This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling nationwide on voters’ attitudes toward the two major parties on climate and the environment, new state polling in California underscoring the urgency around climate action in the state, and new state polling in Florida about the state’s transition to clean energy.
Most California voters consider air pollution and extreme heat to be serious threats to the health and safety of their families; the majority also support the new state law requiring composting of all food waste. 64% of voters in the state say that extreme heat poses a “very” or “somewhat” serious threat to the health and safety of themselves and their family, and 63% say the same about air pollution. The poll also finds a great deal of support for the new California law requiring the composting of food waste in order to reduce pollution in landfills, with voters favoring the new policy by a 68%-24% margin.
California voters lean toward keeping nuclear energy in the state’s power mix, while their support for natural gas has declined. The poll encouragingly finds that voters overwhelmingly approve of solar (91% approve, including 73% who say they “definitely” approve of it) and wind (81% approve, including 67% who “definitely” approve of it) being used as electricity sources for the state. A clear majority also approve of natural gas as an electricity source (71% approve), though with considerably less enthusiasm (40% “definitely” approve) than they feel about solar and wind. Californians are relatively more split in their feelings about nuclear power, but over half approve of it being included in the state’s energy mix (54% approve / 36% disapprove). The poll release also includes time-series trend data from 2013 for comparison. This trend data shows that, over the past nine years, Californians’ approval of nuclear (51% to 54%, +3) and solar (94% to 91%, -3) has barely budged, while there’s been a dip in approval of wind power (92% to 84%, -8) and a more sizable drop in approval of natural gas (89% to 71%, -18).
This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on voters’ relative trust in the two parties to handle climate change, energy, and the environment; a new poll showing widespread pessimism about the country’s handling of climate change and the environment; and new polls about nuclear power nationwide and in California.
Polling and focus group research examined environmental views and attitudes of among Asian Americans in California.
Key findings included:
Self-defined environmentalists: California’s Asian American voters care about protecting our air, land, and water, and are even more inclined to call themselves “environmentalists” than other voters statewide.
Support for government leadership: Asian Americans believe strongly that government should take an active role in protecting our air, land, and water, and these voters support environmental regulations and laws to protect natural resources.
Willing to Pay: Asian American voters support policies to protect our air, land, and water—even when it comes with a price tag in the form of higher revenue or fees.
Language Matters: Asian American voters responded differently to wording, both in English and in Asian languages. For example, the term “environment” ranked lower on the issue priorities list than “protecting our air, land and water.” As an environmental issue of importance, “global warming” resonated strongly with Asian American voters and ranked much higher than “climate change.”
The top issues for Asian Americans in California are health care, education and the environment. 46% of Asian-Americans in California considered "Environment" an "Extremely important" voting issue for them in the 2020 election.
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.
A significant majority of Gen Z youth (75% nationwide, 80% in California) have experienced a mental health-related issue, such as anxiety, stress, and/or feelings of being overwhelmed as a result of reading, seeing, or hearing news about climate change.
This post includes a roundup of climate + environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from this week’s public polls - including fresh polling on the new Build Back Better framework and its core climate and energy provisions + analysis of climate polling trends throughout the year + new polling on attitudes about climate and clean energy among Latino voters in battleground states and districts.