Cary Funk

Several climate policies receive bipartisan support, despite Republicans and Democrats differing on the overall approach.

Americans offer a lackluster evaluation of how the country has balanced priorities during the coronavirus outbreak. Fewer than half say the country has given the right amount of priority to the needs of K-12 students, public health or quality of life.

Increasing representation in science is seen as important for attracting more Hispanic people to science.

Black Americans hold multifaceted views when it comes to trust in medical research scientists: Majorities hold largely positive views of their competence, but express concern about the potential for misconduct.

65% of U.S. adults say science has had a mostly positive effect on society; 28% say it has had an equal mix of positive and negative effects.

Americans regard advances in artificial intelligence and human enhancement technologies with a degree of caution and uncertainty.

Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.

Nearly all Democrats (92%) support a U.S. role in international efforts to reduce climate change impacts, as do 53% of Republicans.

Majorities of Americans say the United States should prioritize the development of renewable energy sources and take steps toward the country becoming carbon neutral by the year 2050. But just 31% want to phase out fossil fuels completely, and many foresee unexpected problems in a major transition to renewable energy.

Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.