Drought Experience and Perception of Climatic Change among Great Plains Farmers

How humans perceive, respond, and adapt to long-term climatic change are questions of fundamental interest to nature and society researchers. This paper analyzes the effect of drought experience on Great Plains farmers\u27 perceptions of long-term climate change. Approximately three-quarters of all farmers surveyed believed that the climate is, or is possibiy, changing. Drought experience, while perhaps not initiating concern for climate change, can solidify peoples\u27 perceptions of the certainty and nature of the change. The potential cognitive heuristics used in the formation of climate change perceptions are discussed