Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Americans want expanded exploration and development of coal, oil and gas in the U.S. but also want limits on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Michele Obama’s favorability stays strong but the president’s and Sarah Palin’s popularity slip.
Overview With the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico now nearly two months old, the public is sending mixed signals about U.S. energy policy. Despite the growing damage from the Gulf oil leak, the public generally favors continuing to drill for oil and gas in U.S. waters. And in setting priorities for energy legislation […]
Summary of Findings Amid reports that BP has been able to at least temporarily stem the flow of oil from its ruptured underwater well, the public and the media last week again focused on the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. And, after several months of relentlessly bad news about the spreading spill, the possibility […]
Most Americans are optimistic about their own lives and the future of the United States over the next 40 years. But there are clouds on the horizon. Most expect the average family’s standard of living will not improve by 2050 and there is a widespread belief that economic inequality will increase. More than six-in-ten (64%) […]
The environment is a major issue in every nation surveyed, with at least half in all countries considering global climate change a serious or very serious problem. But the intensity of that concern varies widely, and divides along ideological lines in the U.S. and across the Atlantic. A majority of respondents in most countries feel […]
Summary of Findings Americans say they tracked the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti more closely than any other major news story last week, but they also kept a close watch on news about the U.S. economy and the powerful snow storms that hit the nation’s East Coast and South. Three-in-ten (30%) say they followed […]
Summary of Findings Public perceptions of economic news have turned much more negative. Currently, 42% say they are hearing mostly bad news about the economy, the highest percentage in a year. Last month, 30% of the public said they were hearing mostly bad news about the economy. The proportion saying they are hearing a mix […]
Voters continue to be divided in their preferences for this November’s Congressional elections – 45% support the Republican candidate in their district while 45% favor the Democratic candidate. These numbers are nearly identical to those in March and have been relatively stable over the course of this election cycle. At this point in 2006, Democrats […]