Americans rarely talk about climate change with family and friends.

Tragically, research shows that this climate silence reinforces the dangerously wrong belief that climate change isn’t an existential threat requiring urgent action.

But a major new study led by Yale researchers finds that just discussing the issue with friends and family leads them to learn more facts about the climate crisis, which in turn leads to greater understanding and concern about the issue.

The study, titled “Discussing global warming leads to greater acceptance of climate science” was published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).