Resources

Search below for resources covering the intersection of climate engagement, social science and data analytics.

RESULTS

Poll: Majorities see California’s changing climate as serious health and safety threats

Mark DiCamillo, UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies
Research & Articles
04-18-2022

Most California voters consider air pollution and extreme heat to be serious threats to the health and safety of their families; the majority also support the new state law requiring composting of all food waste. 64% of voters in the state say that extreme heat poses a “very” or “somewhat” serious threat to the health and safety of themselves and their family, and 63% say the same about air pollution. The poll also finds a great deal of support for the new California law requiring the composting of food waste in order to reduce pollution in landfills, with voters favoring the new policy by a 68%-24% margin.

The Green New Deal in the States – Part 2

Jeremy Brecher. Labor Network for Sustainability
Research & Articles
01-01-2022

California is one state that has made steps toward a state Green New Deal. As the deadline for legislation approached on the last evening of August, 2022, the California legislature passed five laws embodying major climate protection and justice measures, including restrictions on oil and gas drilling, 100% renewable energy by 2045, cutting overall emissions, extending the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors, and legislation directing the California Air Resources Board to set regulations for carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects. Most of these policies were opposed by a coalition of business groups, including the California Business Roundtable and California Chamber of Commerce. They were joined by most building trade unions in a formal alliance called Common Ground which had helped kill previous climate legislation. Such opposition was overcome in part by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s last-minute decision to support the climate bills after staying quiet and not backing them until mid-August. Other states have also explored GND-style state policies in recent years, including Maine, New York, and Mississippi. California, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington are also part of the Under2 Coalition which brings together over 270 sub-national governments representing 1.75 billion people and 50% of the global economy committed to climate protection policies.

Environmental Polling Roundup - November 5th, 2021

David Gold, Environmental Polling Consortium
Research & Articles
11-04-2021

This post includes a roundup of climate + environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from this week’s public polls - including fresh polling on the new Build Back Better framework and its core climate and energy provisions + analysis of climate polling trends throughout the year + new polling on attitudes about climate and clean energy among Latino voters in battleground states and districts.

Latino voters in battleground states and districts overwhelmingly support the Build Back Better plan’s climate and clean energy provisions. All of the 11 Build Back Better provisions tested in the poll have overwhelming support (76%+), and several climate and clean energy provisions rank among the most popular elements of the bill whether looking at overall net support or intensity (“strong support”). Particularly appealing provisions include: lowering energy costs by making homes, schools, buildings, and vehicles more energy efficient (89% total support, including 55% strong support); creating millions of additional clean energy jobs in fast-growing industries like wind and solar (87% total support, including 52% strong support); making oil and gas companies pay their fair share for the pollution they create (86% total support, including 55% strong support); providing tax incentives to make clean energy sources like wind and solar power widely available at lower costs (86% total support, including 51% strong support; rewarding electric utilities that generate more electricity from clean energy sources like wind and solar (85% total support, including 50% strong support). (The poll sampled Latino voters statewide in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada, as well as Latino voters in competitive U.S. House districts in California and Texas).

Research & Articles
09-21-2021

  • Californians are most likely to say that the state’s top environmental issue today is water supply and drought. 63% say that the supply of water is a big problem in their region. 40% say they have done a lot to reduce water use in response to the drought.
  • 55% say the threat of wildfires is a big problem in their part of the state. An overwhelming majority (78%) say climate change has contributed to the state’s recent wildfires. Most Californians have at least some confidence in the government’s readiness to respond to the wildfires.
  • 35% of Californians say air pollution is a big problem in their part of the state. 57% say air pollution is a more serious threat in lower- income areas.

Beat the Heat: Extreme Heat Risk Perceptions & Air Conditioning Ownership in California

Lauren Kim, et al. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Research & Articles
07-07-2021

Using data from the Heatwave Risk Perceptions map, researchers found that:

  • Women in California are more worried than men about the risk of extreme heat events; and non-White Hispanic residents are more worried than respondents who identified as “White” or “Other"
  • Even though the elderly are more vulnerable to heat, we also found that older populations are the least worried about these threats
  • Three times as many Democrats (27%) as Republicans (9%) are “very worried” about the local occurrence of extreme heat waves
  • Fewer Hispanic respondents (48%) have central AC compared to White, non-Hispanic respondents (58%). Respondents who are homeowners (59%) are more likely to have central AC than renters (39%).

Climate Change in Your Backyard: When Climate is Proximate, People Become Activists

Aaron Sparks, Elon University. Frontiers in Political Science
Research & Articles
06-29-2021

As climate change is perceived (or experienced) to be more proximate, people are more likely to take political action. A survey experiment of Californians found an 11% increase in climate activism (message writing to policymakers) among respondents who were primed with messages emphasizing the temporal and physical proximity of climate vs. the placebo group.

Research findings suggest that climate organizers should: 

  • Frame climate change in a way that reduces psychological distance by using the present tense and talking about it as issue that is happening "here and now"
  • Avoid overly-negative messages which can de-motivate action by reducing efficacy
  • Focus on the concrete actions that will help solve the problem

Research & Articles
06-03-2021

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.         

Survey of California voters’ views on climate change, renewable energy, infrastructure, and transportation found that a majority of Californians believe the state should act more quickly to address climate change, see economic promise in renewable energy; and support a range of policies to move away from fossil fuels.

  • 67% believe that the State should act quicker to address climate change.
  • 75% believe climate change is an "extremely," "very," or "somewhat serious" problem facing California and 38% categorize it an “extremely serious problem”. 
  • A majority of Californians support a range of policies to move away from fossil fuels, including providing energy upgrades to schools, libraries, and community centers; funding clean transit infrastructure, wildlife protection, and water resilience through the issuing of bonds; and policies which bring clean energy to homes.
  • A solid majority of Californians also support a variety of zero-emission transportation policies, including ones that would cut pollution near ports and warehouses and transition the state to a zero-emissions truck and bus fleet within the next 15 years. 
  • By an 11-point margin, voters see more harms from fossil fuel infrastructure than benefits and half of California voters (50%) say that they would be less likely to vote for their state legislator if that official took campaign funds from fossil fuel companies.

Using Virtual Reality in Sea Level Rise Planning and Community Engagement—An Overview

Juliano Calil, Geraldine Fauville, Anna Carolina Muller Queiroz, Kelly L. Leo, Alyssa G. Newton Mann, Tiffany Wise-West, Paulo Salvatore, Jeremy N. Bailenson. Water
Research & Articles
04-20-2021

Consider using virtual reality to convey the reality of sea-level rise. In three coastal communities, VR simulations of sea-level rise were found to do a better job than conventional maps in helping people visualize projected impacts. Residents familiar with the locations had especially strong emotional reactions to the images shown during the simulations. This study also finds that it is important to involve local residents in the planning and promotion of virtual reality simulations of sea-level rise.