Resource Type: Polling & Surveys

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including a new edition of Muhlenberg College’s long-running National Survey on Energy and the Environment (NSEE), new polling on potential clean energy investments in Congress, a poll gauging young Americans’ support and interest in a Civilian Climate Corps, and polling on air pollution and environmental injustice in New York State.

Legislation along the lines of the Build Back Better Act is overwhelmingly popular in key U.S. Senate battlegrounds, with clear electoral benefits for incumbents if it passes. On the specific question of how support for this legislation would translate to electoral benefits for incumbents who back it, the poll finds that voters in the four battlegrounds (Nevada, Georgia, New Hampshire, and Arizona) are 23 to 33 points more likely to say that the legislation would make them more inclined to vote for their incumbent than less inclined. 14% of those who do not currently approve of the incumbent say they would be more likely to vote for them if they help pass this legislation. Across the four states, 62% say they would be more motivated and enthusiastic about voting in the elections this November if Congress took action and actually passed this legislation. Democrats in particular would be more motivated to vote (81%), including many Democrats who currently express a lower degree of enthusiasm about voting.

The Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) is strongly appealing to young Americans, who are deeply concerned about climate change but not sure what they can personally do about it. The poll finds that 77% of young Americans aged 18-28 are concerned about climate change. However, when asked about actions they are taking to address climate change, 65% say they “care about climate change” but aren’t sure what they “can do personally to make a difference.” After reading a brief description of the CCC proposal, including its pay (at least $15/hour) and benefits (health care and educational assistance), young Americans support the idea by a resounding 72%-9% margin. Additionally, 38% of young Americans say they would consider joining the Civilian Climate Corps if a position was available to them.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new polling on policies to promote clean energy, clean energy investments as part of potential new economic legislation in Congress, and Americans’ views on whether companies and brands should speak out about climate change.

Voters want companies and brands to speak out about climate change, and young voters in particular want to see companies take public stances on climate. By a 63%-26% margin, voters say they support companies and brands speaking out about climate change. Democratic voters (85% support / 9% oppose) and Gen Z voters (79% support / 11% oppose) are particularly eager to hear companies speak out about climate change. This high level of support among Gen Z voters is consistent with other recent public polling, which has shown that the overwhelming majority of Gen Zers say it’s important to them to support brands and companies that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

In 2020, there were about 6 million Afro-Latino adults in the United States. They made up about 2% of the U.S. adult population and 12% of the adult Latino population. About one-in-seven Afro-Latinos – or an estimated 800,000 adults – do not identify as Hispanic. The life experiences of Afro-Latinos are shaped by race, skin tone and other factors, in ways that differ from other Hispanics. The multiple dimensions of Latino identity reflect the long colonial history of Latin America, during which mixing occurred among indigenous Americans, White Europeans, Asians and enslaved people from Africa.