CLOSUP publications

The National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) is an on-going biannual national opinion survey on energy and climate policy from University of Michigan and Muhlenberg...

This report considers how American attitudes about renewable energy policies—and solar and wind energy, more specifically—have changed over the last decade. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for state-level renewable energy...

This paper and its analyses were commissioned in order to support a paper written by Barry G. Rabe for the Academy of Arts and Sciences Project on Durability and Adaptability in Energy Policy entitled “Leveraged Federalism and the Clean Air Act: The...

Over the course of the last 10 years the National Surveys on Energy and the Environment (NSEE) has fielded 19 surveys in which Americans have been asked if they believe there is solid evidence of global warming. In the latest version of this ongoing...

This report examines American attitudes about policies that could reduce emissions from the transportation sector. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for policies that require auto makers to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles, and...

Transitioning our energy supply to renewable sources has become an objective for policymakers, worldwide, and wind energy has emerged as a leading alternative energy source. In the US, much of the wind energy growth has occurred in rural communities...

Due to a lack of concerted federal action to promote renewable energy, understanding and evaluating the rigors of state-level energy policies such as renewable portfolio standards is of great importance. The literature on state renewable policies...

To evaluate current Republican views on climate, this study performs an inventory of all 51 US Republican senators’ official websites. It analyzes how each member speaks of "climate change" and "energy," which types of climate change mitigation...

In the global fight against climate change, cap-and-trade programs remain one of the most effective means of greenhouse gas mitigation at policymakers’ disposal. Within the United States, several sub-national cap-and trade programs have emerged with...

Despite lacking oil and gas resources and its accompanying wealth, Jordan and Morocco are leading renewable energy producers in the Middle East and North Africa. This research paper is a comparative case study that analyzes policy intent, policy...

Solar power has historically been a high cost form of renewable energy. Other renewables like wind have dominated the market, leading to a lack of diversity within American states’ renewable portfolio standards (RPS). To combat this lack of...

The gas tax in the United States has significant implications for the environment and for infrastructure funding. In contrast to federal inaction for over two decades, many states have recently increased their own state-level gas taxes. This study...

Local policies aimed at reducing the emissions that contribute to climate change are growing in popularity in the United States, but progress on reducing vehicle emissions remains incremental. Cities are slowly shifting away from zoning policies...

Since the 1980's international climate negotiations have occurred more frequently and with increasing importance. Research on international climate agreements has largely been limited to their effectiveness, with very few considering the formation...

A combination of rapid population growth, lack of proactive water management policy, and prolonged drought have put Cape Town, South Africa on the verge of becoming the first major, global city to effectively run out of water, a crisis projected to...

Many Michigan cities’ water infrastructure are unable to handle excessive stormwater which can result in flooding or combined sewer overflows. Green infrastructure has been used as a solution to allow water to naturally infiltrate into the ground,...

A sea of carceral facilities has quietly seeped across the U.S. in the past several decades, yet almost no peer-reviewed research documenting the effect of a prison’s location on prisoners exists. To begin reversing this silence, this paper realizes...

In this chapter, we present time-series data on American support for such policies, showing how attitudes have shifted—or not—over the last decade. We also detail how sensitive support or opposition is to more specific policy design elements: the...

In this chapter, we examine whether American public opinion about the proper role for various governmental levels to address climate change has shifted over the last decade. Using time-series data, we consider which levels of government Americans...

In this chapter, we look at how American attitudes about fossil fuels have changed over the last decade. We use time-series data to consider shifts in support for phasing out coal-fired power plants altogether and for so-called “clean coal,” as well...

Since the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972, waters in the United States have continually improved in quality. However, wetlands—and what constitutes a “navigable” waterway—have not been clearly deemed jurisdictional or not by the CWA....

The excessive generation of greenhouse gases by fossil fuel electricity production, and its resulting contribution to climate change, are some of the most threatening environmental issues today. To combat this problem, many US states have adopted a...

Climate change mitigation policies are often politically challenging to implement; this is especially true in the U.S. where carbon-pricing mechanisms are a political non-starter across both federal and sub-federal levels of government. While...

In the United States, there is a growing concern about the negative impacts of single-use plastic bags on human health and the environment. Several local and sub-national governments have implemented bans on the use of plastic bags as a result of...

According to IPCC models, it will be impossible to prevent global temperatures from rising two degrees above preindustrial levels without the deployment of negative emissions technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), which remove carbon...