Measuring Nantucket Attitudes on Climate Change Part II
In 2022, Remain published the second of a two-part survey measuring attitudes on climate change within the Nantucket community as part of the Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge and conducted by Boston-based consulting firm EBP.
The first survey, conducted in January 2021, found that Nantucketers are far more likely to be alarmed about climate change than the national average, 73 percent compared to 26 percent reported in the April 2020 Yale Program on Climate Change Communication SASSY Survey. The report concluded that Nantucket respondents are well aware of the economic impacts that climate change and sea level rise will bring to the island, are ready to take individual action and support actions by local government and businesses to prepare for those impacts.
The second in a two-part survey to measure community attitudes about climate change was conducted in January and February 2022, following the 2021 Envision Resilience Nantucket Challenge’s design studio and community engagement campaign to showcase opportunities for island residents and businesses to adapt to and live with sea level rise.
In the second survey, which attracted 679 responses–twice as many as the 309 respondents to the first survey–90% of Nantucket year-round and seasonal residents said they are alarmed or concerned about climate change, compared to 55% of the U.S. population at large. Three out of four island residents say they are alarmed about rising tides and temperatures. Those numbers reflect a slight increase over 2021.
More than half of survey respondents identified as “somewhat” or “much more” engaged on the issues of coastal resilience, climate change and sea level rise over the last 18 months, citing reasons like weather and storm events, press coverage and community efforts. For those who took both surveys, more than one-third self-identified as “much more engaged.”
The Town of Nantucket’s Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee contributed questions on awareness and support for the Coastal Resilience Plan released in November 2021. Some 60% of survey takers reported having read or reviewed the plan, and more than 70% of those surveyed agree or strongly agree with the Town’s policy to prepare for approximately nine feet of sea level rise by 2100. Other community actions that received high levels of support include tidal surge barriers using oyster reefs, living shorelines and the use of public rain gardens on Nantucket.
The full report can be found here. The first report in the two-part series can be found here.
