Environmental Polling Roundup – May 15, 2026
Headlines
Gallup – Seven in ten Americans oppose data centers in their area [Release]
Navigator – More than any other industry, voters say that they are concerned about the political influence of oil and gas [Website, Deck, Topline]
CNN + SSRS – More Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of gas prices than any other issue, and Americans don’t trust either party to handle AI [Article, Topline]
Key Takeaways
Public opinion has turned decisively against data centers. For most of the past year, polls showed that Americans were still making up their minds about data centers. As recently as January, a POLITICO poll showed that Americans were more likely to support than oppose a data center in their area and more than one-third didn’t have an opinion either way.
As Americans have heard more about AI and data center expansion, however, polls show that public opinion is settling on the issue and Americans are increasingly turning against data centers. Recently released Gallup polling finds that seven in ten Americans would oppose an AI data center in their area. This resistance spans partisan lines and is now based on deep feelings, with nearly half of Americans saying that they would strongly oppose an AI data center in their area. Americans are even more likely to say that they would oppose an AI data center in their area than a nuclear power plant.
Gallup’s polling reveals specific concerns about data centers’ energy consumption, water use, and environmental impacts. Beyond those particular worries, opposition to data centers also coincides with a broader backlash against AI: polls show that Americans are feeling pessimistic about the impacts of the technology, and accordingly aren’t eager to build infrastructure in their areas that would accelerate it–particularly if that infrastructure comes with clear risks to the environment, natural resources, and energy affordability.
Relatedly, CNN and SSRS find that Americans don’t trust either party in Washington to handle the impacts of AI. The public is eager for political leadership on the issue, and stronger regulation of data centers is clearly a big part of that.
Gas prices are now Trump’s weakest issue. Americans’ frustrations with high gas prices show no sign of abating, as CNN and SSRS find that nearly four in five Americans (79%) disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue and three-quarters (75%) say that the war in Iran has had a negative impact on their personal financial situation. Trump also continues to slump to new depths in his economic approval ratings, with the energy crisis piling on top of inflation concerns that had already been building throughout his second term in office.
At the same time, a new Navigator report shows that voters are more concerned about the political influence of oil and gas companies than any other industry and believe that the industry has a unique level of sway over Trump.
These findings reinforce that the public is primed to support measures to limit the power of oil and gas companies and to increase U.S. energy independence.
Full Roundup
Gallup – Seven in ten Americans oppose data centers in their area [Release]
Seven in ten Americans oppose data centers in their area, including majorities across party lines. In these newly released results from a March survey, Gallup finds that Americans are 44 points more likely to oppose than support “the construction of a data center in [their] area to support artificial intelligence, or AI, technology in the U.S.” (27% favor / 71% oppose)
Additionally, nearly half (48%) say that they would “strongly” oppose an AI data center in their area.
Data centers are unpopular across the political spectrum, with majorities of Democrats (23% favor / 75% oppose), independents (24% favor / 74% oppose), and Republicans (34% favor / 63% oppose) all saying that they would oppose the construction of an AI data center in their area.
For comparison, Americans are more likely to say that they would oppose a data center in their area than a nuclear power plant. To put Americans’ opposition to data center construction in context, Gallup finds that Americans are 18 points more likely to say that they would oppose an AI data center in their area (71% oppose) than a nuclear power plant (53% oppose).
Americans have turned against data centers over time. While this is the first time that Gallup has asked about local data center construction, the trendline from other public polling indicates a sharp turn against data centers as Americans have heard and seen more about them. A POLITICO survey from January, for example, found that Americans were slightly more likely to say that they would support a data center in their area than to say that they would oppose one (37% support / 28% oppose).
A substantial minority of Americans in the January POLITICO survey said that they would “neither support nor oppose” a local data center (28%) or didn’t know enough to say (8%), indicating that many Americans were still making up their minds on the topic at the start of the year.
One important difference between the January POLITICO poll and the more recent Gallup poll, aside from the time of fielding, is that Gallup specifically asked about data centers that would “support artificial intelligence, or AI, technology in the U.S.” (The POLITICO poll asked about “data centers” more generally, without reference to AI.)
Other polling has revealed deep anxiety about AI technology: an Economist/YouGov survey this week found that Americans are twice as likely to say that they feel pessimistic about AI’s impacts on society than to say that they feel optimistic about it (25% optimistic / 51% pessimistic). Additionally, The Economist and YouGov found that 71% of Americans feel that AI is “moving too fast.”
Energy and environmental factors are common reasons to oppose data centers, as is general antipathy toward AI. While it’s difficult to separate concerns about AI data centers from broader concerns about accelerating AI development, Gallup did ask respondents in another survey in April to specify in their own words why they would oppose a data center in their area.
Gallup then coded these open-ended responses into the following categories (which add up to more than 100 as respondents could mention several different reasons in their answer):
- Effects on resources (such as water use, energy consumption, and environmental impacts) – Mentioned by 50% as a reason for their opposition
- Quality of life concerns for local communities – 22%
- Effects on costs (such as higher utility bills and the use of taxpayer dollars) – 20%
- Pollution (including noise pollution and air/water contamination) – 16%
- Economic effects (such as workers being replaced by AI) – 14%
- Generally negative views of AI – 14%
- Specific concerns about AI (such as safety, privacy, and impacts on society) – 13%
As these results show, Americans’ resistance to data center construction is driven by a variety of concerns–including specific worries about data centers’ environmental impacts and their effects on people’s utility bills, as well as broader anxiety about AI technology.
Among those who support local data center construction, job opportunities are a major selling point. Gallup also asked Americans who support local data center construction why they would support a project. Around two-thirds of data center supporters (66%) mention local economic benefits, with over half (55%) referencing job opportunities in particular.
Navigator – More than any other industry, voters say that they are concerned about the political influence of oil and gas [Website, Deck, Topline]
More than any other industry, voters say that they are concerned about the political influence of oil and gas and believe that the industry has sway over Trump. We previewed these results in an earlier weekly roundup, and a new report from Navigator clearly visualizes how troubled voters are about the oil and gas industry’s influence in Washington–even compared to other powerful corporate special interests.
Voters are more likely to say that they are concerned about oil and gas companies having influence in U.S. politics than any other interest group, and also believe that oil and gas companies currently have more influence over Trump than any other interest group.
Wall Street and AI/tech also rank relatively highly in their perceived influence over Trump and in how concerning their political influence is, though not to the same extent as oil and gas on either metric. The fossil fuel lobby is therefore a uniquely compelling villain to use in messaging about the influence of corporate special interests in politics today–particularly given Americans’ anger over fuel costs and utility bills.
CNN + SSRS – More Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of gas prices than any other issue, and Americans don’t trust either party to handle AI [Article, Topline]
Gas prices are now Trump’s weakest issue. Nearly four in five Americans (79%) disapprove of Trump’s handling of gas prices, more than any other issue that CNN and SSRS asked about. Trump also earns particularly poor marks for his handling of general inflation (74% disapprove) and the economy (70% disapprove). Below are Trump’s ratings on these and other major issues:
- Immigration – 41% approve / 59% disapprove
- Taxes – 37% approve / 62% disapprove
- The response to political violence in the country – 36% approve / 64% disapprove
- Helping the middle class – 33% approve / 67% disapprove
- Foreign affairs – 31% approve / 69% disapprove
- The economy – 30% approve / 70% disapprove
- Inflation – 26% approve / 74% disapprove
- Gas prices – 21% approve / 79% disapprove
Americans directly blame actions by Trump for their financial difficulties. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say that Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country. For comparison, CNN and SSRS also asked this question throughout Biden’s presidency. The largest percentage that ever said that Biden’s policies worsened economic conditions was 58% in August 2023.
Additionally, around three-quarters (77%) say that Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living in their community.
When it comes to specific actions, large majorities say that the war with Iran (75%) and the implementation of higher tariffs on foreign goods (65%) have had a negative effect on their personal financial situation.
Declining trust in Trump to handle the cost of living has created an advantage for Democrats. CNN and SSRS find that Americans now trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle various issues related to the cost of living. Below are the margins by which Americans say that they trust one party over the other on economic issues:
- Health care costs – Democrats +19
- Income inequality – Democrats +17
- Helping the middle class – Democrats +13
- The cost of living – Democrats +9
- Inflation – Democrats +5
- The economy – Democrats +2
- The role of AI in American life – Republicans +1
- Taxes – Republicans +3
- The stock market – Republicans +17
Americans don’t trust either party to regulate AI. While most Americans can choose a party that they trust more on every other issue that the survey asked about, the majority (61%) say that they don’t trust either party to handle the role of AI in American life. Only around one in five say that they trust Democrats (19%) or Republicans (20%) to handle the issue better.
Amid deep anxieties about the pace and impacts of AI, this data shows that Americans are eager for either party to demonstrate a clear plan for regulating it.
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