Environmental Polling Roundup – November 7, 2025
Headlines
America the Beautiful for All Coalition – Voters respond strongly to pro-environment statements that emphasize children and future generations, and safe drinking water remains the public’s top environmental concern [Website, Deck]
ecoAmerica – Americans continue to support investment in renewables over other energy sources; partisans on both sides want more investment in nuclear energy, with pollution reduction seen as a major benefit [Website, Report, Crosstabs]
Key Takeaways
The Trump administration’s attack on clean energy is clearly at odds with the public’s preferences, including Republicans’. Energy prices were front and center in several of this week’s Democratic wins, including for the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia and for the two seats that Democrats flipped on the Georgia Public Service Commission.
Two common themes in all of these races: the victorious Democrats touted the expansion of clean energy as part of the solution to lower energy bills, while their opponents unsuccessfully tried to fearmonger against it.
There are myriad reasons why Democrats had such a successful election night, and it’s worth keeping in mind that Trump remains a deeply unpopular president. But polls also provide a simple explanation as to why attacks on clean energy are falling flat: most Americans, including Republicans, want the country to be using more clean energy. This was the case in Pew polling from earlier this year, which found that three-quarters of Americans–including the majority of Republicans–want the country to use more solar power. And it’s again the case in new polling released by ecoAmerica, which finds that 72% of Americans and nearly two-thirds of Republicans say that the country should invest more in developing solar and wind.
The general pattern in polling on energy sources is that Democrats want more clean energy and less fossil fuel energy, while Republicans want more energy of all kinds. The national Republican Party’s policy of limiting clean energy simply doesn’t have a substantial constituency, and is alienating even to the party’s own voters as Americans demand energy bill relief.
Environmental messaging that focuses on children and future generations continues to resonate. Even with all of the shocks to environmental politics in recent years, from the passage of historic climate legislation under Biden to the rollbacks under Trump and the current crisis over electricity costs, certain principles of communicating on environmental issues remain tried and true. One of these is the power of emphasizing future generations, which time and again tests as the strongest rationale for action on climate change.
The resonance of this theme is affirmed in new polling by the America the Beautiful for All Coalition. In testing a variety of value statements about the environment, they find that the following message elicits the strongest agreement: “Every child deserves to grow up healthy and safe, breathing fresh air, drinking safe water, and thriving in safe outdoor spaces.”
And in a test of statements about the government’s role in addressing environmental issues, a statement about children and future generations again resonates above all others: “Government should ensure the health and wellbeing of our children and future generations by making sure they have healthy air to breathe and safe water to drink.”
Good Data Points to Highlight
[Clean Energy] 72% of Americans, including 65% of Republicans, say that the U.S. should spend more on research and development of wind and solar energy [ecoAmerica]
[Environment + Elections] 83% of voters agree (including 58% who strongly agree) that we need to elect leaders who will prioritize nature and protect our lands, waters, and wildlife [America the Beautiful for All Coalition]
[Public Lands] 79% of voters agree (including 59% who strongly agree) that the government should not sell off our public lands to corporations and oil and gas companies [America the Beautiful for All Coalition]
Full Roundup
America the Beautiful for All Coalition – Voters respond strongly to pro-environment statements that emphasize children and future generations, and safe drinking water remains the public’s top environmental concern [Website, Deck]
Safe drinking water remains the public’s top environmental concern. When presented with a list of environmental issues, voters express concerns about several priorities but continue to feel most strongly about protecting drinking water:
- Having safe water to drink – 43% very concerned (10 on a 1-10 scale)
- Having healthy air to breathe – 39%
- Polluted waterways, like rivers, lakes, and streams – 36%
- Destruction of nature and loss of wildlife habitats – 36%
- Poor outdoor air quality – 33%
- Climate disasters, like droughts, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes – 33%
- Loss of wetlands, mangroves, and other natural barriers that protect communities from extreme weather events – 31%
Environmental messages resonate more when they focus on children and future generations. The poll tested voters’ agreement with 14 value statements related to the environment, finding that voters agreed most strongly with a message about guaranteeing health and safety for every child. Several other statements that focused on children also ranked highly. Below are the seven top-testing statements of the 14 included in the poll:
- Every child deserves to grow up healthy and safe, breathing fresh air, drinking safe water, and thriving in safe outdoor spaces – 77% strongly agree
- No matter our race, ethnicity, or class, most of us want to live in a place where we have the opportunity to be healthy – 74%
- (Split Sample) We have a responsibility to look out for the health and wellbeing of our children and future generations by making sure they have healthy air to breathe and safe water to drink – 72%
- All youth across America should have the opportunity to explore the great outdoors and enjoy its health, educational, and career-building benefits – 71%
- (Split Sample) We have a responsibility to look out for the health and wellbeing of our children by making sure they have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink – 71%
- We need to make sure the land continues to be healthy so that we can have a safe and healthy nation for all – 71%
- We need to stand together and care for our families and the lands and waters that sustain us all – 70%
In another test of several value statements, this time related to the government’s approach to environmental issues, a statement focused on children and future generations also ranked at the top:
- Government should ensure the health and wellbeing of our children and future generations by making sure they have healthy air to breathe and safe water to drink – 70% strongly agree
- Government should not sell off our public lands to corporations and oil and gas companies – 59%
- Government needs to protect all people from the impacts of extreme weather – 59%
- (Split Sample) I’m hopeful that we can implement the solutions needed to reverse harms to nature and our health – 58%
- We need to elect leaders who will prioritize nature and protect our lands, water, and wildlife – 58%
- (Split Sample) I’m hopeful that we can reduce the pollution that is causing harm to nature and our health – 58%
- (Split Sample) We could address negative impacts on nature effectively, but our government is broken. Instead of listening to experts, politicians are listening to their lobbyists and campaign donors. – 56%
- (Split Sample) We could address negative impacts on nature effectively, but our government is broken and politicians can’t agree on how to do it. – 55%
The America the Beautiful for All Coalition’s message recommendations emphasize shared values and clear villains. Pulling from the “Message Recommendations” slide of their results deck:
“Establish a shared value before moving on to naming the problem. Strong language:
- ‘Most of us want to live in a world where every child grows up healthy and safe, breathing fresh air, drinking safe water, eating safe foods, and thriving in nurturing spaces.’
- ‘Whether we’ve been here for generations or we moved here for a better life, America’s bayous, beaches, deserts, forests and mountains are some of the best parts of our homeland.’
- ‘What makes America beautiful is our connection to each other, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the natural environment we all depend on.’
Name the villain. It is more important to highlight the tactics they employ than merely naming them. Strong language:
- ‘The MAGA regime’
- ‘The Trump Administration”
- ‘Reckless corporations and the greedy politicians they pay for’
- ‘Certain politicians’
- ‘Big polluters’
Highlight divisive tactics. Call out divide-and-conquer tactics and connect them to the outcomes they create. Strong language:
- (Tactics) ‘Firing and ignoring highly qualified wildlife and environmental experts’
- (Tactics) ‘Selling off our shared lands to their corporate backers that poison our air, contaminate our water, and harm our communities.’
- (Outcomes) ‘Threatening our lands, wildlife, and our families’ future.’
Evoke community and highlight the hardest hit communities. Talk about how families and communities are being impacted most by environmental injustice when articulating an agenda to make life better for all. Strong language:
- ‘We can stop the corporations hurting our communities.’
- ‘Big polluters exploit their workers, while dumping toxins into communities of color and low-income neighborhoods.’
- ‘Harm is felt first and worst in communities of color.’
Provide a positive call to action around unity and change and highlight what government can do. Strong unity/change language:
- ‘Come together to make sure everyone in our country can breathe healthy air, drink safe water, and live a good life.’
- ‘Stand up and protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the parks and green spaces we enjoy and depend on.’“
ecoAmerica – Americans continue to support investment in renewables over other energy sources; partisans on both sides want more investment in nuclear energy, with pollution reduction seen as a major benefit [Website, Report, Crosstabs]
Americans want more investment in developing renewables than other energy sources. ecoAmerica asked Americans whether the United States should be spending more or less on “research and development” of various energy sources in the next few years, finding that more Americans support increasing investment in renewables than in any other energy source:
- Wind and solar – 72% more / 20% less
- Next generation nuclear energy – 58% more / 27% less
- Natural gas – 57% more / 30% less
- Oil – 43% more / 47% less
- Coal – 36% more / 52% less
Democrats and Republicans predictably have different energy priorities, though most Republicans say that the country should develop renewables and partisans on both sides want more investment in nuclear energy. Democrats express far more support for investment in renewables than in other energy sources, and generally want to decrease investment in fossil fuels (with the exception of natural gas, which other research shows that Americans commonly misperceive as a “clean” energy source):
- Wind and solar – 79% more / 16% less among Democrats
- Next generation nuclear energy – 58% more / 31% less among Democrats
- Natural gas – 54% more / 35% less among Democrats
- Coal – 31% more / 61% less among Democrats
- Oil – 34% more / 58% less among Democrats
Republicans, meanwhile, are more likely to support increasing than decreasing investment in all of the energy sources included in the poll:
- Natural gas – 66% more / 23% less among Republicans
- Wind and solar energy – 65% more / 26% less among Republicans
- Next generation nuclear energy – 62% more / 22% less among Republicans
- Oil – 54% more / 38% less among Republicans
- Coal – 47% more / 40% less among Republicans
Reliability, energy independence, and the climate are key selling points for nuclear energy. Majorities rate each of the following statements as important reasons for supporting nuclear energy, and Americans respond particularly strongly to rationales that focus on its climate benefits (with more than 40% calling those rationales “very” important):
- Nuclear power plants generate a lot of our electricity, reliably – 74% important reason, including 38% who call it a “very” important reason
- Nuclear power plants should be kept running until lower cost renewable energy becomes available – 73% important, 37% “very” important
- Nuclear power helps us grow our economy while reducing pollution to our climate and health – 72% important, 41% “very” important
- Nuclear power plants keep America competitive and energy independent – 72% important, 40% “very” important
- Nuclear power plants should be kept running as long as they are cost effective in the long term – 71% important, 35% “very” important
- Nuclear power plants do not emit pollutants that harm our health or our climate compared to alternatives – 69% important, 42% “very” important
- We have thousands of years of uranium and thorium for truly sustainable energy – 67% important, 33% “very” important
Consistent with what we’ve seen in other research, Republicans place particular value on energy independence and Democrats place particular value on climate benefits. Compared to the other rationales for nuclear energy, Republicans are most likely to say that it’s “very” important that nuclear power plants keep America competitive and energy independent (49%) and Democrats are most likely to say that it’s “very” important that nuclear power plants to not emit pollutants that harm our health or our climate compared to alternatives (41%).
Despite the bipartisan support for nuclear energy investment, Americans continue to have serious concerns about its impacts on health and safety. Majorities of Americans say that they have at least “some” concerns about each of the following issues in relation to upgrading nuclear energy, and concerns about health and safety are particularly intense:
- Health and safety – 75% concerned, including 48% who have “a lot” of concerns
- Waste disposal – 73% concerned, 43% “a lot”
- Security and weaponization – 69% concerned, 38% “a lot”
- Cost – 66% concerned, 33% “a lot”
- Overpopulation and overdevelopment leading to natural habitat loss – 66% concerned, 32% “a lot”
Related Resources
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