This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on federal government cuts and an update of Yale and GMU’s “Six Americas” segmentation analysis.

Headlines

The Economist + YouGov – Most Americans now view Musk negatively, as Americans oppose federal worker layoffs by double digits and few want to see agencies like the EPA or NPS cut [Topline, Crosstabs]

Yale + GMU – Americans’ worries about climate change have intensified over the past decade [Article]

Key Takeaways

There remains little public appetite for cutting environmental agencies. The Economist and YouGov find that Elon Musk and his efforts to downsize the federal government are increasingly unpopular. Musk’s favorability is now deeply underwater, Americans oppose the recent layoffs of federal workers by a double-digit margin, and few want any kind of cuts to the EPA (just 24%) or the National Park Service (only 11%).

Importantly, Americans are also expressing these sentiments in vivid ways – including combative town hall meetings where constituents are demanding that Republican lawmakers rein in DOGE. While the general chaos in D.C. can make it difficult for environmental advocates to break through the noise with our own messaging, it’s important that we tap into this grassroots backlash and collaborate with broader anti-DOGE efforts in order to protect environmental priorities.

Americans’ concerns about climate change are intensifying. At the surface level, Americans’ climate attitudes can appear quite static. For the past several years, stable majorities have recognized that climate change is happening (typically around 70-75%) and that it’s driven by human activities (typically around 55-60%). However, these topline numbers obscure important trends – such as the increasing political polarization on the topic as well as increases in the intensity of people’s beliefs.

A new analysis by Yale and GMU, using their “Six Americas” segmentation framework, finds that the “Alarmed” segment – the Americans who are most worried and engaged about climate change – has increased substantially over the past decade (from 15% of the population to 26%). Meanwhile, the (small) percentages of Americans who doubt or dismiss the problem have barely changed.

These findings have important implications for climate persuasion. While it’s very difficult to change the minds of people who deny that climate change is real or serious, Yale and GMU’s data shows that the vast majority of Americans do recognize the reality of climate change and that there is a lot of opportunity to deepen their engagement with the issue and spur them to take action.

Good Data Points to Highlight

• [DOGE/Cuts] Americans oppose DOGE’s recent layoffs of federal workers by a 12-point margin (38% support / 50% oppose) [The Economist + YouGov]
• [DOGE/Cuts] Only 24% of Americans want the EPA to be reduced or eliminated, compared to 32% who want the EPA to be expanded and 35% who want its funding to be kept the same [The Economist + YouGov]
• [DOGE/Cuts] Only 11% of Americans want the National Park Service to be reduced or eliminated, compared to 30% who want the NPS to be expanded and 49% who want its funding to be kept the same [The Economist + YouGov]