A majority of people support using public lands to generate solar and wind power. That's according to a new climate-focused poll out of Yale.
The poll from the university's School of the Environment found that 75% of people "somewhat" or "strongly" support the idea.
Jennifer Marlon is a senior research scientist with the team that puts out the report.
"When you talk to everyday people in cities and towns across the U.S., they want stable energy sources, they want local energy, they want control over where the energy is coming from," she said.
Support for generating renewable energy on public lands is high across the Mountain West, with Colorado and New Mexico holding a 76% approval rating according to the poll – highest among Mountain West states. Arizona and Nevada are close behind at 74%. Wyoming had the lowest rating among Mountain West states at 66%.
The federal Bureau of Land Management 's Renewable Energy Rule currently allows solar and wind development on public lands. However, last year the Trump administration announced it was walking the policy back – reversing the Biden-era initiative that gave quote "preferential treatment" to renewable energy projects.
The data shows more people support generating renewable energy on public lands than through drilling and mining. Marlon said the findings highlight a gap between the policies of President Trump's administration and the general public's sentiment.
"There's really broad support for solar and wind and shifting to renewable energy that is not consistent with what the administration is pushing for," Marlon said.
That may also be reflected in whether people hold climate change as a high priority when it comes to voting. According to the poll, 57% of people nationally say a candidate's views on global warming are important, but there's a big difference between rural areas and more urban ones. For example, this sentiment is lower in Idaho (46%) and Wyoming (42%), while higher in states that have large population centers and cities such as Colorado (63%) and Nevada (64%).
Another question in the poll asked people if they believe global warming is affecting the weather in the U.S. The national average said 64% of respondents believe this. Mountain West sentiment varies, with Colorado having the highest sentiment (68%) and Wyoming having the lowest sentiment (50%). Wyoming ranks last among states in this category.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
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