Public opinion on societal issues is often influenced by media, religion, political affiliation, gender, and age. Significant variations in weather is often cited as a key influence on whether a person believed that global warming and climate change is a result of human activity, natural variations, or both. The students in the senior elective, Atmospheric Science, at Marymount School of New York, created and implemented The Global Survey on Youth Perspectives on Global Warming and Climate Change to poll students ages 13 to 18 worldwide to determine what factors influence their beliefs on global warming and climate. The survey found that approximately half of the students believe that global warming and climate change is a result of both human activity and natural variations. The results also showed that students base their beliefs on a combination of scientific research and data as well as information publicly available on the Internet.
