Social connections can influence people’s perceptions about climate change and even drive them to spend more protecting themselves from the risks of natural disaster, a new analysis suggests.
The research, published in the journal Economic Inquiry, looked at flood insurance sign-ups after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which triggered catastrophic flooding in Texas and Florida in 2017. Researchers compared new and renewed flood insurance policies in the wake of the storms, both in areas that experienced active flooding and those unaffected by the hurricanes. They relied on the Facebook Social Connectedness Index, whichPeople in areas with stronger social ties to flooded areas purchased more new flood insurance policies in the three years after Harvey and Irma, they found.
“It’s a very politically fraught issue for some people,” Xu said. “Even though it can be really difficult for you to convince someone else that climate change is real, if they see their friends and family experiencing its negative consequences, that’s a prime opportunity for the skeptics to update their thinking about climate change.”
Flooding is likely to increase along with climate change, climate researchers project. According to the U.N. Development Program, coastal flooding will