This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new findings about Americans’ water pollution concerns and new polling in political battlegrounds, including Florida and competitive U.S. House districts in California.

HEADLINES

Gallup – Large majorities of Black and Hispanic Americans worry about the pollution of their drinking water (Article)

[CA] EDF Action – California voters, including those in swing congressional districts, understand that climate change impacts the weather and the state economy (Press Release, Memo)

[FL] Florida Atlantic University – Nine in ten Floridians recognize that climate change is happening, and most support making solar the state’s primary source of energy (Website, Press Release, Topline)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Water contamination is the most salient environmental problem in the country, especially among Black and Hispanic Americans. Gallup’s recent polling finds that Americans are more concerned about the pollution of drinking water than they are about any other environmental problem, with concerns about drinking water especially high among Black and Hispanic Americans. These findings – that water pollution is the public’s biggest environmental concern and that people of color are particularly worried about it – are long-standing trends in Gallup’s polling. These trends pre-date the Flint water crisis and have also been durable in the years since Flint became a national story.
• Messaging about energy independence continues to resonate amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. EDF Action’s recent polling in California is the latest example we’ve seen of energy independence resonating as a rationale for climate action. Polls since the Ukraine invasion have shown that Americans understand how reliance on foreign energy makes us more vulnerable to price hikes and shocks that are out of our control, providing an opening for clean energy advocates to make a persuasive case for shifting to clean, domestic energy.
• Solar is a winning issue all over the country. Florida Atlantic University finds that Floridians overwhelmingly prefer solar as the primary energy source for the state’s electricity, while few want Florida to continue to rely on natural/methane gas. Polls at the national, regional, and state levels reliably show that solar is the most popular energy source in the country.

GOOD DATA POINTS TO HIGHLIGHT

• [California] 61% of California voters say that climate change is either a “crisis” or serious problem, including 53% in swing CDs [EDF Action]
• [California] 60% of California voters say that climate change plays a major role in extreme weather events, including 53% in swing CDs [EDF Action]
• [Florida] 90% of Floridians recognize that climate change is happening, including 65% who say that climate change is caused largely by human activity [Florida Atlantic University]
• [Florida] 74% of Floridians say that climate change has them concerned about the well-being of future generations in Florida [Florida Atlantic University]
• [Florida] 71% of Floridians agree that the state government should do more to address the impacts of climate change [Florida Atlantic University]
• [Florida] 58% of Floridians choose solar when asked to choose the primary form of energy production they want Florida to support in the future, compared to just 10% who want to continue using gas as the state’s primary energy source [Florida Atlantic University]