Data for Climate Progress 9.15
September 15, 2020
Welcome back to the Data for Climate Progress Newsletter, your bi-weekly update on new research, blog posts and memes from the Data for Progress climate team: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Marcela Mulholland and Danielle Deiseroth.
What We’re Watching
The sky is literally orange.
The past few weeks have been heavy. As we write this, the West is in the midst of a record-breaking wildfire season that is displacing thousands, stripping communities of their lives and livelihoods and proving through orange-skies and apocalyptic images that the climate crisis is indeed, not a far off threat, but a terrifying part of our present. We’re keeping a close eye on how these fires develop, taking cues from the people organizing and fighting for their lives and—as always—aiming to arm them with the polling and policy to make change.
15 years since Hurricane Katrina.
Hurricane Laura recently made landfall in Louisiana almost exactly on the day of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall. For many, Katrina marked a moment of awakening about racism, the climate crisis and the inhumanity of our government. We’re remembering the lives and communities that were lost to Hurricane Katrina, Laura and commit to fighting for a liveable future.
What would it look for us to THRIVE?
Last week a coalition of hundreds of grassroots organizations and more than 80 Members of Congress came together to launch the THRIVE agenda, a transformative plan to create millions of union jobs, protect our environment & invest in Black, Brown and Indigenous communities.
We polled THRIVE and its key pillars are popular in battleground states and districts.
Polling
Right now, amidst catastrophic natural disasters and against political headwinds from the White House, how does the public think about climate change?
Voters aren’t buying Trump’s lies about renewable energy. As part of an August national survey, we asked voters if it was the utility companies or renewable energy sources that were to blame for California blackouts.
A majority of voters (64%) agree that utility companies should be more responsible in managing their power reserves and maintaining plants so they do not fail during periods of hot weather, while only 21% of voters think that California should rely less on renewable energy sources
Voters want to cancel fossil fuels. Earlier this month, Data for Progress partnered with Jamie Henn of Fossil Free Media to release a new polling memo that shows voters want fossil fuels out of the energy mix, politics and their communities. Highlights include:
Voters oppose having fossil fuel industry lobbyists or representatives working in the executive branch by a 22-point margin (49% oppose, 27% support)
A plurality of voters (49%) support ending fossil fuel extraction on public lands, even when shown partisan arguments against the proposal
A plurality of voters (45%) oppose the Federal Reserve bailing out fossil fuel companies as part of coronavirus economic relief packages
Can I get a yee haw? Data for Progress partnered with organizations in the Texas Youth Power Alliance to conduct a statewide survey of Texas voters.
With fifty days to go until the election, Democrats could flip the Texas State House and win a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, a statewide body that regulates the oil and gas industry
A majority of TX voters (65%) say they are more likely to support a candidate for office who pledges to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035 and create millions of new clean energy jobs as America transitions to a clean energy economy
A majority of TX voters (58%) say they are more likely to support a candidate if they refused to take money from fossil fuel companies, executives, or lobbyists
Keep an eye out this week for the full polling results, which include new findings that show TX voters support a broad range of bold climate policies
Graphic courtesy of Texas Rising
Policy
Farmworkers on the frontlines.
Farmworkers, who have continued working throughout the pandemic to grow food for all of us, are uniquely vulnerable to coronavirus. Our team as well as Mackenzie Feldman, a DFP fellow, spoke with leaders from farmworker justice organizations and compiled key learnings and best practices that advocates and communities across the country can look to for guidance on how to support farmworkers in the pandemic.
Environmental Justice for All.
Air pollution and environmental racism affect communities of color all across the country every single day, making it harder to breathe, drink, and live. Thankfully, the environmental justice movement is building momentum at the federal level. We polled Sen. Harris and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s Climate Equity Act and Sen. Harris, Sen. Booker and Sen. Duckworth’s Environmental Justice for All Act. Both policies enjoy a majority of voter support.
Cross-Cutting Issues
Strike!
Last month, before game five of the first round NBA playoff series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic, Bucks players decided not to take the court in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Our polling found that on net, voters support the strike by a nine-point margin (48 percent support, 39 percent oppose).
But, NBA owners have yet to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to the Black Lives Matter movement. In another blog Avery Wendell and Andrew Mangan take a look at FEC filings and find that NBA owners are donating to elected officials actively opposed to police accountability and racial justice.
Ballot initiatives to watch
An industry-sponsored constitutional amendment has made it onto the ballot In Louisiana, and if it passes it would extend the already massive tax breaks that the oil and petrochemical industries enjoy in Louisiana. CleanTechnica interviewed Broderick Bagert of Together Louisiana on how industry snuck this corporate giveaway through the statehouse during coronavirus lockdown and the disastrous consequences it could have for schools, public services and the climate if it passes.
In California, Governor Newsom backed Prop 15 “the Schools & Communities First Initiative” that will close corporate tax loopholes and provide a major injection of resources as CA suffers from wildfires. It’s anticipated to raise massive amounts of revenue for schools and communities; in Contra Costa County where Chevron and others large refiners exploit the tax loophole, it would reclaim $421.8 million annually for schools and local communities. It has strong support from unions like SEIU and environmental justice groups like the California Environmental Justice Alliance.
What we’ve won
Last week, a stunning 15 progressives won primaries against incumbents in the Rhode Island state legislature. Many of them were strongly backed by the RI Political Cooperative, Working Families Party and local Sunrise Movement chapters, and ran on a just transition and Green New Deal. The RI Political Cooperative is also supporting 11 candidates in municipal elections.
Media Hits
GreenBiz (Julian featured)
GreenBiz Podcast (Julian featured)
Biden
The New Yorker (Sean quoted)
Washington Examiner (Polling mentioned)
EcoWatch (Polling mentioned)
Uncommon Dreams (Julian quoted)
Houston Chronicle (Polling mentioned)
Markey race
Courthouse News Service (Polling mentioned, Sean quoted)
Business Insider (DFP mentioned)
THRIVE Agenda
Maine Beacon (Polling mentioned)
Uncommon Dreams (Polling mentioned)
Gizmodo (Polling mentioned)
Miscellaneous
No meme this week. Just this:
