Amid cuts and rollbacks to federal environmental protection programs announced this week, a newly released Yale public opinion survey finds a majority of Americans across the political spectrum hope to see an economic transition to clean energy in the decades ahead. But there’s a rural-urban divide.
The Climate Opinion study found that 66% of Americans support a U.S. economy transition from fossil fuels to clean energy by 2050.
Jennifer Marlon is a senior research scientist with the Yale School of the Environment in Connecticut. She said people in urban areas are generally more supportive of the idea.
The poll included adults from every U.S. state, and 63% of respondents said developing sources of clean energy should be a priority for the president and Congress.
“People really, they understand intuitively, I think, that getting our power from sun and the wind and water — that this is a good idea,” Marlon said. “Almost every scientific paper that comes out now shows the risks we already knew about are worse than we thought. Global warming is not a good thing and it’s going to get worse if we don’t address the problem.”
People in rural areas were less likely to agree. The poll asked people if they were concerned about global warming. In the Mountain West, only 48% of people in Wyoming said they were, the lowest in the region. Idaho (57%) and Utah (58%) were also below the national average of 63%.
Nevada (63%), Arizona (64%), New Mexico (64%), and Colorado (66%) were closer to the national average.
Because of that political divide, the poll shows only 1 in 3 Americans are regularly talking about environmental concerns.
“Talk to your family, friends and neighbors and colleagues and figure out what actions are being taken in your local area and how can you be a part of that solution,” Marlon said. She encourages people to discuss their environmental impacts and look at ways each person can make a difference.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
