‘Where is global warming when you need it?’

Lessons learned in the exploration of scientific assumptions about lay knowledge of medicine suggest that experts frequently disregard the ability of laypeople to absorb information and therefore ignore lay patterns in thinking and interpretation, which may be crucial in policy endeavours. This chapter explores a range of lay perspectives on climate change, identifying patterns in the role of immediacy (in space, time, and personal lifestyle) in vernacular understandings of climate change.