New York

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including a new report from Pew on Americans’ attitudes toward different energy sources, new battleground polling on a potential reconciliation package in Congress, and new polling about carbon removal.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including a new edition of Muhlenberg College’s long-running National Survey on Energy and the Environment (NSEE), new polling on potential clean energy investments in Congress, a poll gauging young Americans’ support and interest in a Civilian Climate Corps, and polling on air pollution and environmental injustice in New York State.

Key findings of a survey (phone and online) of US voters, with oversamples in key states include:​

• Voters across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support government investments in clean energy technologies in order to rebuild the economy (77%), create good jobs (76%), and eliminate the carbon emissions that cause climate change (75%). 
• There's a widespread belief (75%) that investing in clean energy technologies will have economic benefits – including for "regular people." 
• And also that by developing new clean technologies, we can replace many of the manufacturing and other blue-collar jobs that the country has lost over the last few decades (72%)
• Strong support for various approaches to boost and develop specific clean energy technologies such as clean steel and cement, clean jet fuels, and energy storage and transmission.
• Voters support investing $75 billion in clean energy tech RD&D as part of the upcoming infrastructure bill.         

• A broad majority (69%) of New Yorkers support levying a tax on corporate polluters, where the revenue (estimated $15 billion raised per year) would be used to invest in new renewable energy projects, community sustainability initiatives, and fossil fuel workers impacted by the transition to clean energy.
• Support for specific investments is also high:
  • 65% support investing funds in large-scale renewable energy projects, like offshore wind farms and mass transit overhauls
  • 63% support investing in low-income communities and communities of color to improve their climate resiliency and sustainability
  • 73% support investing in programs for workers and communities impacted by the transition away from coal, oil, and gas
    
     

This report examines a particular set of “false solutions” to the climate crisis, each of which is marketed (often by fossil fuel interests themselves) as a “renewable” or “clean” or “low-carbon” alternative to fossil fuels: Biofuels, Renewable Natural Gas, Biomass, Green Hydrogen, and Waste to Energy. The author argues that these false solutions are the wrong direction for New York, as the state looks to achieve the emissions reduction targets established by the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. 

Different parts of the country see various kinds of extreme weather as most concerning, perceptions which are largely in line with actual major disasters that have occurred in those regions. This report provides concern profiles for the 18 largest states, drawing on survey data from 2018 and 2019. Over half of Americans see such extreme weather events posting a high or moderate risk to their community in the coming decade, and two thirds see a climate link to US weather (though only a third think climate affects our weather "a lot").

A multi-racial coalition focused on organizing and escalating tactics helped defeat the Williams Pipeline: The Stop the Williams Pipeline coalition won by building, organizing, and activating a large and intense base of opposition targeted at the key decision-maker, Governor Andrew Cuomo.