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RESULTS
Environmental Polling Roundup – October 11th, 2024
This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on recent hurricanes and the government’s disaster response, new polling on renewable energy and grid expansion, and new state polls about energy issues in Pennsylvania, California, and Texas.
Californians and Texans Overwhelmingly Agree that Everyone Benefits When More People Go Solar, Poll Reveals
Voters in California and Texas both overwhelmingly agree that their states should be doing more to encourage solar power; voters see clear benefits of solar power for grid reliability, the economy, and costs. In California: Solar power – 85% agree that their utility should be using more; Wind power – 78%; Offshore wind power – 72%; Natural gas power – 57%; Nuclear power – 52%. In Texas: Solar power – 73% agree that their utility should be using more; Wind power – 69%; Natural gas power – 67%; Nuclear power – 50%; Coal power – 40%. Accordingly, large majorities in both California (85%) and Texas (71%) agree that their state’s policymakers should be doing more to encourage the use of solar power. In both states, there is a potent argument that solar can help to make an outdated electric grid more resilient and reliable.
Poll: Powering the Future: Voters Back Renewable Energy Investment Despite Divides Over Costs and Grid Reliability
Voters widely support investments in renewable energy and grid expansion. Most support solar farms and transmission projects in their own communities. 65% of voters say that the U.S. should invest more in renewable energy like solar and wind. By a 62%-28% margin, voters support a federal renewable electricity standard that would require the U.S. to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2034, including four in five Democrats (83%), the majority of independents (57%), and four in ten Republicans (42%). 77% of voters say that it’s important to expand the transmission grid in the U.S. 55% of voters support a transmission project being built in their community, with just 29% opposed.
Poll: Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support stricter regulations on fracking
Pennsylvanians have mixed attitudes about fracking. Voters in the state overwhelmingly want stronger regulations on the industry, and around four in ten support phasing out fracking completely. Voters in the state are about three times as likely to have positive attitudes than negative attitudes about the clean energy industry (62% favorable / 21% unfavorable). Specific types of clean energy, including solar energy (80% favorable / 11% unfavorable) and wind energy (73% favorable / 16% unfavorable), are even more popular. Meanwhile, voters are closely divided in their attitudes about the oil and gas industry (45% favorable / 44% unfavorable). And while Pennsylvanians have overwhelmingly positive opinions about natural gas (75% favorable / 14% unfavorable), they are more split in their opinions about fracking (44% favorable / 37% unfavorable). More than four in ten voters (83%), including 71% of Republicans, support federal subsidies for clean energy development. Pennsylvanians are also far more supportive of the government spending taxpayer dollars on wind and solar development (84% support / 16% oppose) than on fracking and pipeline development (62% support / 38% oppose).
Environmental Polling Roundup – September 20th, 2024
This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new national polling on climate change as an issue priority for voters and new polling in Michigan about the state’s energy policies.
Poll: Michigan Voters Want Environmental Voices Behind Climate Policy, Not Big Polluters
Michigan voters have much more positive attitudes toward the clean energy industry than the fossil fuel industry, and want the state to hold oil and gas companies more accountable for their pollution. Around four in five voters in the state have favorable attitudes about solar (81% favorable / 14% unfavorable) and wind (79% favorable / 17% unfavorable) as energy sources. Republicans in the state also have overwhelmingly positive attitudes about both energy sources, with around seven in ten Republicans saying that they feel favorably about solar (73% favorable / 21% unfavorable) and wind (70% favorable / 25% unfavorable). Around three-quarters of voters feel favorably about clean energy companies (73% favorable / 20% unfavorable), including three in five Republicans (61% favorable / 31% unfavorable). Meanwhile, only half of voters in the state have favorable attitudes about fossil fuel companies (50% favorable / 38% unfavorable). Most voters in the state (58%) say that oil and gas companies have a negative impact on air quality for Michigan communities, and around half also say that these fossil fuel companies are negatively impacting water quality (51%) and public health (48%) in Michigan.
Environmental Polling Roundup - August 2nd, 2024
This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on extreme weather, environmental justice, water quality, offshore wind, and proposed measures to protect workers from extreme heat.
Cats, cars, buildings and vehicles kill about 6,000 times more birds than wind turbines do. The biggest killer of birds in the U.S. by a long shot is domestic cats. After cats, building collisions due to glass (599 million bird deaths annually, on average) and vehicle collisions (214.5 million annually) pose the second and third biggest threats to birds. Poison kills an estimated 72 million birds each year, and collisions with electrical lines result in 25 million deaths annually. Then, way down at No. 9 on the list of threats to birds is wind turbines, which caused an average of 234,012 bird deaths annually. Audubon and other conservation groups have been working with wind energy companies to study bird deaths and other effects on wildlife, and through their bird-monitoring efforts, we’re learning more and more about how to keep birds safe around turbines. Sometimes, it’s as simple as changing the height of the wind turbine to avoid the altitudes birds migrate at and where they forage for food.
Poll: Views on Offshore Wind in New England
Voters in Southern New England widely agree that their states should work together to expand offshore wind in the region. Lower energy prices are a critical benefit to highlight. Majorities of voters in Connecticut (68%), Massachusetts (75%), and Rhode Island (67%) support their states transitioning from getting most of their heating and electricity from gas to generating heating and electricity from entirely renewable energy sources. Solar, wind, and hydropower are all overwhelmingly popular energy sources in Southern New England. Large majorities in each state favor using more solar power (78%+), hydropower (74%+), and wind power (70%+) to generate electricity. Voters in each state, including residents of coastal counties, widely back proposed tri-state collaboration to expand offshore wind in the region. Majorities of voters in Connecticut (75%), Massachusetts (77%), and Rhode Island (67%) support the three states working together to build offshore wind farms to generate electricity. Across states, there is virtually no difference in support for the proposal between residents of coastal counties (72%) and residents of non-coastal counties (74%).
Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Spring 2024
Steady majorities of voters say that clean energy and global warming should be high priorities for the President and Congress, and voters overwhelmingly prefer pro-climate candidates over candidates who oppose climate action. By a greater than four-to-one margin, voters would prefer to vote for a candidate for public office who supports action on global warming (62%) over a candidate who opposes action on global warming (15%). 74% of voters support the Inflation Reduction Act after reading a brief description of it. 77% of voters support providing tax rebates to people who purchase energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels. 74% of voters support tax credits or rebates to encourage people to buy electric appliances, such as heat pumps and induction stoves, that run on electricity instead of oil or gas. 66% of voters support transitioning the U.S. economy from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050. 80% of voters support strengthening enforcement of industrial pollution limits in low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by air and water pollution. 65% of voters support building solar farms in their local area. 58% of voters support building wind farms in their local area.
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