Public Opinion/ Presidents and the Environment

Factors that impact the relationship between public opinion and the environment

• salience,

• support for specific policies,

• whether elected officials know our views,

• party control in government,

• actions of interest groups and lobbyist

Relationship between demographics and public opinion on Environment

• Individual level - age, race, gender, education

  • Women tend to be more concerned about environmental issues than men

  • Age younger people tend to care more than older people

  • More educated tend to be more concerned 

  • Race varies in its impact depending on the specific issue in question

What is the purpose of Gazmararian et. al. 2025

• clarify how public beliefs, preferences, and behaviors matter for the clean energy transition. examine 3 channels policymaker incentives, electoral selection, and technology adoption and siting decisions - goal is to show how policy-design features shape public support via these 3 mechanisms: visibility of costs/benefits, distributional effects, and linkages across policy domains

• find that public support depends heavily on how visible and credible are both the benefits and costs, how fairly those cost/benefits are spread and whether the policies are connected with domains people care about

How do public views on the energy transition impact what politicians do in office?

• policymakers anticipate public reactions - if a policy is likely to be more popular politicians are willing to support it

• electoral incentives - elected officials depend on votes

• siting, adoption, and regulation - after the law passes, implementation requires local acceptance

What year was the environment the number 2 public priority and explanations for why it dropped lower after

• 1971

• Economic concerns rose (stagflation) - us economy entering a period of high inflation + slow growth

• Recessionary pressures - rising unemployment made people skeptical of job-killing regulations

• competing priorities - the Vietnam war was ongoing, issues of civil rights and social justice consumed public attention

• environmental regulation backlash - industries pushed back

Commander in chief

the president directs the armed forces and national security policy - can order the military to address environmental threats that pose security risks and can direct the Department of Defense to reduce emissions and use renewable energy

• however enviro policy is not primarily military

Chief diplomate

Presidents negotiate international agreements that include environmental issues

• can negotiate or join international agreements (such as Paris climate accord)

• use executive agreements to bypass Senate ratification 

Chief executive

Oversees federal agencies: appointments, agency rule-making, executive orders: modern presidents made the most change - THE MOST COMMONLY USED POWER

• appoint leaders of EPA

• issue executive orders,

Legislative leader

president proposes laws and works with congress

• can propose comprehensive environmental laws or amendments

• uses the state of the union to frame environmental priorities

• can veto bills that undermine environmental regulations 

Opinion/party leader

• shape party platforms on energy, environment, and climate change

• mobilizes public and party support for environmental action

• influences state and local party policies

Which Presidential Power has been used most frequently

Chief Executive Power: through executive orders, regulatory actions, and agency leadership

• congressional gridlock makes it hard to pass environmental legislation

• executive actions are faster and don’t require congressional approval

• policy reversibility - can be quickly undo or redo previous rules 

Teddy Roosevelt

• Had an enormous impact on the preservation of public lands

  • Signed the Antiquities Act of 1906

  • Created 5 national parks, 18 national monuments

  • Established the US Forest Service, established 150 national forests, 51 federal bird preserves 

Nixon

• Made heavy use of his role as legislative leader

  • Signed many of our major national environmental laws (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, etc.)

• Also established the EPA using his role as Chief Executive

• was not always an advocate for strong environmental policies

• his motivations were largely political and based on Public Pressure, Political strategy as an appeal to moderate voters, and control and image saw environmentalism as politically useful

George H. W. Bush

• known as the last Republican president to find genuine bipartisan consensus on major environmental policy - after his term environmental issues became polarized, making bipartisan environmental consensus disappear

• Areas of Bipartisan Consensus: Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1990, created the first large-scale cap and trade system to reduce acid rain - it appealed to both sides

Obama

• Investment in renewable energy

  • ARRA - $90 billion clean energy investments

• Massive public lands preservation 

• Fuel economy standards aka Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards

• Clean Power Plan - first federal limits on carbon dioxide emissions and aimed to reduce power-sector emissions

Reagan

• cut EPA budget and staff and spending at higher levels received a huge backlash as a result

• believed the government is the problem and sought to rollback federal regulation

• used the executive branch to weaken environmental protections through budget cuts and regulatory rollback

• major exception Montreal Protocol

  • a global treaty to phase out ozone-depleting substances

  • considered the most successful environmental treaty

Trumps first Term

• Use of appointments 

• Rulemaking

  • Major rule changes/rollbacks - clean power plan, fuel economy standards

• Withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord

• Reductions in national monuments

• Reductions in EPA staff (he tried to reduce EPA funding, but was not successful)

Trumps 2nd Term

• Similar environmental policy rollbacks to his first term using the administrative presidency 

  • E.g. Climate rules as reported by the Sabin Center

• What's new?

  • Paving the way to shrink or revoke national monuments

  • More targeted derailment of renewable energy projects and greenhouse gas regulation

    • Revolution wind project cancellation

    • Attempt to repeal the “Endangerment Finding” related to regulating greenhouse gases

  • Rollbacks through legislation passed through Congress: The “One Big Beautiful Bill”

H. W. Bush

• considered the last Republican president to take proactive pro-environment actions

  • framed enviro protection as compatible with economic growth

  • After his term GOP became aligned with anti-regulatory positions

• Most significant pro=enviro act was Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

  • created the acid rain program, strengthened controls on toxic air pollutants and urban smog

Biden - Inflation Reduction Act

• aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy costs, and boost domestic clean energy production

• Broad goals: reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by about 40% by 2030, promote clean energy manufacturing, lower energy and health care costs, create jobs in renewable industries

• Main tools: tax credits and incentives, support for domestic manufacturing via grants, methane emissions reduction via methane fee