This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on climate change and extreme weather nationally and in California.

See this webpage for links to the following resources.

HEADLINES

The Economist + YouGov – Nearly half of Americans anticipate a warmer summer than usual, and most blame climate change for the hotter temperatures they expect (Topline, Crosstabs)

UC-Berkeley – More than two-thirds of California voters expect extreme weather swings to become more common due to climate change, and Californians are deeply concerned about the water situation in the West (Release, Crosstabs)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Americans are bracing for more climate change-driven extreme heat this summer. We often see climate change increase as a concern in polling during the warmer summer months, and The Economist and YouGov find that many Americans are already predicting another historically hot summer. The overwhelming majority of Americans expect summer in their area to be as hot or hotter than usual (following two of the hottest summers on record in the U.S. in 2021 and 2022), including nearly half who expect this summer to be even hotter. And among those who expect this summer to be unusually hot, the overwhelming majority say that climate change is the reason – indicating that the public will likely be more attuned to climate change and more eager to hear climate solutions as the weather gets warmer over the next few months. 
   
• The water situation in the West continues to be a dominant concern for those impacted. Polling this year shows that water availability is a top-ranking issue for Americans in Western states, with droughts and the depletion of the Colorado River forcing Western residents to view water availability as a day-to-day concern. New polling of California voters by UC-Berkeley confirms that water conservation is a high priority for voters in the state, as Californians overwhelmingly agree that the state needs to keep up its enforcement of water conservation policies and reduce deliveries from the Colorado River.
   

GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT

• [Climate Change] The majority of Americans (56%) recognize that the world’s climate is changing as the result of human activity [The Economist/YouGov]
   
• [Climate Change] Nearly half of Americans (46%) say that they’ve personally felt the effects of climate change, and an additional 12% say that they haven’t been impacted yet but expect to feel the effects in the future [The Economist/YouGov]
   
• [Issue Priority] More Americans name climate change and the environment as the single “most important issue” to them than any other issue aside from inflation/prices, health care, and the economy/jobs [The Economist/YouGov]
   
• [California] 81% of California voters say that it’s important for the state to continue enforcing water conservation policies for residential, commercial, and agricultural water users – including 52% who say it’s “very” important [UC-Berkeley]
   
• [California] 69% of California voters expect extreme swings in the state’s weather to become more common because of climate change [UC-Berkeley]
   
• [California] 60% of California voters support reducing water deliveries from the Colorado River [UC-Berkeley]