Around two-thirds of voters are concerned about staffing cuts at the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, with just one in ten believing that funding for national parks and forests should be cut. 66% of voters are concerned about recent staffing cuts at the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service after hearing about them. 75% of voters, including 72% of Republicans, have favorable opinions of the National Park Service. 74% of voters, including 74% of Republicans, have favorable opinions of the U.S. Forest Service.

The plurality of Americans say that Trump’s budget and staff cuts have gone too far, and Americans are increasingly concerned about Musk’s conflicts of interest. 57% of Americans are concerned about Musk using DOGE to benefit his companies and personal interests. The plurality of Americans (42%) say that the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the staff and budgets of federal agencies have “gone too far,” compared to just 17% who say that they haven’t gone far enough. 75% of Americans say that funding for the National Park Service should be expanded or kept the same, while just 11% say that the agency should be reduced or eliminated.

Voters know virtually nothing about carbon dioxide removal (CDR), but warm to it quickly when exposed to more information. Voters support the Carbon Dioxide Removal Investment Act by a 68%-19% margin after reading a brief description of it. Among voters who have any familiarity with CDR (including all those who have heard at least “a little” about it), impressions of it are overwhelmingly positive (56% favorable / 16% unfavorable). And after reading a description, around two-thirds of voters (65% favorable / 15% unfavorable) – including majorities of Democrats (70% favorable), independents (66%), and Republicans (57%) – have favorable opinions of CDR.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on federal government cuts, a new edition of Colorado College’s long-running “Conservation in the West” survey, and recent polling on extreme weather in California.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new results from the EPC’s collaborative Community Poll project, a new edition of Yale and GMU’s long-running “Climate Change in the American Mind” study, and new polling on federal tax proposals and the agencies and programs that could be cut.

Steady majorities of Americans continue to say that global warming is happening and caused by humans; Americans connect extreme heat and wildfires to climate change more than other types of extreme weather. 73% of Americans recognize that global warming is happening, including 60% who say that it is caused mostly by human activities. 66% of Americans recognize that global warming is affecting weather in the United States. Roughly half of the country (49%) says that they’ve personally experienced the effects of global warming. The majority (54%) believe that future generations will be impacted “a great deal” by the problem, though only 15% expect that they personally will be harmed a great deal by it. Around two-thirds (66%) say that global warming is affecting the weather in the U.S., which equals the figure that Yale and GMU found last April.

California voters blame climate change and corporate greed for the rise in their home insurance costs, and most support legislation that would enable individuals and insurance companies to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for climate-related damages. The majority of voters in the state (57%), including 37% of Republicans, say that the fossil fuel industry is at least “somewhat” responsible for the recent L.A. wildfires. By a two-to-one margin, Californians support legislation that would allow individuals and insurance companies to hold oil and gas companies responsible for climate-related damages. Californians support this proposed legislation (SB 222) by a 60%-30% margin. The idea earns substantial support from all corners of the California electorate, with 78% of Democrats, 49% of independents, and 42% of Republicans in favor of it.

Voters are twice as likely to say that the government should increase than decrease funding for renewable energy and energy-efficiency programs, and a plurality want to reduce tax breaks for fossil fuel companies. Around seven in ten voters say that they feel favorably about renewable energy and energy efficiency programs (72% favorable / 19% unfavorable), including large majorities of Democrats (89% favorable) and independents (71%) as well as most Republicans (55%). When told that lawmakers are “considering funding levels” for a variety of government programs and investments, voters are more than twice as likely to say that the government should increase funding for renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects (42%) than decrease funding for these projects (18%). Around one-third of voters (32%) say that funding for these projects should be kept at current levels. Even among Republicans, who are less enthusiastic about these projects than Democrats or independents, only about one-third (33%) want to decrease their funding.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling about the Trump administration’s actions so far on energy and the environment and new polling about Elon Musk and his influence in the administration.

Americans do NOT want to pull the plug on clean energy. While people take President Trump’s threat to repeal clean energy policies seriously, they do not want him to follow through. More than three in four (78%) Americans believe Trump when he says he will repeal policies that deal with climate change and will eliminate clean energy in the United States, including 39% who totally believe him. However, a solid majority (57%) say Donald Trump should NOT repeal climate change policies or cut clean energy investments. Opposition spans demographic groups, including majorities of Americans who in live contested CDs (60%) and independents nationally (58%). There is wide opposition to overturning specific climate and clean energy policies. When presented with simple, clear descriptions of Trump’s potential actions and their impacts, majorities of Americans want Congress to OPPOSE each one. Opposition is strong across the board, including more than six in 10 independents and voters in contested congressional districts. People see through President Trump’s energy agenda and recognize that it serves oil and gas CEOs, not them. By nearly 2:1, the public wants Congress to reject President Trump’s energy agenda.