  The consequences of anthropogenic climate change are extensively debated
through scientific papers, newspaper articles, and blogs. Newspaper articles
may lack accuracy, while the severity of findings in scientific papers may be
too opaque for the public to understand. Social media, however, is a forum
where individuals of diverse backgrounds can share their thoughts and opinions.
As consumption shifts from old media to new, Twitter has become a valuable
resource for analyzing current events and headline news. In this research, we
analyze tweets containing the word "climate" collected between September 2008
and July 2014. Through use of a previously developed sentiment measurement tool
called the Hedonometer, we determine how collective sentiment varies in
response to climate change news, events, and natural disasters. We find that
natural disasters, climate bills, and oil-drilling can contribute to a decrease
in happiness while climate rallies, a book release, and a green ideas contest
can contribute to an increase in happiness. Words uncovered by our analysis
suggest that responses to climate change news are predominately from climate
change activists rather than climate change deniers, indicating that Twitter is
a valuable resource for the spread of climate change awareness.
