what causes climate change

what causes climate change, is a simple question BUT just over a year ago found out about about a study that took place in my home town (of San Diego) and seems (according to the study) all the individuals asked were not able to correctly identify the scientific concept behind the greenhouse effect

Why Doesn't Everyone Believe Humans Are Causing Climate Change?

...Climate illiteracy isn't just limited to the general public, either. Ranney recalls a scientist's presentation at a recent conference which said that many university professors teaching global warming barely had a better understanding of its mechanism than the undergraduates they were teaching. "Even one of the most highly-cited climate change communicators in the world didn't know the mechanism over dinner," he says.

...When Ranney surveyed 270 visitors to a San Diego park on how global warming works, he found that exactly zero could provide the proper mechanism.

Why Some Don'''t Believe Humans Cause Climate Change | NOVA | PBS | NOVA | PBS
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thinking the results of this study was a fluke did my own informal poll to gauge the general knowledge of people about climate change and to my surprise at two venues where I had thought people would actually know the answer, sadly only found one individual who was able to give me an answer that was at least in the ball park

I'm not a climate scientist but decades ago happened to find my self as a physics/pol-sci undergrad @ UCSD taking pretty close to a one on one seminar class w/ Roger Revelle and became interested in the topic

Roger Revelle

back then since there wasn't google, basically took the opportunity and asked a bunch of questions about the topic and came to have a good basic understanding of the issue and kept on following the topic because at the time a big unknown about global warming was the effect of aerosols (i.e. clouds)

...last year also happened to catch a related story on NPR about teaching climate change (or actually not teaching the topic) which really surprised me

Most Teachers Don't Teach Climate Change; 4 In 5 Parents Wish They Did

More than 80% of parents in the U.S. support the teaching of climate change. And that support crosses political divides, according to the results of an exclusive new NPR/Ipsos poll: Whether they have children or not, two-thirds of Republicans and 9 in 10 Democrats agree that the subject needs to be taught in school.

A separate poll of teachers found that they are even more supportive, in theory - 86% agree that climate change should be taught.

These polls are among the first to gauge public and teacher opinion on how climate change should be taught to the generation that in the coming years will face its intensifying consequences: children.

Climate Change Earth Day Poll: 4 In 5 Parents Want It In Schools : NPR

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anyway wonder what others think about the sorry state of affairs WRT the lack of a basic understanding about what causes climate change

(...then there is the other big issue)

Climate change and COVID-19: The denial playbook is the same

The phrase "every disaster movie begins with a scientist being ignored" resonates more than ever as two disasters unfold: the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. One is occurring with horrifying rapidity and one more slowly; both would be far less damaging if scientific advice were heeded earlier.

In the United States, the Trump administration has responded to the COVID-19 crisis using tactics it honed in the climate arena: ignoring or burying relevant scientific information, pushing misinformation, and silencing scientists who warn us of the dangers. This pervasive "see no evil, hear no evil" approach has handicapped the U.S.'s ability to respond to both of these unfolding crises.

Climate change and COVID-19: The denial playbook is the same

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