A recent survey that asked Americans about their willingness to "support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse" and about their willingness to "personally engage in such non-violent civil disobedience themselves" found: 

• Among the Six Americas segments, the Alarmed are the most likely to support an organization engaging in non-violent civil disobedience; half (50%) said they “definitely” (21%) or “probably” (29%) would support such an organization.
• 28% of the Alarmed said they “definitely” (10%) or “probably” (18%) would personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience against corporate or government activities that make global warming worse, if asked to by a person they liked and respected. The ten percent of the Alarmed who are “definitely willing” to personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience represents approximately 8.6 million American adults.
• Millennial and younger adults are more likely to support organizations engaging in non-violent civil disobedience than older generations -- with 35% stating they “definitely would” (14%) or “probably would” (21%) support them -- and also more likely to say they would personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience to protect the climate; 8% said they “definitely would” and 12% said they “probably would,” if asked to by a person they liked and respected.
• People of color are more likely than whites to support organizations engaging in non-violent civil disobedience. About one third (34%) of Black Americans “definitely would” (12%) or “probably would” (22%), and about one third (35%) of Hispanics/Latinos “definitely would” (14%) or “probably would” (21%) support such organizations.
• People of color are also more likely than whites to say they would personally engage in non-violent civil disobedience in defense of the climate; about one in six Hispanics/Latinos (6% “definitely would” and 11% “probably would”) and one in five Black Americans (5% “definitely would” and 17% “probably would”) say they would engage in such actions, if asked to by a person they liked and respected.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling about Build Back Better and clean energy incentives, a new poll of Black and Latino Americans about climate and environmental justice issues, new findings from Yale and George Mason’s long-running “Six Americas” tracking study, and a newly released summary of the past year’s polling on climate and environmental issues.

You can also find a press release on the EPC’s end-of-year polling takeaways here, which was put out this week by EDF Action, the League of Conservation Voters, NRDC, Sierra Club, and the Climate Action Campaign.

Community organizing has served as the 4th arm of government for black people seeking justice for over 150 years. This documentary highlights stories from the frontlines in Georgia, the epicenter of community organizing in the American South. It follows three organizers, from an elder in the movement to an emerging leader, and their community-building work. It explores how centering values and lived experience is so critical to the work of organizing and central to our ability to achieve the goals of energy and climate justice. When Black communities, Indigenous peoples and communities of color are authentically and thoughtfully engaged through organizing, we can win on climate and create systemic change. 

Policies for the People is a website featuring policies to support Black climate justice leadership. The policies on the site have been selected to provide holistic support to those resisting extractivism and creating regenerative and democratic systems in their communities. This is an ongoing project and these policies are just a small sample of what we plan to include. New policies will be added regularly. Some examples include “Baltimore’s Water Accountability and Equity Act,” “California Cooperative Housing Bill,” and “Colorado Just Transition Fund, 21-1290.”

This Lab-supported interactive research project contributes to the knowledge-base of cultural and creative organizing in the context of Hip Hop Caucus' Think 100% Hampton Roads Organizing Project, which began with the goal of using comedy and cultural events to help mobilize Millennial and Gen Z Black voters in the Hampton Roads region for the 2019 statewide elections in Virginia, with voters being informed by the need for climate justice, equitable solutions for the climate crisis, and the protection of Black communities from flooding.

It seeks to share the processes, experiences, wisdom, and “grows” and “glows” of this ongoing organizing project with those working for climate justice through creative and cultural organizing in the spirit of creating and sharing knowledge and cultures that serve collective futures. The author hopes the wisdom and lessons found here will help others use creative and cultural organizing strategies to help cultivate the power of the people, shift cultures, and foster the re-imagining of the narratives on which communities and what solutions should be centered within the movement for climate justice.

A poll of 600 registered voters across Connecticut revealed a number of helpful data points about current voter attitudes towards clean energy and fossil fuels including:

Many people communicating for social change are exploring how to tell diverse and inclusive stories that center marginalized communities while building understanding about how inequality persists. Intersectionality is an important tool to help us tell great stories that help us understand systemic issues. Five guiding principles to telling intersectional stories: Show, don’t tell; Provide historical context; Uplift the voices of marginalized people; Tell whole stories; and, Radically reimagine the world.

  

• Californians are most likely to say that the state’s top environmental issue today is water supply and drought. 63% say that the supply of water is a big problem in their region. 40% say they have done a lot to reduce water use in response to the drought.
• 55% say the threat of wildfires is a big problem in their part of the state. An overwhelming majority (78%) say climate change has contributed to the state’s recent wildfires. Most Californians have at least some confidence in the government’s readiness to respond to the wildfires.
• 35% of Californians say air pollution is a big problem in their part of the state. 57% say air pollution is a more serious threat in lower- income areas.

The Axios-Ipsos Hard Truths Environmental Racism poll finds that while all Americans are experiencing much the same climate-related challenges, minority Americans are much more likely to experience poor environmental conditions.  Along similar lines, Americans across the board report similar experiences with severe weather, but Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to experience prolonged power outages or water safety issues.

In 2018, the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) campaign secured a landslide ballot measure victory in Portland, establishing a multi-million dollar municipal fund that addresses climate, economic, and racial justice by providing funding for renewable energy projects, job training and apprenticeship programs, and regenerative agriculture. Last year, we got to look “under the hood” with PCEF Steering Committee members to cover the history of the campaign, what PCEF does, and how the community-led coalition was able to win at the ballot box. 

In a follow-up webinar, we came back together to share new developments on the victory and cover topics including:

• How has PCEF been implemented, and how is it helping the community build political power? 
• What lessons have been learned since winning the legislation, and what challenges and insights does that bring? 
• What would it take to replicate this winning model in your own context and municipality?