Bridging Gaps Between Constituents and Policymakers in Climate Policy in Washington State

Climate change is one of the preeminent concerns of our time. As nation-states around the world face rising sea levels, pollution, political instability, and a rise of national security concerns due to climate instability, greater international cooperation is needed in order to target and adapt to cross-border issues. However, international political action is often reliant upon a national support for that action, especially when national officials rely on the support of their citizenry, such as in democracies, like the United States. In order to understand how countries such as the United States make decisions on the domestic and international level, the feasibility of environmentally-focused political decision making must be understood. By conducting interviews with six policy makers at different levels of political decision making, and conducting quantitative research surveys of 755 Washingtonians, the perspectives of constituants and policy makers can be better understood. Together, this research identifies the feasibility of additional environmental regulation at local, state, regional, national, and international levels, as well as understanding the interdisciplinary connections in environmental decision making, with hopes of creating a more sustainable and stable earth