Environmental Polling Roundup – April 24, 2026
Headlines
Gallup – Solar and wind remain Americans’ most favored energy sources, despite sharply declining Republican support for them [Article]
Data for Progress – Voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of climate and the environment, and less than half trust the administration to ensure that all communities have clean air and water [Article, Crosstabs]
Marquette University School of Law – Americans’ data center attitudes strongly correlate with their attitudes about AI in general [Website]
Key Takeaways
Voters are in a deep state of pessimism about the Trump administration’s environmental approach. Data for Progress finds that Trump is deeply underwater in his approval on climate change and the environment, with voters more likely to say that they strongly disapprove of his handling of these issues than to say that they even “somewhat” approve of how he’s handling them. Further, less than half of voters say that they trust the administration to make sure that all communities have access to clean air and water.
Data for Progress also finds that voters’ approval of Trump on climate and the environment hardly budges after they learn about some of the administration’s harmful environmental actions, which is likely a reflection both of how settled voters are in their attitudes about the administration and also how there isn’t much further for people’s trust in the administration on environmental issues to drop. Recent polling by Gallup found that a record-low percentage of Americans rate environmental quality in the U.S. positively, while the percentage who say that the U.S. is doing too little to protect the environment is at its highest point in decades.
Americans’ attitudes about data centers are tied up in their general feelings about AI. New polling by the Marquette University School of Law finds that Americans’ attitudes about data centers aren’t closely linked with age, income, or other demographics, but do line up with people’s beliefs about AI.
Most Americans who believe that AI development is a good thing for society (which is only about one-third of the country) say that data centers’ benefits outweigh their costs. Among Americans who believe that AI development is a bad thing for society (the majority of the country), meanwhile, 83% say that the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits.
Polling about AI and data centers has yielded two very consistent findings in recent months: Americans are feeling pessimistic about AI’s impact on society, and they increasingly oppose the construction of data centers. It’s important for advocates to recognize that, while Americans do have specific concerns about data centers’ energy and water usage, any concerns that people have about data centers are likely downstream of their concerns about AI. This broader skepticism toward AI can therefore be an asset for building opposition to data centers and fostering public support for stronger regulations on the AI industry, including its energy usage and environmental impacts.
Good Data Points to Highlight
[Solar] 66% of Americans say that the U.S. should place more emphasis on producing energy from solar power [Gallup]
[Wind] 55% of Americans say that the U.S. should place more emphasis on producing energy from wind power [Gallup]
[Clean Air + Water] 66% of voters say that it should be a “top priority” for the U.S. to make sure that every community has access to clean air and water [Data for Progress]
[Boundary Waters] After learning about Congress’s recent vote on it, voters oppose lifting the ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by a 13-point margin (38% support / 51% oppose) [Data for Progress]
Full Roundup
Gallup – Solar and wind remain Americans’ most favored energy sources, despite sharply declining Republican support for them [Article]
Solar and wind remain Americans’ favored energy sources. Around two-thirds of Americans (66%) say that the U.S. should place more emphasis on producing energy from solar power, while most (55%) also want the U.S. to place more emphasis on wind power.
Meanwhile, less than half say that the country should place more emphasis on nuclear (46%) or natural gas (42%), only around one-third (34%) want more emphasis on oil, and less than one-quarter (23%) want more emphasis on coal.
Support for solar and wind has dropped in recent years due to rapid declines among Republicans. Support for both solar and wind has dropped substantially since Gallup last asked Americans about their energy preferences in 2021. Over that five-year span, support for solar has dipped by seven points (from 73% to 66%) and support for wind has dropped by 11 points (from 66% to 55%).
These changes are driven by declines in support among Republicans. While majorities of Republicans said that the country should place more emphasis on both solar and wind as recently as 2019, only 38% of Republicans now say that the country should place more emphasis on solar and just 22% of Republicans say that the country should place more emphasis on wind.
Meanwhile, Democrats’ attitudes about solar and wind have barely shifted over the course of Gallup’s tracking. In this latest survey, 87% of Democrats say that there should be more emphasis on solar power and 81% say that there should be more emphasis on wind power.
Partisans on both sides are increasingly supportive of nuclear power, which is less politically polarizing than any other energy source. Just as Pew did recently, Gallup finds that nuclear power is both the least politically polarized energy source and the only one that is growing in support among both Democrats and Republicans. While Republicans (52%) are 10 points more likely to support expanding nuclear power than Democrats are (42%), both groups have shifted more in favor of nuclear power since Gallup’s previous survey in 2021.
Data for Progress – Voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of climate and the environment and less than half trust the administration to ensure that all communities have clean air and water [Article, Crosstabs]
Voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of climate change and the environment. Trump is 15 points underwater in his approval on these issues (39% approve / 54% disapprove), and voters are more likely to say that they strongly disapprove of how he’s handling them (42%) than to say that they even “somewhat” approve of his performance on them (39%).
Democrats are more consolidated in their disapproval of Trump on climate change and the environment (85% disapprove) than Republicans are in their approval of him on these issues (73% approve), and he is 22 points underwater in his approval on these issues among independents (36% approve / 58% disapprove).
Additional information about Trump’s environmental record has little effect on his approval, as voters are mostly entrenched in their positions. Data for Progress again asked respondents whether they approve or disapprove of Trump’s handling of climate change and the environment after showing them the information below.
“The Trump administration has taken steps to repeal some environmental programs and regulations. Below is a list of actions taken by the Trump administration:
- Cutting funding and laying off staff from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who track companies’ compliance with clean air and water laws
- Instructing the Department of Justice not to take action against cases of environmental discrimination, where companies target disadvantaged communities to dump their pollution
- Incentivizing fossil fuels, like oil, gas, and coal, over renewable energy, like solar and wind
- Shielding companies from lawsuits for pollution they cause that harms the public
- Ending the government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in certain sectors”
This information did not have a strong effect on Trump’s approval ratings, with his net approval on climate change and the environment shifting from -15 (39% approve / 54% disapprove) at the start of the survey to -19 (37% approve / 56% disapprove).
The shift was a bit larger among independents, who went from a 22-point margin of disapproval (36% approve / 58% disapprove) to a 34-point margin of disapproval (31% approve / 65% disapprove).
Ensuring clean air and water is an unquestionable priority for the federal government, but voters don’t have trust in the Trump administration to do it. Around two-thirds of voters (66%) say that ensuring that every community has access to clean air and water should be a “top priority” for the U.S., including majorities of Democrats (70%), independents (66%), and Republicans (62%).
However, less than half of voters (46%) say that they trust the Trump administration to ensure that every community has clean air and water. While Republicans (82%) overwhelmingly say that they trust the administration on this priority, less than two in five independents (38%) and fewer than one in five Democrats (18%) say that they trust the administration to deliver on it.
Voters say that the U.S. is on the wrong track on addressing climate change. Most voters say that the U.S. is moving in the wrong direction on the issue (37% right track / 53% wrong track), including majorities of Democrats (17% right track / 75% wrong track) and independents (29% right track / 63% wrong track). Republican voters take a sharply different view, with most saying that the U.S. is on the right track in addressing climate change (64% right track / 23% wrong track).
Majorities across party lines agree that the U.S. should lead on climate change, regardless of what other countries do. Data for Progress presented voters with the following two competing arguments about U.S. action on climate change:
- “The United States should take ambitious action to address climate change, even if other countries do not. We should lead the world on this issue and set the example for other countries to follow suit.”
- “If other countries do not take action to address climate change, the United States should not either. It is not fair for us to act while other countries contributing to the problem are sitting still.”
Around two-thirds of voters (68%) agree more with the argument in favor of the U.S. taking action and leading on the issue, including four in five Democrats (80%), two-thirds of independents (67%), and even a majority of Republicans (54%).
Voters oppose mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area after learning about Congress’s vote to lift the ban on it. Voters oppose overturning the mining ban by a 13-point margin (38% support / 51% oppose) after reading the following information about it:
“Recently, the U.S. Congress voted to remove a 20-year ban on mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area sits along a 150-mile stretch of the U.S.-Canada border and is known for its lakes and untouched forests. The resolution now goes to President Trump for his approval.”
While Democrats (21% support / 67% oppose) and independents (32% support / 62% oppose) both oppose lifting the ban by wide margins, the majority of Republicans (60% support / 27% oppose) are in favor of it.
Marquette University – Americans’ data center attitudes strongly correlate with their attitudes about AI in general [Website]
A growing majority of Americans say that the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits. Marquette finds that more than two-thirds of Americans (69%) say that the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits, while just 30% say that the benefits outweigh the costs. Consistent with other public polling, Marquette also finds that Americans are shifting against data centers over time. In a previous Marquette poll conducted in January, 60% said that the costs of data centers outweighed the benefits while 37% said that the benefits were greater.
Americans’ attitudes about data centers line up with their general feelings about AI. Marquette finds that income, age, and other demographics aren’t major drivers of Americans’ data center attitudes, but beliefs about AI are. Pulling from their poll release:
“Doubts over the costs of data centers are only slightly related to income, education, age, or region of the country. Liberals are more likely to say the costs outweigh the benefits than are conservatives, but majorities of all ideological groups think the costs are greater…
Views of data centers are strongly related to views of artificial intelligence. Seventy percent of adults say the development of AI is a bad thing for society, and 30% say it is a good thing. Of those who think AI is a good thing, 62% say the benefits outweigh the costs of data centers. Among those who say AI is a bad thing, 83% say the costs outweigh the benefits.”
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