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Counties most concerned about climate change in Colorado

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2021 photo, emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets, near Emmett, Kans. As climate change bakes the planet, dozens of nations including the U.S. and many local governments are putting a price tag on greenhouse gas emissions that are causing more floods, droughts and other destructive events. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

DENVER (Stacker) — Nationally, 72% of Americans believe global warming is happening. But when public opinion researchers zoom in on Americans, they find that attitudes and opinions about climate change can vary drastically from county to county—even when those counties are next door. Public opinion factors into how policy-makers respond to climate change, including taking steps to reduce CO2 levels and mitigate harmful impacts already being experienced.Stacker compiled a list of counties most concerned about climate change in Colorado using data from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Counties are ranked by the percent of residents that are worried about global warming.

#50. Prowers County

– Worried about global warming: 57.1%
— 10.0% lower than Colorado average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 55.0%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.3%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.1%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 51.6%
– Total population: 8,950 people

#49. Custer County

– Worried about global warming: 57.2%
— 9.9% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 56.6%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 40.5%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 38.7%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 52.4%
– Total population: 4,060 people

#48. Dolores County

– Worried about global warming: 57.4%
— 9.7% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 58.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.2%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 42.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 53.8%
– Total population: 1,449 people

#47. Montrose County

– Worried about global warming: 57.9%
— 9.2% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.7%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.1%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 34.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 53.5%
– Total population: 32,613 people

#46. Lincoln County

– Worried about global warming: 57.9%
— 9.2% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 55.9%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 34.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 53.7%
– Total population: 4,467 people

#45. Jackson County

– Worried about global warming: 58.3%
— 8.8% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.6%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 40.9%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.0%
– Total population: 1,076 people

#44. Delta County

– Worried about global warming: 58.5%
— 8.6% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.4%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 43.1%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 36.5%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.1%
– Total population: 24,486 people

#43. Sedgwick County

– Worried about global warming: 58.7%
— 8.4% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.2%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.1%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 40.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.1%
– Total population: 1,737 people

#42. Mesa County

– Worried about global warming: 58.7%
— 8.4% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 58.0%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 35.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 54.0%
– Total population: 118,186 people

#41. Bent County

– Worried about global warming: 58.7%
— 8.3% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 57.2%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.1%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.7%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 53.8%
– Total population: 4,912 people

#40. Weld County

– Worried about global warming: 59.0%
— 8.1% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.0%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 43.2%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.7%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 51.8%
– Total population: 224,944 people

#39. Montezuma County

– Worried about global warming: 59.2%
— 7.9% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 59.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 42.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.7%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 53.7%
– Total population: 20,342 people

#38. Park County

– Worried about global warming: 59.3%
— 7.8% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.8%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 41.9%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 55.3%
– Total population: 15,085 people

#37. Morgan County

– Worried about global warming: 60.3%
— 6.8% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 53.8%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.3%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 52.6%
– Total population: 21,093 people

#36. Hinsdale County

– Worried about global warming: 62.3%
— 4.7% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 63.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.1%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.5%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 57.7%
– Total population: 719 people

#35. El Paso County

– Worried about global warming: 62.4%
— 4.6% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 64.0%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.9%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 37.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 58.0%
– Total population: 529,100 people

#34. Archuleta County

– Worried about global warming: 62.7%
— 4.4% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 62.8%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 45.3%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.4%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 58.1%
– Total population: 10,952 people

#33. Otero County

– Worried about global warming: 63.2%
— 3.8% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 60.9%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.4%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.0%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 57.0%
– Total population: 13,874 people

#32. Rio Grande County

– Worried about global warming: 64.3%
— 2.8% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 62.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 47.5%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 58.4%
– Total population: 8,719 people

#31. Grand County

– Worried about global warming: 65.1%
— 1.9% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.6%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.7%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 44.4%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 60.4%
– Total population: 12,635 people

#30. Pueblo County

– Worried about global warming: 65.4%
— 1.7% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 62.3%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.9%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 31.7%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 58.9%
– Total population: 128,354 people

#29. Douglas County

– Worried about global warming: 65.4%
— 1.7% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 66.2%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.0%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 58.2%
– Total population: 246,808 people

#28. Chaffee County

– Worried about global warming: 65.5%
— 1.5% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.5%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.8%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.8%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 60.3%
– Total population: 16,613 people

#27. Alamosa County

– Worried about global warming: 66.1%
— 1.0% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 63.9%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 48.4%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 32.9%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 60.0%
– Total population: 12,175 people

#26. Gilpin County

– Worried about global warming: 66.7%
— 0.4% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 66.4%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 45.2%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.3%
– Total population: 5,200 people

#25. Larimer County

– Worried about global warming: 66.9%
— 0.2% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 68.4%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.4%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.0%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 60.1%
– Total population: 276,393 people

#24. Jefferson County

– Worried about global warming: 66.9%
— 0.2% lower than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 63.7%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 44.5%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 59.6%
– Total population: 459,718 people

#23. Arapahoe County

– Worried about global warming: 67.2%
— 0.1% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 67.4%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 49.2%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 36.9%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 62.2%
– Total population: 490,970 people

#22. Summit County

– Worried about global warming: 67.3%
— 0.2% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 68.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 45.9%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 40.4%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.7%
– Total population: 25,669 people

#21. Garfield County

– Worried about global warming: 67.3%
— 0.2% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.6%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 49.5%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.5%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 62.7%
– Total population: 44,076 people

#20. Mineral County

– Worried about global warming: 67.3%
— 0.3% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 66.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.6%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 47.9%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.9%
– Total population: 729 people

#19. Routt County

– Worried about global warming: 67.7%
— 0.6% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 66.4%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 46.1%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 44.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.4%
– Total population: 20,475 people

#18. Las Animas County

– Worried about global warming: 67.8%
— 0.8% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.3%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 50.7%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 38.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.8%
– Total population: 11,733 people

#17. Saguache County

– Worried about global warming: 67.9%
— 0.8% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.8%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 50.2%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 36.5%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.5%
– Total population: 5,155 people

#16. Huerfano County

– Worried about global warming: 68.1%
— 1.1% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 65.8%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 49.5%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 61.9%
– Total population: 5,605 people

#15. Clear Creek County

– Worried about global warming: 69.0%
— 1.9% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 68.4%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 47.2%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 45.4%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 63.6%
– Total population: 7,990 people

#14. La Plata County

– Worried about global warming: 69.3%
— 2.2% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 69.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 47.6%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.6%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 62.9%
– Total population: 45,008 people

#13. Gunnison County

– Worried about global warming: 70.1%
— 3.0% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 69.8%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 49.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 47.8%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 64.3%
– Total population: 13,893 people

#12. Ouray County

– Worried about global warming: 70.3%
— 3.2% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 70.4%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 48.3%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 48.0%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 65.1%
– Total population: 4,033 people

#11. Broomfield

– Worried about global warming: 70.4%
— 3.3% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 71.5%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 48.6%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 41.6%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 66.3%
– Total population: 52,144 people

#10. Conejos County

– Worried about global warming: 70.7%
— 3.6% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 66.8%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 53.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 37.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 64.0%
– Total population: 5,964 people

#9. Lake County

– Worried about global warming: 70.7%
— 3.6% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 68.1%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 50.0%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.7%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 64.3%
– Total population: 6,349 people

#8. Eagle County

– Worried about global warming: 70.8%
— 3.7% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 69.5%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 48.9%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 40.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 64.7%
– Total population: 42,686 people

#7. San Miguel County

– Worried about global warming: 70.9%
— 3.8% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 72.0%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 50.1%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 48.1%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 65.7%
– Total population: 6,604 people

#6. San Juan County

– Worried about global warming: 71.2%
— 4.1% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 69.3%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 49.5%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 46.2%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 65.2%
– Total population: 513 people

#5. Pitkin County

– Worried about global warming: 71.9%
— 4.8% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 72.5%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 50.4%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 48.6%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 66.5%
– Total population: 15,045 people

#4. Adams County

– Worried about global warming: 73.0%
— 5.9% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 69.2%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 51.3%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 33.6%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 67.3%
– Total population: 368,249 people

#3. Boulder County

– Worried about global warming: 73.3%
— 6.2% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 72.7%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 50.7%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 47.5%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 65.9%
– Total population: 260,066 people

#2. Costilla County

– Worried about global warming: 76.2%
— 9.1% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 71.9%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 58.6%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 39.3%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 69.0%
– Total population: 3,062 people

#1. Denver

– Worried about global warming: 76.5%
— 9.4% higher than Colorado’s average
– Agree that global warming is affecting weather: 76.0%
– Think global warming will harm them personally: 54.6%
– Hear about global warming in the media at least weekly: 42.0%
– Think Congress should be doing more to address global warming: 72.9%
– Total population: 565,889 people


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