Beginning Wednesday and continuing over the next two weeks, Gallup will publish a series of articles based on Americans' views of the environment and energy. This series will cover:
- Americans' views of global warming and climate change, their perceptions of its seriousness, whether the effects of climate change have been exaggerated, and whether it will cause a threat in their lifetimes
- The growing partisan divide in views of global warming, one of the most remarkable examples in political polarization of the past two decades
- Americans' overall assessment of the environment today and whether it is getting better or worse
- Their views of the federal government's current efforts to protect the environment
- Their views of which is more important -- an emphasis on economic growth at the cost of some harm to the environment, or an emphasis on the environment, even if it slows economic growth
- Perceptions of what the government should or should not be doing about the environment and energy
- Views of the nation's energy situation, including trade-offs between an emphasis on traditional fossil fuels such as oil and gas and an emphasis on alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar
President Donald Trump announced last year that the U.S. is withdrawing from participation in the world's most significant agreement on climate change, the Paris climate accord, and has focused his energy policies primarily on steps that will help the traditional fossil fuel industries -- coal, oil and gas. This series will help provide the public opinion context for these actions amid the ongoing debate between those who argue for more emphasis on the environment and the pending effects of climate change, and those who are much less concerned. The series is based on Gallup's annual March update on the environment and energy.
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