Resource Type: Research & Articles

Americans are concerned about climate impacts on U.S. national parks and see national parks as key to climate solutions. 88% of Americans say climate change is negatively impacting national parks, including 95% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans. 92% of Democrats agree that national parks are an important part of the solution to reducing climate change (compared to 75% of Republicans). Similarly, 93% of Democrats say they would be more likely to support their representative if they supported legislation to reduce the impact on parks (compared to 73% of Republicans).

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including a major new report from the Pew Research Center about the clean energy transition, two new polls assessing Americans’ climate attitudes from conservative perspectives, and new polling about energy insecurity among low-income Americans.

President Biden delivered his first State of the Union on Tuesday night, addressing the US response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as a variety of domestic policy concerns – from COVID to inflation to prescription drug prices. He only spoke briefly about climate change, highlighting the cost-saving and job-creation benefits of “Build Back Better” policies that would invest in home weatherization, electric vehicles, and renewable energy.
President Biden also announced the release of 30 billion barrels of oil from the strategic reserve (booo!) and, notably, failed to even mention the recent IPCC report, which details “terrifying” current and projected climate impacts. Just across the street, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week on West Virginia vs. EPA, which could undermine the agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emission from power plants.
The Lab last covered the “state of the climate movement” back in 2019, when Democrats had just regained control of the House, we were writing explainers on Green New Deal, and global pandemics were the stuff of scary movies. All of which is to say… it was a really different world!

Land Justice can only be achieved through three goals: Reparations, Regenerate the Commons, and Landback. The organization Nuns & Nones has created three creative guides—on each of these themes—to imagining land justice. Our nation was built on stolen lands, with stolen labor, carrying a legacy of violence that continues to this day, so Reparations calls for those who have profited from this injustice to repair past and ongoing harms. The climate crisis is unfolding in our daily lives, so the Regenerate the Commons (“solidarity economy”) movement is building real alternatives to capitalism, seeking to shift wealth into shared ownership and governance, and to prioritize planet and people over profits. Through the process of colonization, Indigenous people were forcibly removed from billions of acres of land that they depended upon and belonged to, so the Landback movement can heal the harms of colonization, support regenerative stewardship of the land, and help us evolve into a new era of right relationship. These guides provide thorough arguments for each of these themes.

Discussion of climate on the social media platform Reddit looks less like polarized echo chambers than other social media sites. This resource may be the first to study climate conversation on Reddit, specifically. While the researchers found some evidence of polarization on Reddit (in the form of the topics discussed and sources of information shared), other Reddit sub-communities see more deliberative debate. Reddit may be unique from Twitter and others insofar as it does show some types of quality political debate about climate. These researchers studied the topics discussed, information provided as evidence, and quality of debate among various Reddit communities.

To prevent individuals from believing false claims, “prebunking” can be an effective tactic. “Prebunking” works by inoculating people against false arguments they may be likely to hear. This strategy was tested on COVID vaccine truths and falsehoods, but it has also been found to work for beliefs about climate change, alcohol education, extremism, and health issues. This strategy was tested using 30-second videos. This study tried three approaches within the videos: 1) reveal common manipulative rhetorical strategies (e.g., invoking fear with dramatic music), 2) counter false claims about vaccine safety with facts, and 3) a hybrid approach to address both strategies, identifying the rhetorical manipulation and false information about vaccines. People who watched the 30-second video were more likely to recognize rhetorical strategies in the video containing misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine, reported lower support for sharing or financially supporting the video containing misinformation, and indicated higher willingness to get the COVID-19 vaccine.