Surveys show that both left- and right-leaning Americans support policies that slow climate change. So why aren’t we seeing more of these policies pass as legislation? In this episode of TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate), MIT alum Parrish Bergquist joins host Laur Hesse Fisher to explain the significance of public opinion and climate change: what people believe, what influences their opinion and how policies are implemented. They also explore what bipartisan policy making could look like, and how to bridge the gap between support and action.

Parrish Bergquist, an MIT alum from the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Science and the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, visit: https://climate.mit.edu/podcasts/til-what-americans-think-about-climate-change. 

For more episodes of TILclimate by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, visit tilclimate.mit.edu. 

Credits

Laur Hesse Fisher, Host and Producer

David Lishansky, Editor and Producer

Aaron Krol, Associate Producer

Ilana Hirschfeld, Student Production Assistant

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Artwork by Aaron Krol