The CLOSUP Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative

Summary

CLOSUP's Energy and Environmental Policy Initiative (EEPI), launched in the fall of 2012, is a program of coordinated activities designed to bring the latest academic knowledge to bear on issues of energy, environment, and climate policy. Through a combination of research projects, events, classroom activities, and publications, EEPI seeks to inform policy-relevant discussions among policymakers and other stakeholders with new research findings.

Research

Under the direction of professor Barry Rabe at CLOSUP, and professor Christopher Borick at Muhlenberg College, one core set of research activities in the EEPI is a series of ongoing surveys of American public opinion, conducted jointly by CLOSUP and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO). Originally known as the National Survey of American Public Opinion on Climate Change, as of fall 2012 this program of research has been renamed the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE). NSEE will include twice-per-year surveys in the spring and fall focused on climate change and a wide range of related issues under the EEPI umbrella.

CLOSUP's Fracking Project, part of the wider Energy and Environmental Policy Initiative (EEPI), launched in the fall 2012 with a survey on fracking in Michigan and Pennsylvania, part of the National Surveys on Energy and Environment. The CLOSUP Fracking Project includes survey research, case studies, web-based information resources, policy events, and more, with the goal of informing policy debate around the issue of hyrdraulic fracturing for natural gas, more commonly known as "fracking."

CLOSUP Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative Resources

See a full set of EEPI resources listed in the column to the right, or see below for the most recent resources. (Resources listed also include those developed at CLOSUP relating to energy and environmental policy issues from before the official launch of the EEPI in 2012.)

Most Recent Report:
• National Surveys on Energy and Environment: Public Opinion on Fracking: The Chilling Effect of Winter 2013 on American Acceptance of Global Warming, June, 2013.
• View the report
• View the news release
• Read Brookings Blog Up Front
• See more EEPI reports listed in right column.

Recent Events:
• Dec. 3, 2012: Shale gas and fracking: Issues for state and local governance
  See the presentations from the event:
• Christopher Borick
• Jacquelyn Pless
• Erich Schwartzel

See the event video
See the news coverage

• See more past EEPI events listed in right column.

For more information on the CLOSUP Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative, contact CLOSUP staff at 734-647-4091 or by email to closup@umich.edu.

Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative Resources

• See the EEPI home page
• See the National Surveys on Energy and Environment home page

Reports National Surveys on Energy and Environment: Public Opinion on Fracking: The Chilling Effect of Winter 2013 on American Acceptance of Global Warming (June 2013) National Surveys on Energy and Environment: Public Opinion on Fracking: Perspectives from Michigan and Pennsylvania (May 2013) More reports National Surveys on Energy and Environment: Findings Report for Belief-Related Questions (March 2013) National Surveys on Energy and Environment: Public Opinion on Climate Policy Options (Dec. 2012) Working paper: Feasibility and Implications of the Michigan 2012 Proposal 3 for a 25% State Renewable Portfolio Standard (Oct. 2012) Fracking for Natural Gas: Public Opinion on State Policy Options (Nov. 2011) Climate Compared: Public Opinion on Climate Change in the United States and Canada (Feb. 2011) Survey of Michigan Residents on the Issue of Global Warming and Climate Policy Options: Key Findings Report (Feb. 2008)

Policy Points Videos Barry Rabe: Public opinion on fracking in Michigan & Pennsylvania (May 2013) More videos Barry Rabe: A majority of Americans say the federal government should address climate change (Dec. 2012) Barry Rabe: Mixed opinions on fracking (April 2012) Chris Borick: Shifting opinions on climate change (April 2012)

More on the Energy & Environmental Policy Initiative

• EEPI activities in the news, media, & blogs