Nearly HALF of Americans believe climate change will destroy Earth in their lifetime, survey finds - these are the states where most doom-mongers live

Scientists have predicted that climate change will warm our planet in the coming decades, but many Americans feel the shift will be the end of the world.

A new survey of 5,000 people found that 48 percent of people believe they will live to see climate change destroy Earth.

Hawaiians were the most concerned, with 61 percent stating it will be worse for their state than others, followed by residents of Vermont (59 percent) and New Mexicans (56 percent).  

While Americans are sounding the alarm, 37 percent of respondents said they only take environmental actions because it makes them feel like a good person - and not to just help the planet. 

A new survey of 5,000 Americans found that 48 percent of people believe they will live to see climate change destroy Earth 

The research, conducted by Talker Research, was a random opt-in survey that was split evenly with 100 people per state who were asked if they believe climate change will have a greater impact on their state, versus other states.

Approximately 54 percent in Minnesota agreed the climate crisis will devastate Earth in their lifetime, followed by Connecticut (53 percent), Louisiana (53 percent), Maine (53 percent), Rhode Island (53 percent and Colorado (52 percent).

Indiana ranked 50th with only 36 percent of Americans who believe the end is nigh, as reported by SWNS.  

While Americans fear a warming world will be the end of life as we know it, many reported only taking action for selfish reasons. 

When respondents were asked if the intent of their actions or the end result is more important, 33 percent said the result — with 50 percent saying both were equally important.

And regardless of why they are taking environmentally conscious actions, 32 percent said doing so helps them to sleep better at night.

While Americans are sounding the alarm, 37 percent of respondents said they only take environmental actions because it makes them feel like a good person - and not to just help the planet 

Approximately 10 percent of Americans have spent such much time worrying about their world that they feel they do not have time to take care of themselves.

These individuals may be wasting their energy, according to a Cambridge professor who argued that the world will not end because of climate change.

Professor Mike Hulme told DailyMail.com that belief in the urgent fight against climate change has shot far past the territory of science and become an ideology.

He dubbed this ideology 'climatism,' and he argues that it can distort the way society approaches the world's ills, placing too much focus on slowing Earth from warming.

The problem, he said, is this narrow focus takes attention away from other important moral, ethical, and political objectives - like helping people in the developing world rise out of poverty. 

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Scientist who thought we 'we're all going to die from climate change' reveals 7 reasons she was wrong - and how the issue is being overblown

Then there Hannah Ritchie, a data scientist at the University of Oxford, who had also believed humans would die from the climate crisis, but recently made a U-turn. 

Ritchie claimed that doomsday warnings of floods, widespread famine and deaths from disasters are overshadowing the progress that has been quietly made in recent years, she wrote for The Times.

'To get this out of the way, let me make one thing absolutely clear: I'm not climate change denialist or minimizer,' reads an excerpt from Ritchie's book.

'I spent my life - inside and outside work - researching, writing, and trying to understand our environmental problems and how to solve them.'

She continued to explain that it may do less harm to consider that the total doom is an exaggeration as 'the exaggeration simply acts as a counterbalance to those who underplay the issue.'

'But I'm convinced that there is a better, more optimistic and honest way forward.' the book continued.

She pointed out how emissions per person peaked in 2012 and remained the same since, along with the notion that organic food is not more climate-friendly and that the dreaded 2.7F of warming is not a tipping point into oblivion.

'It has become common to tell kids that they're going to die from climate change,' the first line of the Introduction reads.