• People

Gallup Finds Fewer Americans Prioritize the Environment During the Pandemic

• climate change
• conservation
• COVID-19
• economy
• environment
• Gallup

Continuing its set of opinion surveys in the run-up to Earth Day, Gallup has released the results of another poll, finding that the percent of American adults who say that “protection of the environment should be given priority even at the risk of curbing economic growth” has dropped by 15% since 2018. Experts say that this number often correlates with unemployment, which the COVID-19 pandemic greatly increased.

Why This Matters: President Biden has worked hard to debunk the jobs vs. environment arguments of Republicans — he instead argues that job creation and economic growth must go hand in hand with investment in clean energy and other “green” policies.

• Politics

It’s the Nature Economy, Stupid

• #JoeBiden
• climate change
• Donald Trump
• economy
• energy
• nature

by Monica Medina and Miro Korenha President Trump is the Climate Denier- in-Chief. He says wind turbines cause cancer (they don’t), that energy-efficient light bulbs make him look bad (what doesn’t?), we need more water to wash our dishes (that’s expensive and wasteful), and that energy-efficient building have no windows (wrong again). He promised to […]

• Politics

On Jobs: Biden vs. Trump

• Biden
• economy
• green economy
• green jobs
• jobs
• Trump

The climate plan that Joe Biden released this week is ultimately a jobs plan–one that envisions our nation on a sustainable trajectory with abundant jobs provided by the build-out of a clean energy economy. Biden received the endorsement of multiple unions for his plan and seized the opportunity to present a vision of America that […]

• Sustainability

U.S. and North America Most Resilient to Climate Change

• climate change
• economy
• resilience

A new study by the Economist magazine’s Intelligence Unit (EIU) finds not surprisingly that rich countries such as those in Europe and North America are more resilient to climate change, with less impact on their economies than other regions.  The EIU used an index and found that the global economy will be 3% smaller in 2050 when analyzed against a new framework they developed, while the U.S. will be 1.1% smaller, according to CNN Business.

Why This Matters:  The extent of preparation for climate change impacts is an important economic health indicator for banks, governments, companies, and other institutions as they make investments in those regions — not to mention the citizens of those regions when they consider the effectiveness of their governing institutions.

• People

Interview of the Week: Lora Smith

• Appalachia
• coal country
• development
• economy

Lora Smith heads the Appalachian Impact Fund at the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky. She also serves as the co-chair of the Downtown Revitalization Working Group at the Appalachia Funders Network, a network of investors focused on the shared goal of an equitable Appalachian economic transition. ODP: Can you give a bit of detail of the […]

• Climate Change

Warming winters a major threat to snow sports economy

• economic threat
• economy
• Lindsey Vonn
• snow
• snow boarding
• warming
• winter sports

While the thought of avoiding winter might sound nice, the actual impact of warming temperatures in cold months is nothing to wish for. Already in most U.S. states, winters have already warmed faster than any other season and as Climate Central reported those warmer winters are coming with serious (and rising) costs. America’s cold-weather recreation sector has a particularly big stake in warming winters. Activities from downhill skiing to ice fishing and outdoor ice hockey all rely on low temperatures, ample snowfall, or both. Every year, winter recreation contributes billions of dollars to the United States’ economy.