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Date of Publication: June 15, 2015
Year of Publication: 2015
Publisher: Cross Mark
Author(s): Thomas Dietz, Kenneth A. Frank, Cameron T. Whitley, Jennifer Kelly, Rachel Kelly
Journal: PNAS
Volume: Early Edition
Can politics actually influence anthropogenic stress on the environment?
“The environmental movement is making a difference – nudging greenhouse gas emissions down in states with strong green voices, according to a Michigan State University (MSU) study.”
ABSTRACT: Starting at least in the 1970s, empirical work suggested that demographic (population) and economic (affluence) forces are the key drivers of anthropogenic stress on the environment. We evaluate the extent to which politics attenuates the effects of economic and demographic factors on environmental outcomes by examining variation in CO2 emissions across US states and within states over time. We find that demographic and economic forces can in part be offset by politics supportive of the environment—increases in emissions over time are lower in states that elect legislators with strong environmental records.
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