Hoosier Life Survey Summary Report

Preparing for Environmental Change in Indiana: The Hoosier Life Survey

Note: For descriptions of charts published in this report, contact ERI at eri@iu.edu or 812-855-8539.

Environmental changes such as extreme weather events, rising temperatures, floods, or droughts affect people across the globe. But whatever their source and however great their extent, these conditions also touch us at local levels that we experience each day—around the house, across our community, on the farm, and throughout the state where we live.

The global challenge of environmental change is an Indiana challenge, too.

What is the Hoosier Life Survey?

The Hoosier Life Survey (HLS) is the nation’s most comprehensive statewide public-opinion survey of environmental change to date. The HLS addresses how environmental changes—particularly extreme weather events—are perceived, how they affect people in their homes and towns, what Hoosiers are doing about it, and what they expect for the future. This research, sponsored by Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI), was funded by IU’s Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative.

Between August and December 2019, ERI reached out to 10,000 adult (18+) Hoosiers across Indiana—from Chicago’s suburbs to Cincinnati’s metropolitan fringe, from the Grand Chain of the Wabash to the shore of northern Indiana’s historic Limberlost Swamp. In total, 2,739 Hoosiers—representing 90 of the state’s 92 counties—responded. Thanks to their participation, ERI can now offer scientists, public officials, and the general public new insight into how climate change affects Hoosiers in their everyday lives. (See Appendix 1 for a more detailed description of the survey methods. After dropping respondents from our sample who did not fill out all of the questions examined in this report, our findings below draw on the responses of 1,500 Hoosiers from across the state.)

What does the HLS tell us?

We asked our Indiana neighbors more than 100 questions, organized in sections titled Who You Are, Where You Live, What You Value, What You’ve Heard, You and the Environment, and What You Do. Taken together, our respondents’ answers show us what Hoosiers think about environmental change—its origins, its extent, its impact on their families. The survey tells us, too, how Hoosiers learn about the issuesvital to their future—whom they trust, to whom they listen, from whom they’d like to hear more. It highlights how much Indiana residents are already doing—or are prepared to do—to build resilience in the face of one of the grand challenges of our time. And it reveals the role of political and personal values—along with social, demographic, and economic differences—in dividing Indiana’s citizensin their approach to that challenge—as well as the fundamental things that we share despite such differences.

HLS’s in-depth, localized data enrich and focus the findings of other studies such as the Yale Climate Opinion Maps or the Pew Research Center's US Public Views on Climate and Energy report. While these national surveys provide useful guidance to Americans seeking to understand and prepare for environmental change, the HLS—combined with the ERI's Hoosier Resilience Index, ERI Toolkit, and the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment, coordinated by the Purdue Climate Change Research Center—provides a model for universities and states wishing to tailor their understanding of environmental change and resilience strategies to the particular geographies and political and social settings in which practical, local actions can be taken.

What have we learned so far? Highlights of the HLS

In the sections that follow, we highlight some statewide findings about Hoosier responses to environmental change and extreme weather events. Look for more detailed analysis of these and other results in the months to come.

What You’ve Heard

How informed do Hoosiers feel?

We asked Hoosiers how well-informed they feel about the risks from extreme weather, a key impact of climate change, and the strategies or solutions needed to face them. While most respondents have some idea of what changes in household practice or public policy might improve resilience, they told us that they feel better-informed about the facts of climate-related problems than they do about how to respond to those challenges (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Few Hoosiers feel well informed about how to prepare for climate-related extreme weather events
*Question: How well-informed do you feel about the following?*
Response options	Extreme weather events that may affect me or my family	Household practices to reduce risks from extreme weather events	Programs or policies that can reduce the risks future extreme weather
Not at all informed	3%	7%	17%
Slightly informed	16%	31%	40%
Moderately informed	54%	47%	34%
Very informed	28%	16%	10%

SPOTLIGHT: The role of age in shaping how informed Hoosiers feel about extreme weather

While most Hoosiers do not feel “very informed” about the risks associated with weather extremes and even fewer feel “very informed” about how to prepare for these events, there are some clear differences in who feels this way among Indiana residents. Older Hoosiers are more likely than younger Hoosiers to feel very informed about these risks and the policies to deal with them (Figure 2).

Moving forward, it will be important to determine if older Hoosiers are actually accurately informed about the risks from extreme weather events, as many extremes to come (such as greater frequency and intensity of heat waves) pose a more significant risk to older individuals. Given that fewer older Hoosiers feel very informed about how to deal with extreme events, more outreach and resources may be needed to help this already vulnerable population prepare.

Figure 2: Older Hoosiers more likely to feel "very informed" about extreme weather risks and Policies to prepare for them
*Question: How well-informed do you feel about the following?*
Response options	% very informed about risks from extreme weather	% very informed about household practices to reduce risks from extreme weather events	% very informed about programs and policies that can reduce the risk from future weather extremes
Ages 18-22	18%	12%	9%
Ages 23-38	18%	9%	7%
Ages 39-54	32%	20%	11%
Ages 55-73	35%	19%	12%
Ages 74 and over	39%	15%	15%
Average across all Hoosiers	30%	14%	9%

Whom do Hoosiers trust?

We asked Hoosiers whom they trusted to provide reliable information on how to prepare for the impact of extreme weather events. They registered their highest level of distrust toward local officials; their highest level of trust, by far, lay in their own judgment. Scientific communities comprised their next most trusted source of information on how to prepare for future climate impacts, followed by family, friends and neighbors, and the media (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Hoosiers most trust their own judgment, and then scientists, when it comes to getting information about preparing for extreme weather
*Question: How much do you trust each of the following sources to provide you with information about how to prepare for extreme weather?*
Response options	My family, friends, and neighbors	Media sources	Local public officials	State public officials
Don't trust at all	5%	10%	16%	13%
Trust some	57%	63%	60%	56%
Trust a lot	36%	26%	19%	26%
Don't know	3%	1%	6%	5%

Figure 3 (continued)
Response options	Indiana-based scientists	Nationally or internationally-based scientists	My own judgment
Don't trust at all	7%	10%	4%
Trust some	47%	46%	38%
Trust a lot	35%	37%	55%
Don't know	11%	7%	3%

SPOTLIGHT: Community type of trust in information sources

Whom Hoosiers trust for information about how to prepare for the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events, will shape how or even if they prepare.

Individuals we surveyed who identified their community as “urban” were much more likely to trust scientists “a lot” for information about how to prepare for the impacts of extreme weather than those in rural areas. “Rural” and “urban” Hoosiers were both more likely than suburban and small-town Hoosiers to trust their “own judgment” a lot. These results suggest that expert-driven outreach may be an effective way to connect urban residents with resilience planning information, but be less influential in rural communities. Efforts that allow rural residents make up their own mind, such as connecting with local stakeholders or holding community meetings or dialogues, may be more a impactful form of outreach with residents of rural communities.

Figure 4: Trust in information source differs by type of community
*Percentage trusting each source "a lot" to provide them with information about preparing for future weather extremes*
Response options	Rural	Small town	Suburban	Urban
Trust family, friends and neighbors a lot	36%	36%	35%	37%
Trust media sources a lot	24%	24%	27%	31%
Trust local public officials a lot	16%	20%	17%	26%
Trust state public officials a lot	24%	28%	34%	26%
Trust Indiana scientists a lot	28%	35%	37%	43%
Trust national or international scientists a lot	27%	37%	41%	48%
Trust my own judgment a lot	60%	53%	50%	60%

You and the Environment

Beliefs about climate change

Most Hoosiers believe that climate change is happening—both from their own experience and from what they understand as the scientific consensus. They are less unified in their assessment of the source of this change—whether it comes from natural, human, or some combination of natural and human causes. Roughly eight out of ten of those who believe that the climate is changing also believe that this change is at least to some extent related to human activity. Yet, as figure 6 shows, not all of those who see human activity as playing a role in climate change believe our actions are the primary cause.

Figure 5: Most Hoosiers think climate change is happening
*Percentage expressing their belief about if climate change is happening*
Response options	Is climate change happening?
No	14%
Yes	75%
Don't know	11%

Figure 6: Excluding those who do not believe the climate is changing, nearly 80% of Hoosiers who believe that humans play a causal role to at least some degree
*Percentage expressing what they believe is causing climate change; results exclude those who do not believe the climate is changing (N=1,295)*
Response options	Do you think climate change is caused...
Entirely or mostly by human activities	39%
Equally by natural and human activities	40%
Entirely or mostly by natural causes	10%
I am uncertain what is causing the climate to change	11%

Figure 7: Scientific consensus not recognized by 1/3 of Hoosiers
*Percentage responding to: which comes closest to your own view about scientific understandings of climate change?*
Response options	How do Hoosiers perceive scientific census on climate change?
Most scientists think climate change is happening	57%
There is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not climate change is happening	28%
Most scientists think climate change is not happening	2%
Don't know enough to say	14%

SPOTLIGHT: Climate change in the media and Hoosiers’ awareness of scientific consensus

Over 97 percent of climate scientists agree climate change is happening and caused by humans (Cook et al. 2016). Yet, nearly one-third of Hoosiers perceive much disagreement among scientists (Figure 7). Hearing about climate change more frequently appears to be associated with being more likely to correctly recognize scientific consensus (Figure 8).

This finding may suggest that greater communication and outreach efforts could encourage more widespread recognition of the reality of the climate crisis.

Figure 8: Greater media consumption associated with greater recognition of scientific consensus
*Perception of scientific consensus by frequency of climate change media consumption.*
Response options	Never	Several times a year or less, but not never	At least once a month, but less than once a week	Weekly	Daily
Most scientists think climate change is happening	39%	49%	54%	59%	57%
There is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not climate change is happening	5%	32%	29%	29%	28%
Most scientists think climate change is not happening	>1%	>1%	2%	3%	2%
Don't know enough to say	56%	19%	16%	16%	14%

What impacts are Hoosiers experiencing?

We wanted to know whether and how Hoosiers have directly experienced a range of symptoms of extreme weather or environmental change. We found that, while nearly 80 percent of Hoosiers believe climate change is occurring, relatively few feel that they have witnessed such changes within their own communities (Figure 9). This contrast suggests that perceived personal experience is not the dominant driver of belief in the occurrence of climate change. Overall, most of our respondents think that such conditions have remained about the same in their own area; a small percentage of respondents believe that they have even decreased. We also note that Hoosiers have observed the rise of a few particular symptoms of environmental change more than others: around 30 percent of our survey-takers identified heat waves, heavy rains, or mosquitoes as having increased in their own communities. Interestingly, almost 30 percent of Hoosiers also reported an increase in extreme cold temperatures, which is contradicted by evidence showing that the occurrence of cold events has declined since 1915 (Widhalm et al. 2018).

Figure 9: The environmental changes that Hoosiers see varies considerably by type of change
*Percentage reporting how the occurrence of each event or insect prevalence has changed over time in their community*
Response options	Heavy rains	Floods	Tornadoes	Droughts	Heat waves
Less	7%	16%	21%	17%	6%
About the same	60%	52%	58%	57%	51%
More	28%	21%	10%	14%	36%
Don't know	5%	12%	12%	12%	7%

Figure 9 (continued)
Response options	Extreme cold	Severe wind	Ticks	Mosquitoes
Less	11%	6%	9%	9%
About the same	54%	58%	44%	43%
More	29%	29%	19%	36%
Don't know	6%	7%	28%	12%

What impacts are Hoosiers anticipating?

We asked our respondents if they think that their communities will be affected by severe climate stresses in the coming decades. Very few Hoosiers felt that climate change-related impacts will decrease in the future. The two adverse conditions that respondents identified as more likely to increase than simply to stay about the same are the incidence of heat waves and the presence of mosquitoes and ticks (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Many Hoosiers anticipate impacts of climate change will grow in the future
*Percentage reporting their expectations for how the occurrence of each event or insect prevalence will change in the future in their community*
Response options	Destructive floods	Dangerous Heat waves	Dangerously cold temperatures
Will decrease	5%	2%	6%
Will stay about the same	51%	41%	45%
Will increase	29%	46%	38%
Don't know	15%	11%	12%

Figure 10 (continued)
Response options	Diseases caused by ticks or mosquitoes	Destructive Droughts	Damaging winds or tornadoes
Will decrease	5%	4%	3%
Will stay about the same	34%	48%	49%
Will increase	45%	31%	36%
Don't know	16%	17%	12%

SPOTLIGHT: Climate change beliefs and expectations for future changes

What Hoosiers expect to come in the future may shape how they choose to prepare today. While many in Indiana anticipate that the accelerating impacts of climate change will touch their community, individuals’ beliefs about climate change shape the extent to which they anticipate these impacts.

In figure 11, we show that Hoosiers who do not believe climate change is occurring now, or those who do not feel it is caused by human activity to any extent, are much less likely to anticipate future climate change-related impacts. Interestingly, Hoosiers' expectations for greater prevalence of tick and mosquito-related disease were not as tied to climate change beliefs as expectations for other changes.

Figure 11: Hoosiers' expectations for future changes tied to their climate change beliefs
*Percentage saying each impact "will increase" in their community in the future*
Response options	Entirely or mostly by human activities	Equally by natural and human activities	Entirely or mostly by natural causes	I am uncertain what is causing climate to change	Climate change is not happening
Destructive Floods	50%	26%	5%	22%	7%
Dangerous heat waves	76%	44%	13%	29%	10%
Dangerously cold temperatures	59%	33%	21%	30%	9%
Diseases caused by ticks or mosquitoes	59%	46%	30%	37%	22%
Destructive droughts	53%	30%	7%	15%	5%
Damaging winds or tornadoes	59%	33%	17%	26%	6%

Figure 12: Few Hoosiers anticipated being impacted by major disease outbreak in next decade, most concerned about the economy
*Question: How likely do you think it is that your family will be harmed by any of the following possible events?*
Response options	Major disease outbreak	Government Shutdown	Extreme Weather	Economic crisis
Very unlikely	16%	5%	8%	3%
Unlikely	36%	15%	19%	14%
Feel neutral	25%	28%	25%	21%
Likely	14%	28%	27%	33%
Very likely	4%	21%	16%	23%

What crises are Hoosiers anticipating?

We asked survey respondents how likely, in their estimation, it was that within the next decade that their family’s well-being would be impacted by a variety of major events: extreme weather, government shutdown, economic crisis or major disease outbreak. Economic crisis (23 percent) and government shutdown (21 percent) were the events that respondents were most likely to feel were “very likely” to impact them in this timeframe. It is also clear that when our respondents received their surveys in the fall of 2019, few were anticipating that in only a few months the world would experience the spread of a deadly virus such as COVID-19. Indeed, a major disease outbreak was the event least anticipated by our respondents. Over half (52 percent) of the Hoosiers we surveyed felt it was “unlikely’ or “very unlikely” that a major disease outbreak would impact them in the next decade (results not shown), with only 4 percent of the state feeling this type of event was “very likely” to harm them (Figure 12).

SPOTLIGHT: COVID-19 and Hoosiers’ expectations about future crises

At the time of this report, COVID-19 has been particularly impactful on major cities across the United States, including Indianapolis. Despite being Indiana’s current epicenter for the disease’s outbreak, our results suggest that when compared with residents of other cities, towns, and regions of the state, Indianapolis residents were on average the less likely to expect their family’s lives to be impacted by a major disease outbreak over the next 10 years (Figure 13).

However, upon a closer look, we see a stark divide based on household income among the city’s residents. Lower-income Hoosiers living in Indianapolis, defined by earning $0-$44,999 annually, were more likely to expect to be harmed by a major disease outbreak than those in the same income bracket who lived in other areas of the state (27 percent to 19 percent respectively, Figure 14). In contrast, respondents in middle-to-high income households in Indianapolis were less likely than those in other regions with the same income to expect this event (10 percent compared to 18 percent respectively). As some recent evidence suggests, lower-income individuals are more at risk from COVID-19 for a variety of reasons (Mansoor, 2020). Our results imply that, in Indiana and especially Indianapolis, lower-income individuals were also more likely to expect to suffer from this type of crises, among other impacts (see also figure 18).

Figure 13: Indianapolis residents were less likely to expect a major disease outbreak than those residing in other areas
*Question: How likely do you think it is that your family will be harmed by any of the following possible events? Information is based on the respondent's place of residence*
Response options	Metro Indianapolis	All other areas of the state
Very unlikely	17%	15%
Unlikely	44%	35%
Feel neutral	24%	25%
Likely	9%	15%
Very likely	3%	44%

Figure 14: Income differences shape how likely Indianapolis residents felt major disease outbreak was
*Percentage expecting that a major disease outbreak was "likely" or "very likely" to impact their family in the next 10 years*
Response options	Metro Indianapolis low income	Metro Indianapolis middle-high income	All other areas of the state low income	All other areas of the state middle-high income
Very unlikely	13%	16%	14%	18%
Unlikely	31%	48%	29%	36%
Feel neutral	25%	25%	27%	24%
Likely	16%	7%	13%	15%
Very likely	11%	3%	5%	4%
Don't know	5%	1%	12%	4%

How concerned are Hoosiers?

A majority of Hoosiers anticipate that climate change will harm the people, plants, and animals of Indiana. Most agree, too, that climate change is already adversely affecting other Americans (Figure 15). Almost 30 percent believe that these changes will affect the people of Indiana a “great deal,” with only around 15 percent believing that they will be personally harmed “a great deal” (Figure 16). Few tend to believe that the majority of Hoosiers in their community are concerned about the potential dangers of extreme weather events (Figure 17).

Figure 15: Majority of Hoosiers think climate change is harming people in the United States now
*Percentage responding to: When will climate change harm people in the US?; results exclude those who do not believe climate change is happening (n=1,295)*
Response options	When will climate change harm people in the US?
They are being harmed	58%
In 10 years	11%
In 25 years	11%
In 50 years	8%
In 100 years	7%
Never	5%

Figure 16: Many Hoosiers expect climate change will harm Indiana species, residents or themselves
*Percentage reporting the amount of harm climate change will cause to the following areas; results exclude those who do not believe climate change is happening (n=1,295)*
Response options	Indiana plants and animals	People in Indiana	Me personally
Not at all	3%	3%	10%
Only a little	10%	12%	21%
A moderate amount	36%	42%	36%
A great deal	39%	27%	15%
Don't know	12%	16%	18%

Figure 17: How many people do Hoosiers believe are concerned about the risk posed by weather extremes in their community?
Response options	Concerned about the risks extreme weather events pose to the community
None	10%
Some	37%
Most	15%
All	2%
Don't know	37%

SPOTLIGHT: Income and perceived risk from climate change

Lower-income households are among the most at-risk from climate change. Limited economic resources constrain their capacity to adapt their homes or lifestyles to new risks, and often they are already more exposed to environmental risks, such as pollution from industrial production (Tol et al. 2004).

Perhaps reflecting these circumstances, Hoosiers in lower-income households are more likely to perceive that climate change will harm them personally a “great deal” than those in high-income households (Figure 18). Lower-income populations, therefore, may require less emphasis on the need to prepare for climate change and
could benefit from programs and policies that provide resources which enable these communities to act on their already higher level of personal concern.

Figure 18: Lower income Hoosiers more likely to believe climate change will personally harm them "a great deal"
Percentage expressing to what degree they expect climate change will personally harm them; results include only those who believe the climate is changing (n=1,295) and is based on the respondent's household income
Response options	$0 - $24,999	$25,000 - $44,999	$45,000 - $74,999	$75,000 - $114,999	$115,000+
Not at all	3%	9%	11%	9%	17%
Only a little	11%	17%	23%	25%	25%
A moderate amount	41%	35%	34%	38%	36%
A great deal	21%	16%	17%	13%	10%
Don't know	25%	23%	16%	16%	12%

What do Hoosiers believe is possible and effective?

Hoosiers’ responses to environmental change will be shaped by what they consider to be possible. Only a minority (26 percent) of our respondents agree that humans can “do little” to prepare for extreme weather effects. A majority believe that public policy (53 percent) and unspecified “simple things” (52 percent) have the potential to mitigate the impact of these risks upon their communities and themselves (Figure 19).

Figure 19: Most Hoosiers agree it is possible to prepare for future extreme weather events
*Percentage expressing their level of agreement with the following statements:*
Response options	Simple things that I do at home can reduce the risks that extreme weather events pose to my household	Humans can do little to prepare for future extreme weather events	Government policy and programs can reduce the risks that future extreme weather events pose to my community	Advances in science and technology will solve almost every problem humans face
Strongly disagree	10%	26%	10%	23%
Somewhat disagree	8%	34%	14%	23%
Neutral	31%	15%	24%	25%
Somewhat agree	36%	19%	32%	22%
Strongly agree	16%	7%	21%	6%

What You Do

Are Hoosiers taking action at home?

We looked at people’s household responses to the impact of adverse climate conditions, asking both what they currently do and what they might like to do in the future. Their answers reveal that some basic practices for reducing energy consumption and mitigating the impact of heat and cold, such as use of shade trees, improved insulation, and high-efficiency light bulbs, are already in common use (Figure 20 and 21). Other practices, such as installation of solar panels, registered significant interest among Hoosiers as a potential future household activity (Figure 21).

Figure 20: What climate-resilience activities are Hoosiers personally doing?
Response options	Have flood insurance coverage	Use fans (ceiling, box, etc.) to cool my home	Grow food (fruit trees, vegetable garden, etc.)	Set temperature on my water heater to 120° or below	Replace incandescent bulbs with more efficient bulbs	Compost food waste
Never did, don't want to	45%	4%	20%	12%	5%	46%
Used to, but no longer do	5%	6%	18%	3%	4%	9%
Not currently doing, but considering it	14%	2%	25%	12%	7%	26%
Currently do this	21%	88%	37%	53%	83%	16%
Don't know	15%	0%	1%	20%	1%	4%

Figure 21: What household practices are Hoosiers currently using or interested in using that would affect their home's preparedness for climate change?
*Includes only homeowners (n=1,122)*
Response options	Shade trees to cool my home in summer	Improved insulation (windows, attic, etc.) to reduce energy use	Gardens to hold and soak in rainwater (a rain garden)	A programmable thermostat to reduce energy use	Solar panels to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
No, don’t want to	16%	2%	35%	12%	39%
No, but would like to	18%	26%	34%	21%	54%
Yes, currently using	65%	70%	25%	65%	2%
Don't know	1%	2%	6%	1%	5%

Figure 21 (continued)
Response options	Prairie grasses/wildflowers in my yard to reduce lawn size	Pavement that absorbs water on my driveway or sidewalk ("water-permeable pavement")	Rainwater barrels to collect water runoff	Tree removal to reduce my home's risks from high winds/tornadoes
No, don’t want to	52%	41%	44%	45%
No, but would like to	23%	32%	42%	20%
Yes, currently using	19%	11%	9%	30%
Don't know	6%	16%	6%	5%

SPOTLIGHT: Rural Hoosiers and interest in solar panels

Solar panels are a key means to reduce emissions from homes, while also providing greater resilience to the potential increase in severe storm-related power outages in the Midwest. Despite the fact that rural Hoosiers were less than half as likely as urban Hoosiers to believe climate change is caused by humans (22 percent versus 43 percent respectively), they were roughly equally likely to have installed or currently wish to install solar panels on their homes. Importantly, the question specified that the solar panels would “reduce carbon dioxide emissions” (Figure 22).

Whether rural residents specifically wanted to use solar panels for this reason or desired to add them for a different benefit, such as energy independence or lower power-costs, is unclear at this time. What this finding does suggest is that people across the state want to add solar panels—even those in rural areas who may not hold views about climate change that accord with scientific evidence. Policy that supports this effort could have significant impacts in terms of reducing Indiana’s greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the resilience of our energy grid.

Figure 22: Urban and rural Hoosiers express desire for solar panels on their homes
*Percentage stating their openness to installing solar panels at their home to reduce carbon dioxide emissions; includes only homeowners (n=1,122)*
Response options	Rural	Small town	Suburban	Urban
No, don’t want to	38%	46%	35%	34%
No, but would like to	53%	48%	59%	59%
Yes, currently using	4%	2%	0%	1%
Don't know	5%	4%	6%	7%

Do Hoosiers perceive others in their community to be acting?

Despite the commonness of people’s reported efforts (or desires) to improve their home’s resilience in the face of a changing climate, only a very limited number of Hoosiers (6 percent) assumed that “most” other residents of their communities had taken the same precautions, and the majority (75 percent) perceived that the number of their neighbors taking these actions was not increasing (Figure 23).

Figure 23: Hoosiers assume few community members are taking household-resilience actions

Questions related to respondent's perception of their community

Figure 23: Current numbers
Response options	The number of community members taking steps to protect their homes from future extreme weather events
None	15%
Some	38%
Most	6%
All	1%

Figure 23: Over time
Response options	Over time, the number of community members taking steps to protect their homes is…
Don't know	40%
Decreasing	5%
Staying about the same	75%
Increasing	20%

What climate-related programs and policies do Hoosiers support?

Beyond the level of particular household practices, Hoosiers also offered their thoughts on the efficacy of wider-scale efforts to prepare for extreme weather events. Given a wide range of options toward which to apply hypothetical tax dollars, HLS respondents favored a combination of conservation-oriented measures (such as replacing paved areas with water-absorbent landscapes) and engineering-based solutions, such as building higher floodwalls to prevent flooding or extending additional pipelines to minimize the impact of drought. In other words, a significant number of Hoosiers tend to favor some government assistance in ameliorating the adverse impacts of environmental change—but respondents show no clear preference for solutions that may favor long-term resilience over shorter-term relief. Below, in figure 24, we categorize the survey’s proposed policies and programs by two groups: Short-term fixes and long-term solutions. Short-term fixes, as the name implies, provide risk-reduction benefits, but likely increase future risks by accelerating environmental harms or failing to alter key risky behaviors. Many long-term solutions may be harder to implement, but ultimately provide greater resilience in that they promote changes to our existing, environmentally harmful behavior. At this point, we cannot conclude there are any differences in Hoosiers’ support for resilience policy and practices based on these categories.

Figure 24: What climate-resilience policies and programs do Hoosiers support?
*Question: If Indiana were to seek tax money to reduce the risk of extreme weather, how would you like to see that money used in your community?*
Response options	Use public funding so all residents can afford air conditioning	Expand local reservoirs or extend more pipelines to other water sources	Build stronger and higher flood walls where necessary	Increase pesticide treatments to reduce health risks from ticks and mosquitoes	Require residents to use less water during droughts
Strongly oppose	19%	4%	5%	8%	10%
Somewhat oppose	17%	10%	7%	15%	10%
Somewhat support	36%	44%	42%	36%	41%
Strongly support	19%	27%	38%	34%	34%
Unsure	9%	15%	8%	7%	6%

Figure 24 (continued)
Response options	Replace some paved areas with water-absorbent landscape	Plant more trees on town streets to reduce impacts of flooding and heat waves	Mandate that key services be scheduled for cooler evening hours	Implement a buyout program for flood-prone properties	Provide vulnerable populations with free health services during heat waves
Strongly oppose	8%	4%	19%	11%	10%
Somewhat oppose	6%	6%	22%	17%	13%
Somewhat support	45%	35%	26%	34%	36%
Strongly support	33%	51%	16%	15%	35%
Unsure	8%	6%	17%	23%	8%

Figure 24 (continued)
Response options	Construct new transportation routes to reduce the impact of flooding	Adopt a text-based early warning system to reduce risks from heat waves	Construct more bike lanes/routes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions	Offer public funding to help residents install solar panels	Provide repellent and education sessions to reduce health risks from ticks and mosquitoes
Strongly oppose	9%	6%	10%	10%	8%
Somewhat oppose	15%	7%	13%	10%	12%
Somewhat support	39%	42%	36%	32%	42%
Strongly support	21%	39%	33%	42%	33%
Unsure	18%	6%	7%	7%	6%

Figure 24 (continued)
Response options	Use funding to help residents plant shade trees around their homes	Use funding to help residents place water-absorbent landscaping around homes	Install more electric vehicle charging stations	Increase funding for emergency management services	Expand access to public transportation to reduce emissions
Strongly oppose	11%	14%	11%	5%	6%
Somewhat oppose	16%	16%	13%	10%	11%
Somewhat support	36%	35%	36%	41%	39%
Strongly support	30%	25%	25%	37%	35%
Unsure	8%	10%	16%	8%	9%

Who should pay for climate policy in Indiana?

Because all of the above questions assumed the existence of public funds, we also asked our survey respondents who they thought should bear the cost of such initiatives (Figure 25). Nearly half said that such funds could be levied in the form of a statewide income tax increase of up to 1 percent. Well over half reported that they would support such a tax—if it were levied solely on households earning more than $165,000 per year (roughly three times the state’s current median household income). And a greater majority, still, said that they would favor such a tax if it were levied specifically on corporations, in proportion to the degree to which they are responsible for emissions of pollution. Yet despite these signs of statewide support, we found that only 7 percent of Hoosiers felt that “most” of their fellow community members would be likely to support additional tax levies earmarked for the purpose of addressing climate risk, and half reported they “don’t know” how their community feels about these taxes. This contrast may suggest that many in Indiana are not discussing these issues with their neighbors. Similarly, the vast majority of respondents (72 percent) felt the number of their community members supportive of these taxes was not changing (Figure 26).

Figure 25: Who should pay for climate resilience policy in the state?
*Level of public support for distributing the burden of a hypothetical tax to address extreme weather events facing the state*
Response options	A tax increase on corporations and companies, where those that pollute more in the state pay more	A 1% income tax increase only on state residents who earn over $165,000 a year	A less than 1% income tax increase on all state residents
Strongly oppose	8%	18%	11%
Somewhat oppose	5%	10%	26%
Feel neutral	4%	7%	18%
Somewhat support	20%	24%	31%
Strongly support	63%	41%	14%

Figure 26: Many "Don't know" how their community views climate-related policy, few feel support is increasing

Questions related to respondent's perception of their community

Figure 26: Current numbers
*The current number of community members supportive of using tax money on policies or projects that protect the community from future extreme weather events*
Response options	The number of community members supportive of using tax money on policies or projects that protect the community from future extreme weather events:
None	13%
Some	29%
Most	7%
All	1%
Don't know	50%

Figure 26: Over time
*Over time, the number of people supportive of using tax money on policies or projects is...*
Response options	The number of people supportive of using tax money on policies or projects is…
Decreasing	14%
Staying about the same	72%
Increasing	14%

SPOTLIGHT: Politics and Taxes

Political ideology is among the most significant factors shaping how Americans view the issue of climate change (McCright et al. 2016). While this fact remains true among Hoosiers and in our data, some measures to address weather extremes receive majority support from the public regardless of their personal politics.

Addressing climate change, and its impacts, requires state-level action and likely new revenue streams to fund these actions. Toward this end, the majority of Hoosiers from all political affiliations—when faced with a situation that demanded increased public funding—supported raising a tax on businesses based on the amount of pollution they create (Figure 27). This should not be viewed as a question about the viability of the policy so much as it is a way of gauging the relative support for who Hoosiers feel should pay for addressing environmental risks in the state.

Figure 27: Majority of Hoosiers from all political affiliations support taxing polluters to address weather-related risks"
Question: To address extreme weather facing the state, how much would you support a tax increase on corporations and companies, where those pollute the most pay the most, based on respondent's political affiliation
Response options	Republican	Independent, lean Republican	Independent	Independent, lean Democrat	Democrat
Strongly oppose	10%	13%	11%	0%	1%
Somewhat oppose	8%	9%	5%	0%	2%
Feel neutral	4%	3%	6%	2%	2%
Somewhat support	28%	27%	17%	15%	13%
Strongly support	51%	49%	61%	83%	82%

Looking for more?

In coming months—through public appearances, news features, media releases, and scholarly studies—the HLS team will provide additional detail from the survey responses and continue to highlight insights and provoke further research into how Indiana residents, scientists, businesses, and public officials can work together to build resilient communities. Scientists predict that over the next 50 years our state’s average temperature will increase by 5°F to 6°F. Additionally, we will see more frequent and intense precipitation events, leading to more flooding, especially in the spring. Some areas of the state could see up to a six-fold increase in the number of extremely hot days (over 95°F) in the next 30 years (Widhalm et al. 2018). You can find complete survey results—and tailor them to address the questions that most interest you and your neighbors—on our interactive website, https://eri.iu.edu/tools-and-resources/hoosier-life-survey-opinion-map.html.

Appendix 1: Methods

The survey from which data for this report were drawn was sent out to 10,000 Hoosiers between August and December 2019. The survey focused on gathering a broad range of information related to Indiana residents’ views of their community, environmental changes and risk, climate change beliefs, the household- and community-level actions they were taking or supported being pursued, and their personal values. Surveys were sent to Indiana households using a spatially stratified sampling approach. To ensure adequate coverage of people across the entire state and for later geographically specific analysis, our team developed eight in-state regions, defined by clusters of counties. Each of Indiana’s 92 counties was included in a region. From each region, 1,250 home addresses were drawn at random from the United States Postal Service’s list (for a total of 10,000), which was purchased from a private address-based sampling vendor.

In mailing surveys to these households, a modified Dillman approach was used with a total of five mailing-waves (Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2014). In an initial wave of mailings, households received a cover letter informing them about the survey, noting the confidentially of their responses and asking them to fill out the survey online. A link to the online survey and user ID number were provided in the cover letter. Roughly two weeks later, a reminder postcard was sent to all sampled individuals who had yet to respond. After approximately another two-week period, respondents who had yet to fill out the survey online were sent a paper booklet version of the survey and another cover letter requesting their participation. A final mailing wave, containing another booklet and cover letter, was sent to all remaining non-participants after another two-week period. Both the initial contact for the web-based survey and the mail-based version contained $2 pre-incentive payments. Upon completing the survey, respondents could request a $20 Amazon or Walmart gift card. In total, our response rate was just over 27 percent. Case-wise deletion analysis was used to address missing data in this report, resulting in 1,500 cases being examined. Patterns of missing data were explored, as were relationships between missing responses and key demographics. No consistent patterns emerged, nor were strong relationships identified. In terms of differences between the full and complete samples, average age of respondents was the only significantly different demographic variable (average of 51 versus 50 years old, respectively). In consequence, this data may slightly over-represent younger respondents. Future HLS reports and data products may use data imputation methods depending on analysis type and the variables of interest. There is also the potential for some bias introduced bias the question design.

To ensure accurate population estimates for this analysis, survey weights were used. Weighting incorporates: (1) a base weight adjustment for unequal probabilities of selection due to disproportionate stratified sampling by region and due to the number of adults in the household, (2) a differential nonresponse adjustment to correct for unequal response rates by stratum/region, and (3) a calibration adjustment to 2018 American Community Survey estimates on gender, age, education, race, and Hispanic origin in the Indiana adult population. Weights were trimmed and scaled to the unweighted number of respondents.

References

Cook, John, Naomi Oreskes, Peter T. Doran, William R.L. Anderegg, Bart Verheggen, Ed W. Mailback, J. Sutart Carlton, et al. 2016. “Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming.”Environmental Research Letters 11, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002.

Dillman, Don A., Jolene D. Smyth, and Leah M. Christian. 2015, Internet, phone, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: the tailored design method. John Wiley & Sons.

Mansoor, Sanya. “Data Suggests Many New York City Neighborhoods Hardest Hit by COVID-19 Are Also Low-Income Areas.” TIME, April 5, 2020. https://time.com/5815820/data-new-york-low-income-neighborhoods-coronavirus/.

McCright, Aaron M., Sandra T. Marquart-Pyatt, Rachael L. Shwom, Steven R. Brechin, and Summer Allen. 2016. “Ideology, capitalism, and climate: Explaining public views about climate change in the United States.” Energy Research & Social Science, 21: 180-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.08.003.

Tol, Richard S.J., Thomas E. Downing, Onno J. Kuik, Joel B. Smith. 2004. “Distributional aspects of climate change impacts.” Global Environmental Change, 14, no. 3: 259-272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2004.04.007.

Widhalm, Melissa, Alan Hamlet, Kyuhun Byun, Scott Robeson, Mike Baldwin, Paul Staten, Chun-mei Chiu, et al. 2018. “Indiana’s Past & Future Climate: A Report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment.” A Report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment. Purdue Climate Change Research Center, Purdue University. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316634.

Hoosier Life Survey Summary Report

Preparing for Environmental Change in Indiana: The Hoosier Life Survey

What is the Hoosier Life Survey?

What does the HLS tell us?

What have we learned so far? Highlights of the HLS

What You’ve Heard

How informed do Hoosiers feel?

SPOTLIGHT: The role of age in shaping how informed Hoosiers feel about extreme weather

Whom do Hoosiers trust?

SPOTLIGHT: Community type of trust in information sources

You and the Environment

Beliefs about climate change

SPOTLIGHT: Climate change in the media and Hoosiers’ awareness of scientific consensus

What impacts are Hoosiers experiencing?

What impacts are Hoosiers anticipating?

SPOTLIGHT: Climate change beliefs and expectations for future changes

What crises are Hoosiers anticipating?

SPOTLIGHT: COVID-19 and Hoosiers’ expectations about future crises

How concerned are Hoosiers?

SPOTLIGHT: Income and perceived risk from climate change

What do Hoosiers believe is possible and effective?

What You Do

Are Hoosiers taking action at home?

SPOTLIGHT: Rural Hoosiers and interest in solar panels

Do Hoosiers perceive others in their community to be acting?

Figure 23: Hoosiers assume few community members are taking household-resilience actions

What climate-related programs and policies do Hoosiers support?

Who should pay for climate policy in Indiana?

Figure 26: Many "Don't know" how their community views climate-related policy, few feel support is increasing

SPOTLIGHT: Politics and Taxes

Looking for more?

Appendix 1: Methods

References

Environmental Resilience Institute resources

Additional links and resources