Those who do not view climate change as a significant problem driven mainly by human activity and the continued use of fossil fuels are also often associated with a partisan divide.

But a June 2021 Pew Research Center poll found that millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z adults (born between 1997 and 2012) showed “high levels of engagement” in addressing climate change, regardless of party affiliation or ideology.

The poll found that among Republicans, generational differences in views about climate change are “quite pronounced.”

The study found that 49% of Gen Z and 48% of millennial Republicans say that action is needed now to reduce the effects of climate change, compared to only 37% of Gen X (born after 1964) and 26% of baby boomers (born after 1946) who say it should be a top priority.

Among Democrats, attitudinal differences by generation are less common, with large numbers saying that climate action is important and supporting policies to reduce climate impacts, Pew reported.

Stephen Rosenbaum, the president of Central Connecticut State University’s College Republicans, said that addressing climate change should be a long-term priority for the country, but said he believes the U.S. currently has other, more pressing issues to address.

“People are hesitant to name humans as the reason behind climate change,” Rosenbaum said. “People mainly do this because of politics, not science.”

The spread of climate denial can be attributed to a lack of trust in climate scientists and the spread of misinformation over the internet, experts said.  A study released by the Center for Countering Digital Hate attributed 69% of climate denial content on Facebook to 10 websites, referred to as the Toxic Ten. These websites also spread uncertainty about climate change through Google advertisements and have amassed over 150 million followers, the center says.

Pew found that only 15% of conservative Republicans trusted climate scientists to give full and accurate information about the causes of climate change, compared to 70% of Democrats, among all Americans.

Conservatives also were more likely than liberal voters to believe that climate research findings were influenced by scientists’ political leanings, according to the poll.

The impact of climate change is seen especially in coastal areas and in areas with extreme temperatures. For example, wildfires have been spreading throughout the western United States, destroying communities and natural habitats. Wildfire smoke can travel thousands of miles to other regions of the country, adversely affecting the air quality, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Forest Service.

Surveys conducted by The Conservation Coalition, the Conservation Energy Network and Pew report that conservative Republican voters are more likely to support climate policies created by Republican legislators who focus on job and economic growth.

Studies on climate denial have become increasingly common and help environmental organizations like the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters to understand why some may lobby against climate legislation. According to a 2019 study over $2 billion was spent on climate lobbying between 2000 and 2016. The researchers found the money came mainly from fossil fuel and transportation companies. The researchers reported that exact amounts were difficult to find due to weakening campaign finance laws and untraceable philanthropy.

“It’s very validating to see more studies about the money that goes into lobbying,” said Lori Brown, the executive director of CTLCV. Brown said this information can help those working to address climate change by increasing advocates’ knowledge of those lobbying against climate change measures.

Khira Francis is a journalist with a strong interest in the environment and public health. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2021 with bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences and journalism. She was previously an intern with Bloomberg News and the Willimantic Chronicle. Khira hopes to continue writing about climate change, nature, and its effects on people over time. 

Yalof, 27, is one of a growing number of millennials using health-related mobile apps. While smartphone app use has risen in general, the use of health-related apps is particularly prominent among millennials, or those born between 1980 and the early 2000s, research shows.

Among smartphone users of all ages, 19 percent have apps on their phone to track or manage some aspect of their health, according to Pew Research Center’s report “Mobile Health 2012,” the most recent comprehensive report on the topic.   In June, Flurry mobile analytics reported that health and fitness apps grew 62 percent in usage from December 2013 to June 2014. The overall growth of app usage was 33 percent.

C25K.com Photo

C25K is an app for runners.

Younger demographics are more likely to use health apps than their older counterparts, according to the Pew report. Among those ages 18 to 29, for instance, 24 percent – the greatest share of any age group – had health apps on their phones at the time of the report. That compared with 19 percent for those ages 30 to 49, 16 percent among those 60 to 64, and 10 percent among those 65 and older.

Yalof, who lives in Stamford, has been using the Nike+ app for roughly three years and says it has become a favorite. She uses it to track her running mileage both indoors and outdoors, when the app maps her runs using GPS.

Each run ends with a congratulatory message from a famous athlete, she said. A recent run, for instance, concluded with a message from Sanya Richards Ross, who won the gold medal for the 4×400 relay in the 2012 Olympics.

“It’s now earned its spot on my homepage for apps for my iPhone,” Yalof said of the app. “I use it about twice a week.”

The most commonly downloaded health apps, according to the Pew study, are those pertaining to exercise, fitness, pedometers or heart rate monitoring. Among all age groups, 38 percent of health app users download apps for those uses.

The second most popular types of health apps are those focusing on diet, food or counting calories. Thirty-one percent of all health-app users download apps for those purposes.

Apps are beneficial because they give users accountability, provide clinicians with useful information that can inform patient care, and in many cases make users more aware of what they are eating throughout the day, said Dr. Ania Jastreboff, an assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine specializing in endocrinology, metabolism and weight management.

As an endocrinologist who works with adult patients struggling with obesity, she encourages all of her patients to track their food intake.

“It helps them identify what food they are consuming and their eating habits,” she said. “[Apps] allow people to be more mindful about what they are eating throughout the day.”

Another major draw of health apps, particularly for millennials, is the social support aspect, Jastreboff said. Many users appreciate that some apps encourage healthy competition and track their progress with friends or other app users, or post accomplishments on social media, she said.

“It gives you this positive peer pressure and accountability,” she said, adding millennials are especially drawn to this feature because social networking is often is a significant part of their lives.

Christa Tubach, 25, of West Hartford, uses four apps to keep track of her health and fitness goals. After playing sports throughout her childhood and high school, she began going to a gym in college and finds the apps have helped her stay on track.

“These apps help me keep track of my workout life and try to continue making them a priority,” Tubach said. She uses Map My Run, the weight-training app StrongLifts, C25K (which stands for Couch to 5K) and Lose It! and said the nutrition app Lose It! is her favorite.

“It’s so easy to lose track of what you’re eating during the day, and although you might think something sounds healthy, once you put it into the app, you could find out otherwise,” she said of Lose It!, which gives users foods’ nutritional values.

“I love being able to directly scan a food item, being able to set up weight goals, and having all of this information all in one place, so I can look back at good or bad meals,” she said.

Santo Galatioto, 33, of Orange, also likes using an app to keep track of what he eats. His favorite is My Fitness Pal, which he has been using for the past year.

“I like that I can track my calories and what I eat through the day,” he said.

While millennials are the most likely to use health-related apps, according to the study, other age groups are drawn to them as well. African-Americans are more likely to use health apps. The Pew study found that 21 percent of smartphone users who are black have a health-related app on their phones, compared with 19 percent of white smartphone owners and 15 percent of Hispanic owners.

Women, individuals under age 50, those who are better educated, and those with an average household income of at least $75,000 are more likely than others to have downloaded at least one health app, according to the Pew study.