, which Delaware county is most threatened by sea level rise?


9

7

71

13

4

13

73

9

3

2

82

13

0 20 40 60 80 100

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Don't know

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


9

6

74

11

6

7

75

12

0 20 40 60 80 100

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Don't know

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


5 5

78

127 7

74

12

0

20

40

60

80

100

New Castle Kent Sussex Don't know

Perc

en

t


2009

2014


POTENTIAL ACTIONS PERCEIVED TO AFFECT CLIMATE CHANGE

PERCEPTIONS OF EFFICACY OF TAKING ACTION TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE

� A majority of Delaware residents (72%) agree that the impacts of climate change can be

reduced by human efforts; on the other hand, 21% disagree. Likewise, 59% agree that sea

level rise can be reduced by human efforts, while 29% disagree.

• Similarly, 65% agree that they can personally take actions that will help reduce climate

change; meanwhile, 28% disagree.

• A negative phrasing of a question found that 65% of residents disagree that the actions of

a single person…won’t make any difference in reducing climate change, while 32%

agree.

o While a majority of Delaware residents agree that the impacts of climate change can

be reduced by human efforts, the trends analysis shows a slight increase in the

percentage of those who strongly disagree (from 11% in 2009 to 15% in 2014); this

increase is statistically significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlation would happen

by chance only 1 out of 100 times, but the similar increase in the percentage of those

who strongly disagree that they can personally take actions that will help reduce

climate change is not statistically significant.

o The trends analysis also shows that although overall agreement that sea level rise can

be reduced by human efforts decreased slightly, the small increase in the percentage

of residents who strongly agree is not statistically significant.

o Overall disagreement with the negative statement that the actions of a single person…

won’t make any difference in reducing climate change remained relatively stable

from 2009 to 2014.

� Two questions delved into the amount of action that can be taken to reduce climate change,

both asking about agreement or disagreement with statements. The first statement says that

“There is limited action that can be taken to reduce climate change,” and the second

statement says that “There are many actions that can be taken to reduce climate change.” A


greater percentage agree that there are many actions that can be taken than agree that there is

limited action that can be taken.

• For limited action, 49% of residents agree that there is limited action that can be taken to

reduce climate change. However, 42% disagree with this statement.

• For many actions, 70% of residents agree that there are many actions that can be taken to

reduce climate change, while only 19% disagree.

o In the trends analysis, there is a decrease in the percentage of residents who disagree

(moderately or strongly) that there is limited action that can be taken to reduce

climate change (from 47% in 2009 to 42% in 2014), and this change is significant at

p ≤ 0.05, meaning the correlation would happen by chance only 5 out of 100 times.

For the statement about many actions can be taken, agreement and disagreement

remained relatively stable from 2009 to 2014.


47

25

4

6

15

3

38

21

3

8

21

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q85. The impacts of climate change can be reduced by human efforts.

Q101. Sea level rise can be reduced by human efforts.

(Do you agree or disagree with these statements?

Climate change

Sea level rise


52

22

3

6

15

2

41

30

3

8

13

4

38

31

4

7

18

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q85. The impacts of climate change can be reduced by human efforts. (Do you agree or

disagree with this statement?)

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


42

29

4

5

17

2

48

24

3

7

15

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q85. The impacts of climate change can be reduced by human efforts. (Do you agree or


Coastal Non-coastal


89.7

84.3

81.9

80.4

78.1

75.5

75.2

73.8

73.7

73.4

72.7

72.1

71.4

71.3

70.6

70.6

70.2

69.8

69.4

68.8

68.7

58.9

44.2

38.8

0 20 40 60 80 100






Female






Total









Male




Percent

Percent who agree (strongly or moderately) that the impacts of climate change can be reduced

by human efforts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that the impacts of

climate change can be reduced by human efforts, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 72.1%

of Delaware residents agree that the impacts of climate change can be reduced by human efforts

(striped bar). Those groups more inclined to agree are above that bar (for instance, 75.5% of

females agree); those groups less inclined to agree are below that bar (for instance, only 68.7%

of males agree).


48

28

28

11

3

47

25

46

15

3

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

tQ85. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: The impacts of climate change can be reduced by human

efforts.

2009

2014


41

20

3

6

21

10

30

26

4

10

23

8

38

22

3

10

22

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q101. Sea level rise can be reduced by human efforts. (Do you agree or disagree with this

statement?)

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


43

20

4

6

21

6

37

22

2

8

22

9

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q101. Sea level rise can be reduced by human efforts. (Do you agree or disagree with this

statement?)

Coastal

Non-coastal


76.6

71.0

66.3

64.4

63.1

62.4

62.1

61.1

60.9

60.6

59.6

59.4

59.3

59.0

59.0

58.5

56.8

56.5

55.7

54.7

53.5

33.8

33.7

0 20 40 60 80 100










Male

Total



Female






Knows a little or nothing about sea level rise rise




Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who agree (strongly or moderately) that sea level

rise can be reduced by human efforts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that sea level rise can

be reduced by human efforts, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 59.6% of Delaware

residents agree that sea level rise can be reduced by human efforts (striped bar). Those groups

more inclined to agree are above that bar (for instance, 62.4% of those who live in a coastal area

agree); those groups less inclined to agree are below that bar (for instance, only 55.7% of Kent

County residents agree).


3227

49

20

8

38

21

38

21

9

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q101. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: Sea level rise can be reduced by human efforts.

2009

2014


44

21

3

7

21

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q93. You can personally take actions that will help reduce climate change. (Do you agree or



44

19

4

7

22

4

41

28

2

7

16

5

44

22

2

6

21

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


44

17

1

11

23

4

43

23

4

6

20

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



Coastal Non-coastal


44

26

37

16

3

44

21

37

21

4

0

20

40

60

80

100

Strongly agree Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q93. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: You can personally take actions that will help reduce

climate change.

2009

2014


20

12

2

15

50

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q94. The actions of single person like you won't make any difference in reducing climate

change. (Do you agree or disagree with this statement?)


21

8

2

12

56

2

21

21

2

20

34

2

19

15

5

17

42

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


23

10

2

12

51

2

20

11

2

15

50

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



Coastal Non-coastal


1913

2

19

45

2

20

12

2

15

50

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

tQ94. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: The

actions of single person like you won't make any difference in reducing climate change.

2009

2014


25

24

5

13

29

4

48

22

4

6

13

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q87. There is limited action that can be taken to reduce climate change.

Q88. There are many actions that can be taken to reduce climate change.

(Do you agree or disagree with these statements?)

Limited action

Many actions


27

21

5

12

31

4

23

25

4

14

27

6

23

30

6

15

23

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q87. There is limited action that can be taken to reduce climate change. (Do you agree or


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


21

31

6

9

28

5

27

22

4

14

29

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q87. There is limited action that can be taken to reduce climate change. (Do you agree or


Coastal Non-coastal


23 23

2

17

30

5

25 24

5

13

29

4

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q87. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: There is limited action that can be taken to reduce

climate change.

2009

2014


49

21

5

6

14

5

45

26

5

9

10

5

48

23

3

4

15

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q88. There are many actions that can be taken to reduce climate change. (Do you agree or


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


51

22

4

5

12

7

48

23

4

7

13

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q88. There are many actions that can be taken to reduce climate change. (Do you agree or


Coastal Non-coastal


47

25

2

912

5

48

22

4 6

13

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q88. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: There are many actions that can be taken to reduce

climate change.

2009

2014


MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES PERTAINING TO CLIMATE CHANGE

� Regardless of their opinions on climate change and sea level rise, the large majority of

residents say that action should be taken to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in

their area before impacts occur (74% say this) rather than as impacts begin (8%) or after

impacts cause problems (3%). Note that 8% said never because sea levels are not rising.

• The trends analysis shows a small decrease in the percentage of residents who say that

action should be taken to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in their area

before impacts occur (from 80% in 2009 to 74% in 2014) and a small increase in the

percentage who say never because sea levels are not rising (from 4% to 8%). Each of

these changes are significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning the correlation would happen by


� Two questions looked at whether action should be taken now or whether more study should

be done.

• A large majority of Delaware residents (76%) agree that we should take immediate action

to reduce the impacts of climate change; on the other hand, 18% disagree.

• This compares to 63% who agree that we should conduct more research before taking

any action to address climate change and 32% who disagree.

o Note that one half of the sample received one question, and the other half received the

other question. Nonetheless, the results show the ambivalence some people have

about climate change—it is likely that some respondents would have agreed with both

statements, had both questions been asked of the same respondents. This

demonstrates that, for many people, their beliefs on climate change and actions that

can be taken are not strongly held.

• A similar pairing of questions asked the same thing about sea level rise. A large majority

of Delaware residents (72%) agree that we should take immediate action to reduce the

impacts of sea level rise, while 21% disagree. Meanwhile, 64% agree that we should

conduct more research before taking any action to address sea level rise, and 30%

disagree.

o This pair of questions was also asked of halves of the sample, and it also

demonstrates that, for some people, their beliefs are not strongly held.


• The trends analysis shows a dramatic increase in the percentage of residents who strongly

agree that we should take immediate action to reduce the impacts of climate change:

54% of Delaware residents today strongly agree that immediate action should be taken

compared to 35% in 2009. Although this change is significant at p ≤ 0.01, the increase

should be considered with caution due to a change in question wording from 2009 to

2014; in 2010 the statement respondents were asked to agree or disagree with was, “We

should take immediate and drastic action to reduce the impacts of climate change.” In

2014, the phrase “and drastic” was deleted.

• A similar yet slightly less dramatic increase occurred for the statement that we should

take immediate action to reduce the impacts of sea level rise, with 35% strongly agreeing

in 2009 compared to 49% in 2014. Both of these increases are significant at p ≤ 0.01,

meaning each correlation would happen by chance only 1 out of 100 times.

• The percentage of residents who disagree (strongly or moderately) that we should

conduct more research before taking any action to address climate change increased

slightly from 28% in 2009 to 32% in 2014; however, this change is not statistically

significant. A similar increase in the disagree response occurred for the statement that we

should conduct more research before taking any action to address sea level rise, and the

increase in disagreement for this statement occurred only in the strongly disagree

category (from 15% to 22%); it is statistically significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning each

correlation would happen by chance only 1 out of 100 times.

� A large majority of residents (74%) agree that the state of Delaware needs to conduct more

research to identify the impacts of sea level rise in the state; 18% disagree.

• The percentage of residents who strongly agree that the state of Delaware needs to

conduct more research to identify the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware increased to a

slight majority (from 45% in 2009 to 52% in 2014), and overall disagreement (strongly

and moderately) decreased. Each of these changes is statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05,

meaning each correlation would happen by chance only 5 out of 100 times.


� The survey presented ten actions that could be taken to address sea level rise in Delaware.

For each action, residents were asked if they would support or oppose it.

• Two actions are in a top tier: change building codes and regulations to reduce risk in

flood prone areas and avoid building new structures in areas at risk from sea level rise:

63% and 62%, respectively, strongly support those actions.

• The next tier consists of those actions with well more than a third to a half in strong

support: increasing funding for research (50%); elevating buildings in areas of risk

using private funding (46%); allowing beaches and wetlands to naturally migrate inland

(41%); building dikes, seawalls, and bulkheads to keep water back (38%); and elevating

the land surface in areas of risk (38%).

• The bottom tier are those that explicitly entail using government funds: elevating

buildings in areas at risk from sea level rise using government funds (34%), purchasing

or acquiring land and open space at risk from sea level rise from willing land sellers

using government funds (29%), and purchasing or buying out frequently flooded

properties using government funds (24%).

o In the trends analysis, two actions showed substantial increases in overall support,

with corresponding decreases in overall opposition: elevating buildings in areas at

risk from sea level rise using government funds (the percentage of residents who

support this action increased from 39% in 2009 to 52% in 2014) and elevating the

land surface in areas at risk (from 54% to 63%). For each of these the increase

occurred either entirely or mostly in the strongly support category, but the increases

in overall support are both statistically significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning each

correlation would happen by chance only 1 out of 100 times. The percentage of

residents who strongly support allowing beaches and wetlands to naturally migrate

inland increased from 29% to 41% and is statistically significant, also at p ≤ 0.01.

For the remaining actions, overall support and opposition remained relatively stable

from 2009 to 2014.

o Four graphs are shown: the percentages who strongly support, the percentages who

strongly or moderately support, the percentages who strongly oppose, and the

percentages who strongly or moderately oppose.


� The large majority of Delaware residents (70%) support having their local and state

governments spend more money on public construction projects if it means that the structures

could withstand or accommodate sea level rise; however, 20% oppose.

• Those who opposed in the preceding question were then asked if they would support or

oppose such construction measures if they knew that it would save money in the long

run: 33% of this group then support the idea (meanwhile, 61% still oppose).

• In the trends analysis, overall support for having local and state governments spend more

money on public construction projects if it means the structures can withstand or

accommodate sea level rise increased slightly from 2009 to 2014, and overall opposition

decreased slightly. The most substantial change was an increase in the percentage of

residents who strongly support the action, going from 34% in 2009 to 46% in 2014, and

this increase is significant at p ≤ 0.01, meaning each correlation would happen by chance

only 1 out of 100 times. Results for the conditional follow-up questions among those

who initially opposed such action did not result in any substantial fluctuations from 2009

to 2014.


74

8

3

8

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Before impactsoccur

As impacts begin

After impacts causeproblems


Don't know

Percent

Q80. When do you think action should be taken to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in the area where you live in Delaware?

Would you say...?


75

8

5

6

6

73

12

2

9

5

73

7

1

13

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Before impacts occur

As impacts begin



Don't know

Percent


Would you say...?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


77

10

0

12

1

74

8

4

7

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Before impacts occur

As impacts begin


Never / sea levels arenot rising

Don't know

Percent


Would you say...?

Coastal Non-coastal


87.9

81.0

80.5

80.5

80.4

78.9

77.0

76.6

75.5

75.0

74.9

74.6

74.6

74.4

74.4

72.9

72.6

72.5

72.0

69.5

66.8

64.0

55.3

48.9

0 20 40 60 80 100




Female











Total






Male




Percent

Percent who think action should be taken before impacts of sea level rise occur:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to think that action should be

taken before impacts of sea level rise occur, relative to what residents as a whole think. Overall,

74.4% of Delaware residents think action should be taken before impacts of sea level rise occur

(striped bar). Those groups more inclined to think this are above that bar (for instance, 80.5% of

females think so); those groups less inclined to think so are below that bar (for instance, only

66.8% of males think so).


80

83 4 5

74

83

8 6

0

20

40

60

80

100

Before impactsoccur

As impacts begin After impactscause problems

Never / sealevels are not

rising

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q80. When do you think action should be taken to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in the

area where you live in Delaware?

2009

2014


54

22

5

4

14

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q90. We should take immediate action to reduce the impacts of climate change. (Do you agree or



54

21

5

3

16

1

53

22

4

7

11

3

55

21

5

3

12

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


57

20

4

4

13

3

54

22

4

4

13

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



Coastal Non-coastal


94.8

87.1

86.5

84.9

82.4

81.0

80.2

78.4

77.4

76.9

76.6

76.4

76.2

75.6

75.3

75.2

74.8

73.7

72.8

70.7

69.9

42.3

37.5

0 20 40 60 80 100







Female







Total






Male




Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who agree (strongly or moderately) that we should

take immediate action to reduce climate change:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that immediate action

to reduce climate change should be taken, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 75.6% of

Delaware residents agree (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to agree are above that bar

(for instance, 80.2% of females agree); those groups less inclined to agree are below that bar (for

instance, only 70.7% of males agree).


35

26

3

13

20

3

54

22

5 4

14

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q90. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: We should take immediate [and drastic] action to reduce

the impacts of climate change.

2009

2014


45

18

4

9

23

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q91. We should conduct more research before taking any action to address climate change.

(Do you agree or disagree with this statement?)


46

15

4

9

25

1

42

28

2

9

18

1

44

20

4

9

20

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


41

23

3

9

21

3

47

17

4

9

22

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



Coastal Non-coastal


41

26

1

1117

2

45

18

49

23

1

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q91. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: We should conduct more research before taking any

action to address climate change.

2009

2014


49

22

4

6

15

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q103. We should take immediate action to reduce the impacts of sea level rise. (Do you

agree or disagree with this statement?)


50

22

5

5

15

3

42

28

3

11

12

4

51

19

2

7

17

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


52

21

4

4

17

3

47

23

4

7

15

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



Coastal Non-coastal


89.4

83.6

82.3

80.8

76.8

75.0

73.2

72.7

72.4

72.0

72.0

71.2

70.5

70.5

70.3

70.3

70.3

70.2

69.9

68.0

64.5

39.7

34.2

0 20 40 60 80 100





Female







Total









Male



Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who agree (strongly or moderately) that we should

take immediate action to reduce the impacts of sea level rise:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that we should take

immediate action to reduce the impacts of sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall,

71.2% of Delaware residents agree with this (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to agree

with this are above that bar (for instance, 76.8% of females agree); those groups less inclined to

agree are below that bar (for instance, only 64.5% of males agree).


35

23

3

13

21

4

49

22

4 6

15

4

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree

Neitheragree nordisagree

Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en


We should take immediate [and drastic] action to reduce the impacts of sea level rise.

2009

2014


45

19

4

8

22

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderatelydisagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q104. We should conduct more research before taking any action to address sea level rise. (Do

you agree or disagree with this statement?)


46

17

4

9

22

2

44

25

2

10

16

4

42

21

3

5

26

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


47

13

4

6

27

3

44

21

3

9

21

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent



Coastal Non-coastal


43

28

3

915

2

45

19

48

22

3

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q104. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: We should conduct more research before taking any

action to address sea level rise.

2009

2014


52

22

5

4

14

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q100. The state of Delaware needs to conduct more research to identify the impacts of sea

level rise in Delaware.


53

19

7

3

15

3

49

27

2

8

11

3

52

25

3

4

14

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


level rise in Delaware. (Do you agree or disagree with this statement?)

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


57

23

3

5

8

4

51

21

6

4

16

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


level rise in Delaware. (Do you agree or disagree with this statement?)

Coastal

Non-coastal


45

28

17

16

3

52

22

5 4

14

3

0

20

40

60

80

100

Strongly agree Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q100. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: The state of Delaware needs to conduct more research

to identify the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware.

2009

2014


63

62

50

46

41

38

38

34

29

24

0 20 40 60 80 100

Changing building codes and regulations toreduce risk in flood prone areas

Avoiding building new structures in areas atrisk from sea level rise

Increasing funding for research

Elevating buildings in areas at risk from sealevel rise using private funding

Allowing beaches and wetlands to naturallymigrate inland

Building dikes, seawalls, and bulkheads tokeep water back

Elevating the land surface in areas at riskfrom sea level rise

Elevating buildings in areas at risk from sealevel rise using government funds

Purchasing or acquiring land and open spaceat risk from sea level rise from willing land

sellers using government funds

Purchasing or buying out frequently floodedproperties using government funds

Percent

Q107-Q116. Percent of respondents who strongly support the following potential actions that could be taken to address sea level rise in

Delaware or reduce its impacts.


85

77

72

71

65

64

63

52

46

42

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent

Q107-Q116. Percent of respondents who strongly or moderately support the following

potential actions that could be taken to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts.


34

31

29

17

15

15

13

13

9

6

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent

Q107-Q116. Percent of respondents who strongly oppose the following potential actions that could be taken to address sea level rise in



45

43

39

26

24

22

20

19

14

9

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent

Q107-Q116. Percent of respondents who strongly or moderately oppose the following



67

66

50

50

41

38

37

36

32

27

57

52

42

54

41

36

27

41

21

19

59

58

39

46

38

39

31

38

28

18

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


88

78

72

71

64

63

61

55

47

46

81

75

78

75

65

69

65

48

35

47

81

76

69

67

62

68

64

47

34

44

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


31

30

26

17

15

14

14

12

9

5

42

31

33

19

13

14

12

7

11

7

36

33

32

18

18

16

13

18

10

8

0 20 40 60 80 100


Purchasing or acquiring land and openspace at risk from sea level rise from willing

land sellers using government funds









Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


43

40

35

26

26

21

21

19

13

6

44

54

43

21

28

16

23

18

18

13

42

51

46

22

25

22

24

22

15

12

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


65

59

55

46

45

44

42

34

30

26

65

63

49

40

48

37

37

34

28

23

0 20 40 60 80 100


Avoiding building new structures in areas at riskfrom sea level rise



Elevating buildings in areas at risk from sea levelrise using private funding

Building dikes, seawalls, and bulkheads to keepwater back

Elevating the land surface in areas at risk fromsea level rise

Elevating buildings in areas at risk from sea levelrise using government funds

Purchasing or acquiring land and open space atrisk from sea level rise from willing land sellers

using government funds


Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


81

75

74

73

68

67

65

51

51

49

87

78

72

71

64

65

62

53

44

40

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


32

29

24

18

16

16

15

13

12

7

30

35

29

16

12

15

13

14

9

6

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


39

37

37

23

23

22

18

17

17

12

39

47

44

26

25

21

19

14

21

8

0 20 40 60 80 100












Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


83.1

81.4

81.2

80.2

78.4

78.0

76.3

75.4

74.6

74.3

73.4

72.6

72.3

72.3

71.8

70.9

69.7

68.6

68.6

68.0

64.8

64.7

53.4

43.3

0 20 40 60 80 100









Female





Total



Male




Has not taken action in the past 2 years to prevent climate…




Percent

Percent of each of the following group who support increasing funding for research to address sea rise in Delaware or reduce its

impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support increasing funding

for research to address sea level rise or reduce its impacts, relative to residents as a whole.

Overall, 72.3% of Delaware residents support this (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to

support this are above that bar (for instance, 78.4% of Kent County residents support); those

groups less inclined to support are below that bar (for instance, only 68.6% of Sussex County

residents support).


58.2

52.1

50.9

50.6

50.4

50.0

49.7

47.3

46.8

46.6

46.4

45.8

45.7

45.2

44.8

44.5

44.5

43.8

43.1

39.8

37.6

30.4

29.3

0 20 40 60 80 100










Female


Total



Male









Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support purchasing or acquiring land and open space at risk

from sea level rise from willing land sellers using government funds to address sea rise in Delaware or

reduce its impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support purchasing or

acquiring land and open space at risk from sea level rise using government funds, relative to

residents as a whole. Overall, 45.8% of Delaware residents support this (striped bar). Those

groups more inclined to support this are above that bar (for instance, 50.9% of those who live in

a coastal area support); those groups less inclined to support are below that bar (for instance,

only 43.8% of Sussex County residents support).


51.6

49.0

48.6

47.2

47.2

47.0

46.6

46.4

44.5

44.5

43.3

42.4

42.1

41.9

41.7

41.6

40.3

39.2

36.6

35.3

33.7

26.4

23.9

0 20 40 60 80 100












Male

Total


Female









Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support purchasing or buying out frequently

flooded properties using government funds to address sea rise in Delaware or reduce its

impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support purchasing or

buying out frequently flooded properties using government funds, relative to residents as a

whole. Overall, 42.1% of Delaware residents support this (striped bar). Those groups more

inclined to support this are above that bar (for instance, 49.0% of those who live in a coastal area

support); those groups less inclined to support are below that bar (for instance, only 35.3% of

Kent County residents support).


60.1

59.6

59.3

57.8

56.8

56.5

55.3

53.5

52.6

52.3

52.2

52.1

52.0

51.1

50.4

50.4

49.0

49.0

48.2

46.6

46.5

31.7

30.9

0 20 40 60 80 100








Female




Total




Male








Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support about elevating buildings in areas at

risk from sea level rise using government funds to address sea rise in Delaware or reduce its

impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support elevating buildings

in areas at risk from sea level rise using government funds, relative to residents as a whole.


support this are above that bar (for instance, 55.3% of New Castle County residents support);

those groups less inclined to support are below that bar (for instance, only 46.5% of Sussex

County residents support).


78.2

77.4

76.9

76.8

76.6

74.8

74.2

73.5

72.6

71.5

71.4

71.4

71.3

71.1

71.1

70.8

70.7

70.1

69.8

67.3

65.5

59.0

56.2

0 20 40 60 80 100











Female






Total


Male





Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support elevating buildings in areas at risk from sea level rise using private funding to address

sea rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support elevating buildings

in areas at risk from sea level rise using private funds, relative to residents as a whole. Overall,

70.7% of Delaware residents support this (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to support

this are above that bar (for instance, 74.8% of Kent County residents support); those groups less

inclined to support are below that bar (for instance, only 67.3% of Sussex County residents

support).


73.1

70.0

67.9

67.2

67.2

66.9

66.1

65.4

65.3

64.9

64.0

63.9

63.6

62.5

62.4

61.8

61.1

59.3

58.7

56.0

55.6

50.3

50.1

0 20 40 60 80 100



Female











Total






Male




Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support elevating the land surface in areas at risk from sea level rise to address sea rise in

Delaware or reduce its impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support elevating the land

surface in areas at risk from sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 62.5% of

Delaware residents support this (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to support this are

above that bar (for instance, 67.9% of females support); those groups less inclined to support are

below that bar (for instance, only 56.0% of males support).


83.3

82.6

82.3

81.2

81.1

80.5

78.9

77.8

77.6

77.6

76.9

76.7

76.3

76.1

75.7

75.0

75.0

74.6

74.5

73.0

71.9

65.4

56.8

0 20 40 60 80 100





Female







Total









Male



Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support about avoiding building new structures

in areas at risk from sea level rise to address sea rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support avoiding building

new structures in areas at risk from sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall,

76.7% of Delaware residents support this (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to support

this are above that bar (for instance, 81.1% of females support); those groups less inclined to

support are below that bar (for instance, only 71.9% of males support).


91.9

90.3

89.6

89.2

89.0

88.9

88.4

87.9

86.8

86.7

85.9

85.3

85.1

84.7

84.7

83.6

82.6

81.7

81.2

81.2

80.6

71.7

69.2

0 20 40 60 80 100







Female






Total





Male






Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support changing building codes and

regulations to reduce risk in flood prone areas to address sea rise in Delaware or reduce its

impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support changing building

codes and regulations to reduce risk in flood prone areas, relative to residents as a whole.


support this are above that bar (for instance, 88.4% of females support); those groups less


support).


76.5

67.9

67.6

67.4

66.7

66.7

66.2

65.8

65.3

64.7

64.1

63.9

63.8

63.6

63.5

63.4

62.2

62.1

62.0

61.4

59.8

58.6

58.1

0 20 40 60 80 100







Male






Total







Female




Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who support allowing beaches and wetlands to

naturally migrate inland to address sea rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to support allowing beaches

and wetlands to naturally migrate inland, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 63.8% of

Delaware residents support this (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to support this are

above that bar (for instance, 67.6% of those who live in a coastal area support); those groups less


support).


29 30

712

15

7

41

23

69

138

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q107. Do you support or oppose allowing beaches and wetlands to naturally migrate inland to address sea

level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


33 32

69

17

4

38

28

611

13

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

tQ108. Do you support or oppose building dikes,

seawalls, and bulkheads to keep water back to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


63

21

3 27

4

63

22

3 36

3

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q109. Do you support or oppose changing building codes and regulations to reduce risk in flood prone

areas to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


67

18

2 47

2

62

15

5 59

4

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q110. Do you support or oppose avoiding building new structures in areas at risk from sea level rise to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its

impacts?

2009

2014


3024

512

23

5

38

25

69

17

6

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q111. Do you support or oppose elevating the land surface in areas at risk from sea level rise to address

sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2012


40

30

8 5

14

4

46

25

5 5

15

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

tQ112. Do you support or oppose elevating buildings in areas at risk from sea level rise using private funding

to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


1821

5

12

40

4

34

18

410

29

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q113. Do you support or oppose elevating buildings in areas at risk from sea level rise using government

funds to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


16

22

5

13

38

6

2418

711

34

6

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q114. Do you support or oppose purchasing or buying out frequently flooded properties using government

funds to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


2125

512

31

6

29

17

712

31

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q115. Do you support or oppose purchasing or acquiring land and open space at risk from sea level rise from willing land sellers using government funds

to address sea level rise in Delaware or reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


44

30

4 6

15

2

50

22

5 5

15

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q116. Do you support or oppose increasing funding for research to address sea level rise in Delaware or

reduce its impacts?

2009

2014


46

24

6

5

15

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly support

Moderatelysupport

Neither supportnor oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Strongly oppose

Don't know

Percent

Q117. Please consider that your local and state governments in Delaware could construct public

buildings and other structures, such as roads and sewer systems, to withstand or accommodate sea level

rise but that doing so would be more expensive than constructing structures that could not. Would you

support or oppose your local and state governments spending more money on public construction projects

if it meant the structures could withstand or accommodate sea level rise in Delaware?


47

23

6

3

14

6

42

28

5

6

16

4

44

22

7

6

16

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly support

Moderately support

Neither support noroppose

Moderately oppose

Strongly oppose

Don't know

Percent

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


buildings and other structures, such as roads and sewer systems, to withstand or accommodate sea

level rise but that doing so would be more expensive than constructing structures that could not. Would you

support or oppose your local and state governments spending more money on public construction projects

if it meant the structures could withstand or accommodate sea level rise in Delaware?


46

24

6

2

18

4

46

23

6

5

14

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly support

Moderately support


Moderately oppose

Strongly oppose

Don't know

Percent

Coastal Non-coastal


buildings and other structures, such as roads and sewer systems, to withstand or accommodate sea

level rise but that doing so would be more expensive than constructing structures that could not. Would

you support or oppose your local and state governments spending more money on public

construction projects if it meant the structures could withstand or accommodate sea level rise in Delaware?


3430

7 7

18

4

46

24

6 5

15

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

2009

2014

Q117. Please consider that your local and state governments in Delaware could construct public buildings and other structures, such as roads and sewer systems, to withstand or accommodate sea level rise but that doing so would be more expensive than constructing structures that could not. Would you support or oppose your local and state governments spending

more money on public construction projects if it meant the structures could withstand or accommodate sea level rise in Delaware?


12

21

4

14

47

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly support

Moderately support


Moderately oppose

Strongly oppose

Don't know

Percent

Q118. What if you knew it would save money or be less costly long-term for Delaware to construct

structures to withstand or accommodate sea level rise? (Asked of those who oppose spending more

money on public construction projects if it meant the structures could withstand or accommodate sea level

rise in Delaware.)


12

19

5

14

46

3

9

30

2

9

49

2

14

17

2

19

46

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly support

Moderately support


Moderately oppose

Strongly oppose

Don't know

Percent

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Q118. What if you knew it would save money or be less costly long-term for Delaware to construct

structures to withstand or accommodate sea level rise? (Asked of those who oppose spending more

money on public construction projects if it meant the structures could withstand or accommodate sea level

rise in Delaware.)


19

13

2

5

59

2

11

22

4

17

44

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly support

Moderately support


Moderately oppose

Strongly oppose

Don't know

Percent

Coastal Non-coastal

Q118. What if you knew it would save money or be less costly long-term for Delaware to construct structures

to withstand or accommodate sea level rise? (Asked of those who oppose spending more money on public

construction projects if it meant the structures could withstand or accommodate sea level rise in Delaware.)


11

21

612

46

4

12

21

4

14

47

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglysupport

Moderatelysupport

Neithersupport nor

oppose

Moderatelyoppose

Stronglyoppose

Don't know

Perc

en

t

2009

2014

Q118. What if you knew it would save money or be less costly long-term for Delaware to construct structures to

withstand or accommodate sea level rise?


RESPONSIBILITY FOR TAKING ACTION

� The survey presented five entities and asked whether each should be doing more to address

or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware. In looking at the percentages who say

that the entities should be doing much more, there is little separation between the top four

entities: business and industry (43% say that they should do much more), the federal

government (41%), the state government (40%), and the local/county government (38%). At

the bottom are Delaware’s residents (34% of residents say that Delaware’s residents should

be doing much more).

• Most of the entities asked about in 2014 differed from those asked about in 2009. For the

two entities that were comparable (corporations and industry / business and industry,

Delaware citizens / Delaware’s residents), the trends analysis shows little variation in the

results from 2009 to 2014.

o Four graphs are shown: the percentages who say much more, the percentages who

say much or somewhat more, the percentages who say much less, and the percentages

who say much or somewhat less.


43

41

40

38

34

0 20 40 60 80 100

Business andindustry

Federal government

Delaware’s state government

Local or countygovernment

Delaware'sresidents

Percent

Q121-125. Percent of respondents who think each of the following should be doing much

more to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware.


69

63

63

63

63

0 20 40 60 80 100




Delaware'sresidents

Federal government

Percent

Q121-125. Percent of respondents who think each of the following should be doing much or

somewhat more to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware.


6

4

4

4

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Federal government


Delaware'sresidents



Percent

Q121-125. Percent of respondents who think each of the following should be doing much less to address or reduce the impacts of sea



10

6

6

6

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Federal government

Delaware'sresidents




Percent


somewhat less to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware.


45

43

42

41

35

40

38

39

33

34

38

35

40

34

30

0 20 40 60 80 100



Federal government


Delaware'sresidents

Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


71

66

65

65

64

67

59

60

62

59

65

61

60

59

62

0 20 40 60 80 100



Federal government

Delaware's residents


Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


5

4

4

4

3

7

4

4

5

3

7

4

5

5

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Federal government


Delaware'sresidents



Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


9

6

5

5

4

10

7

7

8

5

11

6

8

8

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Federal government


Delaware'sresidents



Percent



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


49

45

43

40

32

42

40

41

38

35

0 20 40 60 80 100


Federal government




Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


71

70

68

66

65

69

62

62

64

62

0 20 40 60 80 100





Federal government

Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


4

4

4

3

3

7

5

4

4

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Federal government




Business and industry

Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


7

6

6

5

5

10

6

6

5

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Federal government

Delaware'sresidents




Percent



Coastal

Non-coastal


39

26

13

5 4

13

43

26

15

2 3

11

0

20

40

60

80

100

Much more Somewhatmore

About the rightamount

Somewhatless

Much less Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q124. Do you think corporations and industry should be doing more or less to address or reduce the impacts of sea level rise in Delaware or are they

currently doing about the right amount?

2009

2014


32 33

17

2 3

14

3429

22

2 49

0

20

40

60

80

100

Much more Somewhatmore

About theright amount

Somewhatless

Much less Don't know

Perc

en

tQ125. Do you think Delaware citizens should be doing more or less to address or reduce the impacts of sea

level rise in Delaware or are they currently doing about the right amount?

2009

2014


PERSONAL ACTIONS TAKEN RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE

� About 2 in 5 Delaware residents (41% of them) say that they have personally taken action

within the past 2 years to try to reduce climate change.

• Note that 30% of residents do not believe that personal actions can help mitigate the

impacts of climate change. If it is assumed that they did not take any action, 56% of

residents did not take any action to try to reduce climate change.

o That 56% includes those who may have taken a conservation action that mitigates

climate change/sea level rise without consciously doing it for that reason (they may

have had another reason for taking the action).

� The survey presented six things that people could have done pertaining to addressing sea

level rise or learning more about sea level rise. The majority of residents have read a

newspaper or magazine article about sea level rise (53%), and nearly half have had a

conversation with a friend or family member about sea level rise (45%). Lesser percentages

have read about sea level rise on social media (29%), have visited a website for sea level rise

information (24%), have read a brochure or handout about sea level rise (17%), or have

attended a public meeting or workshop about sea level rise (7%).


41

2

26

30

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

Don't know

No

Think that personalactions cannot help

(did not get question)

Percent

Q95. Have you personally taken action in the past 2 years to try to reduce climate change?


43

26

3

29

40

26

1

33

39

29

2

30

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Thinks that personalactions cannot help

(did not get question)

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


41

23

2

33

42

27

2

28

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Thinks that personalactions cannot help (did

not get question)

Percent


Coastal

Non-coastal


47.9

47.5

47.4

46.8

46.6

46.6

45.5

43.2

42.9

42.7

42.0

41.5

41.2

40.2

39.8

39.7

39.6

38.9

38.6

33.1

24.1

16.6

0 20 40 60 80 100








Female




Total



Male








Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who have personally taken action in the past 2 years

to reduce climate change:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to have personally taken action

to reduce climate change, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 41.5% of Delaware residents

have taken action (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to have taken action are above that

bar (for instance, 46.6% of those people younger than the median age have taken action); those

groups less inclined to have taken action are below that bar (for instance, only 39.8% of males

have taken action).


53

45

29

24

17

7

25

0 20 40 60 80 100

Read a newspaper or magazine articleabout sea level rise

Had a conversation with a friend or familymember about sea level rise

Read about sea level rise on social media

Visited a website for sea level riseinformation

Read a brochure or handout about sealevel rise

Attended a public meeting or workshopon sea level rise

None of these

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed

Q134. In the past 12 months, have you done any of the following?


55

46

29

25

15

6

25

47

35

32

21

16

6

28

54

48

29

25

24

9

23

0 20 40 60 80 100







None of these

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


53

50

28

25

21

10

23

55

44

31

25

16

6

24

0 20 40 60 80 100







None of these

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed


Coastal

Non-coastal


SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE

� The most popular sources of information about environmental issues in Delaware are

television (47% get environmental information this way), newspapers (44%), and the Internet

(42%). No other source was named by more than 15% of residents.

� The sample was randomly split, with one group being asked to name the topics about climate

change on which they want more information, and the other group being asked to name the

topics about sea level rise on which they want more information. The questions were open-

ended, meaning that no answer set was read to respondents; instead, they could say whatever

topics came to mind.

• The topics about climate change and sea level rise most in demand include the impacts of

climate change and sea level rise, the impacts specifically on the Delaware Bay and the

state’s beaches, actions that can be taken to mitigate climate change and sea level rise,

impacts on specific resources or groups, how to protect property, how climate change and

sea level rise correlate, and funding needs to address the impacts.

� Residents are split on whether there is enough available information about sea level rise:

46% agree that there is, but 44% disagree.

• The trends analysis shows a slight increase in the percentage of residents who agree that

there is enough available information about sea level rise (from 39% in 2009 to 46% in

2014), with most of that increase occurring in the strongly agree category (from 22% to

28%). The increase in the percentage of those who strongly agree is significant at

p ≤ 0.01, meaning each correlation would happen by chance only 1 out of 100 times.


47

44

42

15

11

8

7

5

4

4

3

3

1

3

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Television

Newspaper

Internet

Magazines

Word of mouth / family or friends

DNREC website

Radio

Social media like Twitter or Facebook

Conservation or environmentalorganization

Pamphlets or newsletters from DNREC

University / UD and DSU Sea GrantExtension

Other state agency / government office

Personal knowledge / common sense

Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed

Q130. Where do you get most of your information about environmental issues in

Delaware?


44

44

43

14

9

8

7

4

3

3

3

1

1

3

4

48

43

42

15

11

8

8

6

4

5

3

4

1

5

5

55

44

37

19

13

8

8

6

7

5

3

5

1

2

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Television

Newspaper

Internet

Magazines


DNREC website

Radio







Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed


Delaware?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


45

43

39

14

12

8

8

5

5

5

6

3

3

5

4

48

44

44

15

10

8

7

5

4

4

2

2

1

3

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Television

Newspaper

Internet

Magazines


DNREC website

Radio







Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed


Delaware?

Coastal

Non-coastal


28

18

4

14

30

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent

Q136. Do you agree or disagree that there is enough available information about sea level

rise?


30

19

3

13

29

7

23

18

4

17

31

8

27

15

6

14

32

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


rise?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


29

16

6

13

33

3

28

18

3

13

30

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Strongly agree

Moderately agree


Moderately disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Percent


rise?

Coastal Non-coastal


50.8

49.4

49.1

48.6

48.6

48.1

47.4

46.5

46.3

46.2

46.0

45.9

45.3

45.2

44.5

42.3

42.1

41.7

41.1

40.7

39.2

0 20 40 60 80 100







Male





Total



Female







Percent

Percent of each of the following groups who agree (strongly or moderately) that there is

enough available information about sea level rise:



more (above the striped bar) or less (below the striped bar) likely to agree that there is enough

available information about sea level rise, relative to residents as a whole. Overall, 45.9% of

Delaware residents agree with this (striped bar). Those groups more inclined to agree are above

that bar (for instance, 48.6% of New Castle County residents agree); those groups less inclined to

agree are below that bar (for instance, only 40.7% of Kent County residents agree).

Use caution when drawing conclusions from this graph. There are two opposing reasons to

agree. Some people may agree because they think that sea level rise is happening but they think

that enough information is available. Other people may agree because they do not think that sea

level rise is happening and, therefore, think that no more information is needed.


2217

2

21

30

8

28

18

4

14

30

7

0

20

40

60

80

100

Stronglyagree

Moderatelyagree


Moderatelydisagree

Stronglydisagree

Don't know

Perc

en

t

Q136. Do you agree or disagree that there is enough available information about sea level rise?

2009

2014


35

28

24

23

21

18

17

17

14

4

1

1

4

29

0 20 40 60 80 100

Climate change in general

Sea level rise in general

Impacts of climate change / sea level rise

Impacts on Delaware Bay and state’s beaches

Actions that can be taken to reduceimpacts

Impacts for specific resource, group,species, etc.

How to protect property

How climate change and sea level riserelate

Funding needs / estimated budget toaddress climate change in Delaware

Nothing

Air quality

Historic data

Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed

Q140. What topics related to climate change would you most like to have more information

on? We are not sending out information at this time; we are simply measuring interest.


38

28

24

22

19

17

15

15

15

4

0

0

3

29

35

28

26

26

26

23

20

18

16

2

1

0

7

27

29

27

21

24

24

19

19

19

11

4

3

3

6

28

0 20 40 60 80 100


Sea level rise



Actions that can be taken to reduce impacts

Impacts for specific resource, group, species,etc.


How climate change and sea level rise relate

Funding needs / estimated budget to addressclimate change in Delaware

Nothing

Air quality

Historic data

Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


42

33

20

24

22

20

19

18

13

3

1

1

5

27

35

27

25

24

22

18

17

17

15

4

1

0

4

27

0 20 40 60 80 100


Sea level rise



Actions that can be taken to reduceimpacts

Impacts for specific resource, group,species, etc.


How climate change and sea level riserelate

Funding needs / estimated budget toaddress climate change in Delaware

Nothing

Air quality

Historic data

Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed



Coastal

Non-coastal


29

29

28

22

21

18

18

15

13

2

1

1

1

1

1

2

29

0 20 40 60 80 100


Sea level rise in general




Impacts for specific resource, group, species, etc.




Nothing

Projected impacts (timing)

Source of information

Any information (general)

Historic data

Causes of sea level rise

Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed

Q144. What topics related to sea level rise would you most like to have more information



33

29

28

22

19

18

17

15

14

2

1

0

0

0

0

3

28

23

29

23

25

19

18

17

13

11

2

1

2

2

2

1

3

31

24

29

30

21

27

19

19

18

13

2

3

2

2

2

1

2

29

0 20 40 60 80 100


Sea level rise




Impacts for specific resource, group, species,etc.




Nothing




Historic data


Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed



New Castle

Kent

Sussex


31

30

27

16

22

17

16

15

13

1

0

3

2

2

1

4

22

29

28

27

23

20

19

18

16

13

3

2

1

1

1

1

2

30

0 20 40 60 80 100


Sea level rise




Impacts for specific resource, group, species, etc.




Nothing




Historic data


Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed



Coastal

Non-coastal


DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

� The demographic data, primarily used in crosstabulations, that were gathered include:

• Gender.

• Age.

• Whether the respondent has children living at home.

• Ethnicity.

• Education level.

• Years lived in Delaware.

• County of residence.

• Whether they consider their residence to be coastal or non-coastal.

• Whether they rent or own their property.

• Whether they have flood insurance or not.

o Graphs are included showing the opinions and attitudes of various demographic

groups.

o The trends analysis shows very little variation in the demographics of Delaware

residents from 2009 to 2014.


48

52

0 20 40 60 80 100

Male

Female

Percent

Q167. Respondent's gender (observed by interviewer; not asked).


47

52

47

53

48

52

0 20 40 60 80 100

Male

Female

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


46

54

48

52

0 20 40 60 80 100

Male

Female

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


85

71

71

69

67

65

60

60

58

56

42

41

40

39

35

33

27

26

22

15

0 20 40 60 80 100

Does not think sea level rise is having impacts now

Thinks sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat to the stateof Delaware

Agrees (strongly or moderately) that we should takeimmediate action to reduce climate change

Agrees (strongly or moderately) that climate change can bereduced by human efforts

Thinks action should be taken before impacts of sea levelrise occur

Does not think climate change is having impacts now

Has not personally taken action in the past 2 years to reduceclimate change

Worries a little or not at all about sea level rise

Does not think sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat tothe local community

Does not think sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat tothemselves

Thinks sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat tothemselves

Thinks sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat to the localcommunity

Has personally taken action in the past 2 years to reduceclimate change

Worries a great deal or moderate amount about sea level rise

Thinks climate change is having impacts now

Does not think action should be taken before impacts of sealevel rise occur

Thinks sea level rise is not a (very or serious) serious threatto the State of Delaware

Disgrees (strongly or moderately) that climate change can bereduced by human efforts

Disagrees (strongly or moderately) that we should takeimmediate action to reduce climate change

Thinks sea level rise is having impacts now

Percent

Percent of males who…


82

81

80

75

75

57

56

53

50

49

48

48

47

43

39

25

19

18

15

13

0 20 40 60 80 100





















Percent

Percent of females who…


4852

4852

0

20

40

60

80

100

Male Female

Perc

en

tQ167. Respondent's gender (observed, not asked, by

interviewer).

2009

2014


17

15

18

16

15

12

3

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

65 years old or older

55-64 years old

45-54 years old

35-44 years old

25-34 years old

18-24 years old

Don't know

Refused

Percent

Q161. Respondent's age.

Mean = 47.61

Median = 48


14

14

18

17

16

14

2

4

18

15

19

16

16

14

2

2

25

18

16

13

13

8

4

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

65 years old orolder

55-64 years old

45-54 years old

35-44 years old

25-34 years old

18-24 years old

Don't know

Refused

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex

New CastleMean = 45.14Median = 44

KentMean = 46.34Median = 47

SussexMean = 51.39Median = 53


20

20

16

11

14

14

4

2

17

14

19

18

16

12

2

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

65 years old orolder

55-64 years old

45-54 years old

35-44 years old

25-34 years old

18-24 years old

Don't know

Refused

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal

CoastalMean = 49.80Median = 53

Non-coastalMean = 46.98Median = 47


87

82

81

75

73

61

57

53

53

49

48

47

46

42

39

25

21

18

13

13

0 20 40 60 80 100














Worries a great deal or moderate amount about sea levelrise







Percent

Percent of those younger than the median age who…


73

73

73

71

70

60

56

52

52

51

48

47

45

44

40

27

27

23

23

23

0 20 40 60 80 100





















Percent

Percent of those the median age or older who…


1715

18 1715

10

35

17 1518 16 15

12

3 3

0

20

40

60

80

100

65 yearsold orolder

55-64years old

45-54years old

35-44years old

25-34years old

18-24years old

Don'tknow

Refused

Perc

en

tQ161. Respondent's age.

2009

2014


4

6

14

17

56

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than 3children

3 children

2 children

1 child

Have no children

Don't know /refused

Percent

Q154. How many children, age 17 or younger, do you have living in your household?

Mean = 0.82

Median = 0


5

6

16

18

53

2

3

6

16

16

56

2

3

7

8

13

66

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than 3children

3 children

2 children

1 child

Have no children

Don't know /refused

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex





4

8

10

15

61

2

5

6

16

17

55

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than 3children

3 children

2 children

1 child

Have no children

Don't know /refused

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal




26

14 14

60

44 6

14 17

56

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

More than 3children

3 children 2 children 1 child Have nochildren

Don't know /refused

Perc

en

t


2009

2014


71

16

4

2

1

1

Less than 0.5%

Less than 0.5%

Less than 0.5%

1

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

White or Caucasian

Black or African-American

Hispanic or Latino

Native American or Alaskan native orAleutian

South Asian

East Asian

African

Middle Eastern

Other

Don't know

Refused

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed

Q159. What races or ethnic backgrounds do you consider yourself, and please mention all that

apply?


66

19

7

4

2

2

1

0

0

0

1

73

16

5

4

3

0

1

1

0

0

1

82

7

5

4

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

White or Caucasian


Refused

Hispanic or Latino


South Asian

East Asian

African

Middle Eastern

Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed


apply?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


73

18

5

3

4

0

0

1

0

0

1

72

15

6

4

2

1

1

0

0

0

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

White or Caucasian


Refused

Hispanic or Latino


South Asian

East Asian

African

Middle Eastern

Other

Don't know

Percent

Mu

ltip

le R

es

po

ns

es

All

ow

ed


apply?

Coastal

Non-coastal


76

11

3 1 1 1 0 1 26

71

16

4 2 1 1 0 0 16

0

20

40

60

80

100

White orCaucasian

Black orAfrican-

American

Hispanic orLatino

NativeAmericanor Alaskannative orAleutian

SouthAsian

East Asian MiddleEastern

Other Don't know Refused

Perc

en

t

Q159. What races or ethnic backgrounds do you consider yourself, and please mention all that apply?

2009

2014


3

23

21

9

21

13

5

1

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Not a high schoolgraduate

High schoolgraduate orequivalent

Some college ortrade school, no

degree

Associate or tradeschool degree

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Professional ordoctorate degree

Don't know

Refused

Percent

Q156. What is the highest level of education you have completed?


2

20

20

9

23

15

6

0

4

3

30

21

9

17

13

3

1

3

4

24

24

10

19

9

4

2

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Not a high schoolgraduate


Some college ortrade school, no

degree

Associate or tradeschool degree

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Professional ordoctorate degree

Don't know

Refused

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


3

27

19

9

23

11

5

0

2

2

22

22

10

22

14

5

0

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Not a high school graduate

High school graduate or equivalent

Some college or trade school, nodegree

Associate or trade school degree

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Professional or doctorate degree

Don't know

Refused

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


84

78

78

75

75

61

60

53

52

51

47

47

46

40

38

25

20

20

18

16

0 20 40 60 80 100





















Percent

Percent of those with at least least a bachelor's degree who…


78

77

75

75

70

60

58

52

50

50

49

47

45

42

40

25

23

22

21

17

0 20 40 60 80 100





















Percent

Percent of those with less than a bachelor's degree who…


4

23

16

9

25

13

62 23

23 21

9

21

13

51

4

0

20

40

60

80

100

Not a highschool

graduate


Somecollege or

tradeschool, no

degree

Associate ortrade school

degree

Bachelor'sdegree

Master'sdegree

Professionalor doctorate

degree

Don't know Refused

Perc

en

t


2009

2014


3

4

9

10

14

17

19

21

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than 70 years

61 - 70 years

51 - 60 years

41 - 50 years

31 - 40 years

21 - 30 years

11 - 20 years

10 years or less

Don't know /refused

Percent

Q148. How many years have you lived in Delaware?

Mean = 28.73

Median = 25


3

4

9

10

15

17

20

19

2

3

4

9

9

14

19

18

23

1

2

5

10

8

11

17

19

23

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than 70 years

61 - 70 years

51 - 60 years

41 - 50 years

31 - 40 years

21 - 30 years

11 - 20 years

10 years or less

Don't know / refused

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex





2

3

14

7

13

19

19

22

2

3

5

8

11

14

17

20

21

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

More than 70 years

61 - 70 years

51 - 60 years

41 - 50 years

31 - 40 years

21 - 30 years

11 - 20 years

10 years or less

Don't know / refused

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal




3 38

12 1317 17

24

33 49 10

1417

19 21

3

0

20

40

60

80

100

Morethan 70years

61 - 70years

51 - 60years

41 - 50years

31 - 40years

21 - 30years

11 - 20years

10 yearsor less

Don'tknow /refused

Perc

en

tQ148. How many years have you lived in Delaware?

2009

2014


60

18

23

0 20 40 60 80 100

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Percent

Q149. What county do you live in?


37

12

51

66

19

15

0 20 40 60 80 100

New Castle

Kent

Sussex

Percent

Q149. What county do you live in?

Coastal Non-coastal


83

77

75

75

74

60

57

57

51

51

46

46

43

42

40

25

21

20

18

17

0 20 40 60 80 100





















Percent

Percent New Castle County residents who…


86

77

75

73

71

60

58

57

55

48

47

43

42

41

40

27

21

20

18

14

0 20 40 60 80 100

















Disgrees (strongly or moderately) that climate change canbe reduced by human efforts




Percent

Percent of Kent County residents who…


77

75

73

69

69

61

59

57

51

50

48

47

43

40

39

31

27

25

24

15

0 20 40 60 80 100

Agrees (strongly or moderately) that we should take immediateaction to reduce climate change

Thinks sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat to the state ofDelaware

Thinks action should be taken before impacts of sea level riseoccur









Thinks sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat to themselves


Does not think sea level rise is a (very or serious) threat to thelocal community





Thinks sea level rise is not a (very or serious) serious threat tothe State of Delaware


Percent

Percent of Sussex County residents who…


20

77

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

Coastal

Non-coastal

Don't know

Percent

Q151. Do you consider your place of residence to be in a coastal or non-coastal area?


12

85

3

14

84

2

45

51

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Coastal

Non-coastal

Don't know

Percent

Q151. Do you consider your place of residence to be in a coastal or non-coastal area?

New Castle

Kent

Sussex


82

77

77

73

71

64

60

59

58

52

48

41

40

38

36

27

23

22

17

16

0 20 40 60 80 100





















Percent

Percent of those who live in a coastal area who…


84

77

76

74

73

61

59

58

56

54

43

42

41

40

39

26

21

21

17

16

0 20 40 60 80 100





















Percent

Percent of those who live in a non-coastal area who…


21

79

0

20

77

3

0

20

40

60

80

100

Coastal Non-coastal Don't know

Perc

en

tQ151. Do you consider your place of residence to be in

a coastal or non-coastal area?

2009

2014


21

73

2

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Rent

Own

Occupy withoutcash rent

Refused

Percent

Q152. Do you rent or own your current place of residence?


23

71

3

4

19

77

1

3

19

76

1

4

0 20 40 60 80 100

Rent

Own


Refused

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


26

71

1

2

20

76

2

2

0 20 40 60 80 100

Rent

Own


Refused

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


23

70

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent

Q153. Do you have flood insurance for your current place of residence?


22

72

7

20

72

8

27

65

8

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent


New Castle

Kent

Sussex


37

57

6

19

75

6

0 20 40 60 80 100

Yes

No

Don't know

Percent


Coastal Non-coastal


19

71

10

23

70

7

0

20

40

60

80

100

Yes No Don't know

Perc

en

tQ153. Do you have flood insurance for your current

place of residence?

2009

2014


ABOUT RESPONSIVE MANAGEMENT

Responsive Management is an internationally recognized public opinion and attitude survey research

firm specializing in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues. Our mission is to help natural

resource and outdoor recreation agencies and organizations better understand and work with their

constituents, customers, and the public.

Utilizing our in-house, full-service telephone, mail, and web-based survey center with 50

professional interviewers, we have conducted more than 1,000 telephone surveys, mail surveys,

personal interviews, and focus groups, as well as numerous marketing and communication plans,

needs assessments, and program evaluations.

Clients include the federal natural resource and land management agencies, most state fish and

wildlife agencies, state departments of natural resources, environmental protection agencies, state

park agencies, tourism boards, most of the major conservation and sportsmen’s organizations, and

numerous private businesses. Responsive Management also collects attitude and opinion data for

many of the nation’s top universities.

Specializing in research on public attitudes toward natural resource and outdoor recreation issues,

Responsive Management has completed a wide range of projects during the past 24 years, including

dozens of studies of hunters, anglers, wildlife viewers, boaters, park visitors, historic site visitors,

hikers, birdwatchers, campers, and rock climbers. Responsive Management has conducted studies

on endangered species; waterfowl and wetlands; and the reintroduction of large predators such as

wolves, grizzly bears, and the Florida panther.

Responsive Management has assisted with research on numerous natural resource ballot initiatives

and referenda and has helped agencies and organizations find alternative funding and increase their

membership and donations. Additionally, Responsive Management has conducted major

organizational and programmatic needs assessments to assist natural resource agencies and

organizations in developing more effective programs based on a solid foundation of fact.


Responsive Management has conducted research on public attitudes toward natural resources and

outdoor recreation in almost every state in the United States, as well as in Canada, Australia, the

United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan. Responsive Management has also conducted focus

groups and personal interviews with residents of the African countries of Algeria, Cameroon,

Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Responsive Management routinely conducts surveys in Spanish and has conducted surveys in

Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese and has completed numerous studies with specific target

audiences, including Hispanics; African-Americans; Asians; women; children; senior citizens; urban,

suburban, and rural residents; large landowners; and farmers.

Responsive Management’s research has been upheld in U.S. District Courts; used in peer-reviewed

journals; and presented at major natural resource, fish and wildlife, and outdoor recreation

conferences across the world. Company research has been featured in most of the nation’s major

media, including CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on the front pages of USA

Today and The Washington Post. Responsive Management’s research has also been highlighted in

Newsweek magazine.

Visit the Responsive Management website at:

www.responsivemanagement.com

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