The Trumpian position on climate change is that it is not happening and also isn’t a big deal if it is. The position on energy is that fossil fuels are good and should expand, and renewables are bad and should go away. His administration and various enablers have issued a variety of policy maneuvers and edicts in his first two months in office to try and make those things happen. All of that is seriously at odds with public opinion in the US.
Then there are the specific policy questions, also setting Trump and his hardcore weirdos apart from strong majorities. Fully two-thirds of the country supports the idea of transitioning away from fossil fuels to a fully clean energy economy by 2050. An even higher 76 percent support funding research into renewable energy, and 77 percent think we should generate renewable energy on public lands — Trump, of course, paused renewables leasing on public lands, put an oil booster in Doug Burgum in charge of the Department of the Interior, and wants to massively expand drilling and mining on those lands instead.
Only 33 percent support drilling for oil specifically inside Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, with 67 percent opposed to such a move; Trump issued an executive order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” specifically reversing Biden moves to protect the area and promote new oil and gas drilling there. Interestingly, there is somewhat more support for the expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling, with 52 percent in favor.
Most people — 77 percent — think schools should teach their kids about global warming. They generally — 67 percent — think that fossil fuel companies should have to pay a carbon tax. Only 24 percent say global warming should not be a priority for the president and Congress.
There are zealots out there, of course, fully aligned with the drill-and-spill mindset, but it is a relatively small sliver of the country, and not equivalent to Trump’s overall vote totals. The problem is that too few people know what he’s up to: only 28 percent in the survey said they hear about global warming in the media at least once a week. As with so many GOP policies these days, if the average person knew about it, they would hate it.
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