"A new Gallup survey found that a record-low 35 percent of American respondents rated the quality of their country’s environment positively, just more than a week before Earth Day. 

The firm’s annual environment poll, released Tuesday, found that 43 percent of respondents rated the environment as fair, while 2 in 10 rated it as poor. Just 35 percent rated the environment as excellent or good, a decline of 8 points from last year and 4 points compared to the previous low of 39 percent dating back to 2001 — set twice, in 2009 and 2022. 

Over the last 15 months, the Trump administration has eschewed renewable energy in favor of fossil fuels. It has eased standards for coal plants, proposed a massive expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling and has sought to export more domestically-produced natural gas. 

In February, the Environmental Protection Agency repealed its own endangerment finding — a 2009 determination that gave the agency the ability to regulate emissions from new motor vehicles under the pretense that greenhouse gases threatened human health."

Max Rego reports for The Hill April 14, 2026. [2]