EPC Resource Library

Environmental Polling Roundup – February 21, 2025

David Gold February 21st, 2025

Headlines

The Economist + YouGov – Only small minorities want to cut the EPA or NWS, as Americans would rather cut or eliminate DOGE than the agencies it’s targeting [Topline, Crosstabs]

Colorado College – By an overwhelming margin, voters in Western states continue to prioritize conservation over fossil fuel extraction on public lands; nearly nine in ten oppose removing national monument protections [Website, Press Release, Topline]

[CA] Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) + Data for Progress – California voters blame climate change and corporate greed for the rise in their home insurance costs, and most support legislation that would enable individuals and insurance companies to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for climate-related damages [Release, Crosstabs]

Key Takeaways

Public lands protections continue to have overwhelming, cross-partisan support. The latest edition of Colorado College’s “Conservation in the West” poll finds that voters in Western states overwhelmingly want their members of Congress to focus on conserving public lands rather than maximizing fossil fuel extraction on them. The idea of shrinking national monuments, as Trump did in his first term, is particularly toxic to voters. Around nine in ten, including more than four in five Republicans, say that existing national monument designations should be kept in place.

If Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum move forward with their plan to redraw national monument boundaries, there will likely be more opportunity to mobilize cross-partisan opposition to it than to any other environmental action that the administration takes in these early months.

There remains little public appetite for cutting agencies that deal with the climate and environment. Polls continue to find that Americans would rather expand, or at the very least maintain, funding for most of the agencies that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is targeting. This includes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Weather Service (NWS), as The Economist and YouGov find that one-quarter of Americans or fewer want to see cuts to these agencies. In fact, more Americans want to see each of these agencies expanded than to see them reduced or eliminated.

Good Data Points to Highlight

• [EPA] Only 25% of Americans want to reduce or eliminate the EPA, while 28% want to expand it and 33% want it to be kept the same  [The Economist + YouGov]
• [NWS] Only 11% of Americans want to reduce or eliminate the National Weather Service, while 20% want to expand it and 55% want it to be kept the same  [The Economist + YouGov]
• [West + Public Lands] 89% of voters in Western states say that existing national monument designations should be kept in place [Colorado College]
• [West + Public Lands] 72% of voters in Western states oppose removing protections on public lands to allow more drilling, mining and other development [Colorado College]
• [West + Public Lands] 60% of voters in Western states oppose expanding the amount of national forest and other public lands available to private companies for commercial logging [Colorado College]
• [West + Climate Action] 72% of voters in Western states support the U.S. government taking action to reduce the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change [Colorado College]
• [West + Climate Action] 71% of voters in Western states support the U.S. government taking action to ensure the reliability of water supplies that may be threatened by climate change [Colorado College]
• [West + Wildlife] 63% of voters in Western states oppose reducing protections for some of the rare plants and animals protected under the Endangered Species Act [Colorado College]

Full Roundup

The Economist + YouGov – Only small minorities want to cut the EPA or NWS, as Americans would rather cut or eliminate DOGE than the agencies it’s targeting [Topline, Crosstabs]

Americans continue to say that Elon Musk has far too much influence in Trump’s administration. The Economist and YouGov find that Musk remains underwater in his favorability this week (43% favorable / 49% unfavorable), with many more Americans holding “very unfavorable” attitudes about him (37%) than “very favorable” attitudes (22%).

Additionally, while only around one six (16%) want Musk to have “a lot” of influence in the Trump administration, the clear majority of Americans (59%) recognize that Musk does have “a lot” of influence.

Even among Republicans, only about one-third (32%) want Musk to have “a lot” of influence in the administration.

Musk’s clear conflicts of interest are a major point of concern for Americans. Around half (52%) say that they’re at least “somewhat” concerned about Musk using DOGE to benefit his own companies and personal interests, including around two in five (39%) who are “very” concerned about it.

Americans have mixed opinions about DOGE, as attitudes about it are driven sharply by partisanship. Americans are split roughly evenly in their overall impressions of the Department of Government Efficiency / DOGE (39% favorable / 36% unfavorable). 

Democrats hold deeply negative views of the initiative (16% favorable / 63% unfavorable), while independents are divided (31% favorable / 35% unfavorable) and Republicans have overwhelmingly positive opinions of it (70% favorable / 12% unfavorable).

On balance, Americans would rather see DOGE reduced or eliminated (34%) than expanded (23%).

Few want to see any kind of cuts to the EPA, NWS, or most other agencies. Especially when compared to DOGE itself, there is little public appetite for cuts to the agencies that DOGE has targeted.

Americans generally want to see funding for agencies that deal with the climate and environment held steady, including each of the following:

• EPA (28% expanded / 33% kept the same / 25% reduced or eliminated)
• FEMA (28% expanded / 32% kept the same / 24% reduced or eliminated)
• NWS (20% expanded / 55% kept the same / 11% reduced or eliminated)

Meanwhile, less than three in ten support cutting or eliminating the Department of Education (29%), CDC (22%), or CFPB (17%).

Colorado College – By an overwhelming margin, voters in Western states continue to prioritize conservation over fossil fuel extraction on public lands; nearly nine in ten oppose removing national monument protections [Website, Press Release, Topline]

Below are some of the key findings from the latest edition of Colorado College’s long-running “Conservation in the West” survey, which surveyed voters in eight Western states (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, and WY) last month.

Water availability continues to be Western voters’ dominant environmental concern. Around two-thirds of Westerners rank inadequate water supplies and the low level of water in rivers as “extremely” or “very” serious problems in their state, more than any other environmental threat that the survey asked about:

• Low level of water in rivers – 68% “extremely” or “very” serious problem
• Inadequate water supplies – 66%
• Uncontrollable wildfires that threaten homes and property – 60%
• Pollution of rivers, lakes and streams – 58%
• Climate change – 55%
• Loss of habitat for fish and wildlife – 55%
• Loss of natural areas – 54%
• Air pollution and smog – 53%
• Population declines of fish and wildlife – 52%

Westerners widely approve of the NPS and other agencies involved in conservation. The survey, which was fielded before the recent mass layoffs at the National Park Service (NPS), found that Western voters hold the NPS and other conservation-focused agencies in high regard. Below are the approval ratings for these agencies among voters across the West:

• National Park Service – 86% approve / 7% disapprove
• U.S. Forest Service – 79% approve / 10% disapprove
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – 75% approve / 9% disapprove
• Bureau of Land Management – 63% approve / 17% disapprove
• The Environmental Protection Agency – 61% approve / 24% disapprove

Western voters across party lines oppose cuts to conservation agencies. Voters in the West oppose cuts to these agencies by a three-to-one margin (24% support / 75% oppose) when framed as “reducing funding to the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies for repairs, firefighting, visitor services, and oversight of those public lands.” 

These proposed cuts (which have now become the reality) are opposed by large majorities of Democrats (80%), independents (77%), and Republicans (69%).

Western voters overwhelmingly reject the idea of shrinking national monuments again. Nearly nine in ten Western voters (89%), including more than four in five Republicans (83%) and independents (87%) and virtually all Democrats (97%), say that existing national monument designations should be kept in place.

Support for maintaining national monument designations now (89%) is even higher than when Colorado College previously asked this question in 2017 (80%), which was shortly before Trump dramatically shrank the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.

Western voters want their members of Congress to focus on protecting clean water and public lands over maximizing fossil fuel extraction. By a 72%-24% margin, Western voters say that they would prefer for their member of Congress to focus on “ensuring we protect sources of clean water, our air quality and wildlife habitat while providing opportunities to visit and recreate on our national public lands” (72%) rather than “ensuring we produce more domestic energy by maximizing the amount of national public lands available for responsible oil and gas drilling and mining” (24%).

The margin in favor of conserving public lands on this question is the highest that Colorado College has found in seven surveys going back to 2019.

Western voters want to limit areas for drilling on public lands and hold oil and gas companies responsible for any damages. Seven in ten (71%) support allowing oil and gas companies the right to drill only in areas of public land where there is high likelihood to actually produce oil and gas.

In a similar vein, majorities oppose each of the following proposals to expand resource extraction on public lands:

• 72% oppose removing protections on some areas of existing national public lands, particularly national monuments, to allow more drilling, mining and other development
• 60% oppose expanding the amount of national forest and other public lands available to private companies for commercial logging

Policies to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for damages and pollution on public lands are also overwhelmingly popular:

• 92% support keeping the requirement that oil and gas companies, rather than taxpayers, pay for all of the clean-up and land restoration costs after drilling is finished
• 88% support continuing to require oil and gas producers who operate on national public lands to use updated equipment and technology to prevent leaks of methane gas during the extraction process and reduce the need to burn off excess natural gas into the air

Across Western states, voters support the U.S. government taking action to reduce climate pollution. Seven in ten Western voters (72%), including majorities in every state surveyed, support the U.S.  government taking action to reduce the

carbon pollution that contributes to climate change.

The large majority of Western voters also support climate action when it’s framed around water availability, their top environmental concern: seven in ten (71%), including majorities in every state surveyed, say that they support the U.S. government taking action to ensure the reliability of water supplies that may be threatened by climate change.

[CA] Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) + Data for Progress – California voters blame climate change and corporate greed for the rise in their home insurance costs, and most support legislation that would enable individuals and insurance companies to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for climate-related damages [Release, Crosstabs]

Californians blame climate change and corporate greed for recent increases in home insurance rates. When asked who are what they believe is most responsible for recent spikes in home insurance rates, California voters are more likely to blame climate change and corporate greed than other factors:

• An increase in extreme weather events fueled by climate change – 32%
• Corporate greed – 30%
• General inflation facing the entire economy – 23%
• Natural changes in the environment unrelated to climate change – 10%

Voters in California, including many Republicans, say that fossil fuel companies hold responsibility for the L.A. wildfires. The majority of voters in the state (57%), including 37% of Republicans, say that the fossil fuel industry is at least “somewhat” responsible for the recent L.A. wildfires.

By a two-to-one margin, Californians support legislation that would allow individuals and insurance companies to hold oil and gas companies responsible for climate-related damages. Californians support this proposed legislation (SB 222) by a 60%-30% margin when provided with the following description:

“Some lawmakers in your state are proposing legislation that would enable individuals and insurance companies harmed by climate disasters and extreme weather events to recover their losses from oil and gas companies. They point to evidence that oil and gas companies have lied to the public about the role their products play in fueling climate change as a reason why these companies should pay.”

The idea earns substantial support from all corners of the California electorate, with 78% of Democrats, 49% of independents, and 42% of Republicans in favor of it.