Question Wording: Adaptation

Research by the Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University

Introduction Fundamentals Who Should Take Action Government Policy Economic Side Effects Willingness to Pay Priority Consequences of Global Warming Preparing for Possible Consequences Consumer Choices Attitude Strength Voter Behavior Opinions in the States Trust in Scientists Scientists' Beliefs Partisan Views Publications

This page contains the question wording for graphs that appear on the Preparing for Possible Consequences page. All question wording that appears on this page is from the March 2013.

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Favor Preparation to Deal With Possible Consequences of Global Warming

Question wording: (2013) Scientists believe that after global warming causes sea level to rise, causes storms to be more damaging, and causes more flooding along the coasts of the U.S., this will also cause damage to [ASK HALF SAMPLE, homes and business buildings/ASK HALF SAMPLE: roads, bridges, tunnels, parking, wires and pipes.] One option people and organizations have is to wait for this damage to happen and then adapt to it.

Rather than waiting, people and organizations could instead do things soon to try to prepare for the damage before it happens.

By waiting until the damage occurs, people and organizations can avoid doing things in advance that aren’t needed, and they can wait to spend money when problems actually happen.

But waiting until the damage occurs means that people and organizations will be hurt. Preparing ahead of time will reduce that damage and might save money in the long run.

If you had to choose, which would you prefer that people and organizations do? Wait for the damage to happen and then deal with it or prepare for the damage before it happens?

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Favor Coastal Adaptation Policies

All question wording in March 2013.

Policy: Build sea walls
To reduce the damage from sea level rise and more severe storms and flooding along the coasts of the U.S., the government could build solid walls of steel, rocks, or cement along the shore to protect roads and buildings.

[Two photos were shown, one before a sea wall was erected and one afterwards]

Building walls along the shore has been done successfully in the past to reduce damage.

Walls like this have often caused the beaches in front of them to become smaller or to disappear completely. It costs about $8,000 to build a wall like this one foot wide. So, for example, a wall 800 feet wide costs more than 6 million dollars to build. And it costs more money to repair this type of wall over the years after it’s built.

Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose the government building walls like this along shores where damaging flooding is likely to increase in the future because of global warming?

Do you strongly favor or somewhat favor?
Do you strongly oppose or somewhat oppose?
Do you lean toward favoring this, lean toward opposing it, or do you not lean either way?

Policy: Sand replenishment
Sea level rise and storms can wash away sand and cause beaches to become smaller or to disappear. The government could add sand to those beaches after they lose sand.

[Two photos were shown, one before sand was replenished and one afterwards]

Adding sand to damaged beaches would allow people to continue to use the beaches and will protect buildings along the shore. However, the sand will wash away after severe storms and would have to be replaced again and again.

It costs about $900 to add sand for every one foot length of beach, which is about 4.8 million dollars for a stretch of beach one mile long.

Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose the government putting new sand on beaches to keep them the same size?

Do you strongly favor or somewhat favor?
Do you strongly oppose or somewhat oppose?
Do you lean toward favoring this, lean toward opposing it, or do you not lean either way?

Policy: Sand dunes
To protect people and buildings from damage from rising sea level and storms, the government could put large mounds of sand and plants, called “sand dunes”, along the shore. These mounds of sand and plants often become homes to animals.

[Two photos were shown, one before sand dune was built, one after]

This has been done in the past to successfully protect buildings from flooding.

It costs money to build sand dunes. For instance, it cost 170 million dollars to build a sand dune 32 feet high along 13 miles of beach.

Having sand dunes along the coast can block people’s views and can prevent people from putting new buildings along the shore.

Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose the government building sand dunes to protect roads and buildings?

Do you strongly favor or somewhat favor?
Do you strongly oppose or somewhat oppose?
Do you lean toward favoring this, lean toward opposing it, or do you not lean either way?

Policy: Induced retreat
To prevent sea level rise, storms, and flooding from hurting people and businesses, the government can offer money to people and businesses who live and work near the coast to move farther away from the coast.

Paying people and businesses to move might save the government money in the long run, since the government often pays to help people and businesses when homes and other buildings located near the coast are damaged by floods and storms.

Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose the government offering money to people and businesses near the coast if they move inland?

Do you strongly favor or somewhat favor?
Do you strongly oppose or somewhat oppose?
Do you lean toward favoring this, lean toward opposing it, or do you not lean either way?

Policy: Reduce new buildings
Local governments can pass laws that reduce the number of new buildings that can be built along the coast in areas where flooding and storms are likely to happen.

These laws will reduce the number of buildings that will be damaged by sea level rise, storms, and flooding.

However, by reducing new building in these areas, these laws may reduce the value of the older buildings that are already there and will reduce the amount of money the government gets from property taxes.

Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose the government passing laws to reduce the number of new buildings that people and businesses can build on the coast?

Do you strongly favor or somewhat favor?
Do you strongly oppose or somewhat oppose?
Do you lean toward favoring this, lean toward opposing it, or do you not lean either way?

Policy: New building codes
To decrease the amount of damage to buildings from sea level rise, storms and flooding, local governments can pass laws saying that all new buildings must follow building rules that reduce the amount of damage. For example, all new buildings built near the coast must be built on stilts, such as shown in the picture below.

[One photo shown of a house on stilts]

That way, if flooding happens, it will not damage the buildings as much.

These laws would mean that people and businesses would have to build on stilts even if they don’t like the way those buildings look.

Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose the government passing laws saying that all new buildings built near the coast must be built on stilts?

Do you strongly favor or somewhat favor?
Do you strongly oppose or somewhat oppose?
Do you lean toward favoring this, lean toward opposing it, or do you not lean either way?

Policy: Prohibit rebuilding damaged buildings
To prevent sea level rise, storms, and flooding from hurting people and businesses, the government can pass laws saying that if a building near the coast is seriously damaged by flooding or storms, no one can build a new building or repair a damaged building in that location.

Laws like this will reduce the number of buildings built near the coast and will reduce the amount of money that the government gets in property taxes.

Do you favor, oppose, or neither favor nor oppose the government passing laws saying that if a building near the coast is seriously damaged by flooding or storms, no one can build a new building in that location?

Do you strongly favor or somewhat favor?
Do you strongly oppose or somewhat oppose?
Do you lean toward favoring this, lean toward opposing it, or do you not lean either way?

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Think Implementing Coastal Adaptation Policies will Hurt or Help the Economy and the Job Market

The economy
[HALF SAMPLE] Do you think that the United States doing things to prepare for the changes that will be caused by global warming in the future would hurt the U.S. economy, would help the economy, or would have no effect on the U.S. economy?

[HALF SAMPLE] Do you think that the United States doing things to prepare for the changes that will be caused by global warming in the future would help the U.S. economy, would hurt the economy, or would have no effect on the U.S. economy?

Jobs
[HALF SAMPLE] Do you think that the United States doing things to prepare for the changes that will be caused by global warming in the future would create more jobs for people around the country, would cause fewer jobs for people around the country, or wouldn’t affect the number of jobs for people around the country?

[HALF SAMPLE] Do you think that the United States doing things to prepare for the changes that will be caused by global warming in the future would create fewer jobs for people around the country, would cause more jobs for people around the country, or wouldn’t affect the number of jobs for people around the country?

Graph: Percent of Americans Who Think the U.S. Government or People and Businesses Should Pay For Adaptation Policy Implementation

[HALF SAMPLE] If people and organizations do things to prepare for the damage before it happens, who do you think should pay for the preparation costs: the people and businesses who would be affected by the damage, or the government?

[HALF SAMPLE] If people and organizations do things to prepare for the damage before it happens, who do you think should pay for the preparation costs: the government, or the people and businesses who would be affected by the damage?

Graph: Large Percent of Americans Think Coastal Property Tax Increases Should Be Used to Pay For Coastal Adaptation Policies Rather Than General Income Tax Increases

Regarding sea walls
[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO building sea walls] If the government does build such walls along the shore to protect roads and buildings, to pay for this, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING”TO BUILDING SEA WALLS] To pay for building such walls along the shore to protect roads and buildings, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO BUILDING SEA WALLS] If the government does build such walls along the shore to protect roads and buildins, to pay for this, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO BUILDING SEA WALLS] To pay for building such walls along the shore to protect roads and buildings, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

Regarding Sand Replenishment
[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO SAND REPLENISHMENT] If the government does add sand to beaches for this purpose, to pay for this, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO SAND REPLENISHMENT] To pay for adding sand to beaches for this purpose, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO SAND REPLENISHMENT] If the government does add sand to beaches for this purpose, to pay for this, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO SAND REPLENISHMENT] To pay for adding sand to beaches for this purpose, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

Regarding sand dunes
[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO BUILDING SAND DUNES] If the government builds sand dunes for this purpose, to pay for this, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO BUILDING SAND DUNES] To pay for building sand dunes along the shore for this purpose, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO BUILDING SAND DUNES] If the government builds sand dunes for this purpose, to pay for this, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO BUILDING SAND DUNES] To pay for building sand dunes along the shore for this purpose, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

Regarding induced retreat
[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO INDUCED RETREAT] If the government gives money to people and businesses to help them move away from the coast, to pay for this, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[FIRST HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO INDUCED RETREAT] To get money to pay people and businesses to help them move away from the coast, the government could increase everyone’s income taxes, or the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT ANSWERED “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO INDUCED RETREAT] If the government gives money to people and businesses to help them move away from the coast, to pay for this, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?

[SECOND HALF SAMPLE, IF RESPONDENT DID NOT ANSWER “OPPOSE” OR “LEAN TOWARD OPPOSING” TO INDUCED RETREAT] To get money to pay people and businesses to help them move away from the coast, the government could charge higher property taxes to companies and people who own buildings near the coast, or the government could increase everyone’s income taxes. In which way would you prefer that the government pay for building such walls?