Resource Type: Research & Articles

Frame the new economic legislation around climate and clean energy. Voters support new economic legislation 75%-17% margin when it’s described as “a new bill to lower insurance premiums for people who buy healthcare on their own, invest in clean energy, and bring down the costs of prescription drugs.” By a nearly three-to-one margin (68% support / 23% oppose), voters support the plan’s provision to “ramp up the use of clean energy, like solar and wind power.” Poll respondents were presented with the following two arguments, and sided more with the argument in support of the bill by a 61-%-29% margin: [Supporting Argument] “We should pass this bill. Investing in clean energy like solar and wind power will create jobs, help America become energy independent, and address the growing threat of climate change.” [Opposing Argument] “We should not pass this bill. These investments are another example of wasteful and unnecessary government spending that will be added to an out-of-control national debt and drive up inflation.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including new polling on clean energy investment as part of Biden’s economic plan; “direct pay” reforms to better incentivize clean energy production; electric vehicles and ethanol; and state-level polls in California and Massachusetts.

Spurred by smoke-filled skies and fiery rivers, the first Earth Day mobilization in 1970 helped people understand the connection between environmental pollution and public health. As we commemorate 50+ years of Earth Day this week, a growing body of research documents how climate change harms our health – from heat stroke to wildfire smoke inhalation to insect-borne diseases. Indeed, last fall the World Health Organized released a new report calling climate change “the biggest health threat facing humanity,” and highlighting that, “While no one is safe from these risks, the people whose health is being harmed first and worst by the climate crisis are the people who contribute least to its causes, and who are least able to protect themselves and their families against it – people in low-income and disadvantaged countries and communities.”
When the Lab last explored climate and health in a newsletter* back in 2019, we shared that public awareness of health impacts from climate change was relatively low. Advocacy efforts at the climate/health intersection have gained a lot of traction in recent years, however, organizations (like our friends at the Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health) have helped connect the dots for communities, policymakers, and the media.
 

This resource lists a brief bibliography of research informing the need to combat disinformation, focused on Reality Team’s audience priorities, strategies and tactics. Subcategories include “disinformation is pervasive and persuasive on social media,” “non-news readers are vulnerable to disinformation,” “beliefs affect actions” and “best practices for countering disinformation.”