San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Poll in state: Locals less concerned about weather
Residents of San Diego and Orange counties say they are less affected by extreme weather than other parts of the state.
Still, a strong majority says extreme weather is a big problem or somewhat of a problem for the region.
People in the two counties also have less confidence than residents elsewhere in government’s ability to respond to weather-related problems.
But San Diego and Orange counties’ residents are right up there with the rest of the state in the belief that climate change contributed to recent harsh weather — from drought to floodgenerating storms to heat waves.
Those are among the takeaways from a statewide survey by the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California, which was released last week just as the latest heat wave hit.
Overall, three in four Californians said extreme weather is a problem in their part of the state. That’s probably not a surprise, given that the state has been whipped-sawed between drought and flooding over the past year.
Further, the PPIC poll was conducted amid almost continuous news about extreme weather across the globe, including deadly heat waves, flooding in surprising areas and wildfires that polluted the air in cities far away.
In addition to the usual partisan and ethnic breakdowns, the survey grouped results by region: Central Valley, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, San Diego-orange counties and the San Francisco Bay Area.
In San Diego-orange, 29 percent of those polled say extreme weather was a “big problem” in their part of the state — less than in any other region. The highest areas of concern were in Los Angeles and San Francisco, both with 39 percent, followed by the Central Valley (36 percent) and the Inland Empire (32 percent).
Thirty-nine percent of
respondents in San Diegoorange say extreme weather was “somewhat” of a problem in their area, which was also lower than the other four regions.
The pollsters didn’t venture into an explanation as to why concern was lower in the two counties. One might theorize that the milder coastal temperatures have something to do with it. But try telling that to folks in El Cajon and points east.
It’s worth noting that the region didn’t experience catastrophic f loods recently like those that submerged other parts of the state. Further, San Diego County has built a drought-resistant water supply, at least for now, and hasn’t faced the worries about the kind of looming shortages that are likely elsewhere in California.
Statewide, 45 percent of adults say they have been personally affected by an extreme weather event in the past two years. Again, San Diego-orange was at the low end (30 percent) while residents in the Inland Empire registered the greatest direct impact (53 percent).
Fewer people in San Diego-orange said they had a “great deal” of confidence in government’s readiness to respond to extreme weather — 15 percent — than the state overall (19 percent). The 58 percent of local residents who say they are “somewhat” confident is a tick above the state average.
In San Diego-orange, 75 percent say climate change contributed to recent extreme weather. That’s in line with the statewide average of 77 percent.
Across California, Democrats and independents were at least twice as likely as Republicans to agree that climate change was linked to extreme weather events. There also were differences among ethnic groups.
“This view was somewhat more prevalent among African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos than Whites, among women than men, among renters than homeowners, and among coastal residents than inland residents,” according to the pollsters’ analysis.
“The share saying climate change has contributed to extreme weather events declines as age and income rise.”
The survey was conducted June 7-29 among 1,724 California adults, with a potential sampling error of +/-3.1 percent.
Among other environmental issues in the poll:
• Electric vehicles: Fiftyeight percent say electric vehicles help address climate change either a great deal or a fair amount. Half say they have “seriously considered” getting one. Survey director Mark Baldassare said 8 percent of California adults currently have an electric vehicle.
• State climate action: Fifty-seven percent said it’s “very important” for the state government to pass regulations and spend money now on efforts to address climate change. There was a huge partisan split — Democrats at 73 percent support, independents at 55 percent and Republicans at 22 percent.
• Renewable energy: Nearly 70 percent back the state’s shift to renewable energy, but just 43 percent said they would be willing to pay more for it. Another big partisan split on this.
• Cost of regulations: Majorities said stronger environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost — Democrats and Republicans differ sharply — and more than half expect higher gas prices because of efforts to tackle climate change.
As expected, there was a big partisan split on how Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden are handling the environment, with Democrats giving them high ratings and Republicans not. Among all likely voters, 59 percent approved of what Newsom is doing, compared with 51 percent for Biden.
The California Legislature gets 55 percent approval on the environment, also with a big spread between Democrats and Republicans.
As for Congress, less than a quarter of likely voters approve of its work on the environment (31 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of Republicans).
At least that’s one area of partisan agreement.
What they said
The Associated Press (@AP) on Twitter.
“Majorities of adults say U.S. laws and policies do a poor job of representing what most Americans want on a wide range of issues, according to an AP-NORC poll.”
michael.smolens @sduniontribune.com