David M. Konisky
Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University-Bloomington
Chapter Member: Indiana SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About David
Konisky's research and teaching expertise are in the areas of U.S. environmental and energy policy, with particular emphasis on regulation, federalism and state politics, public opinion. His current projects examine enforcement of federal environmental laws, environmental justice, and public attitudes toward energy and the environment. Konisky formerly worked as a Research Associate at Resources for the Future, and he has consulted for various public and nongovernmental organizations.
Contributions
What the U.S. Government Can Do to Address Energy Insecurity
Key Findings Brief,
The Challenge of Achieving Environmental Protection for All
Key Findings Brief,
The Clean and Efficient Energy Future Americans Want
Key Findings Brief,
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
David M. Konisky quoted by Tom DiChristopher, "Trump Administration to Replace Obama's Clean Power Plan with Weaker Greenhouse Gas Rules for Power Plants" CNBC, August 21, 2018.
David M. Konisky's research on adverse effects of green energy discussed by , "IU Study: Renewable Energy Negatively Affects Some Populations," 89.1: WBOI, May 11, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted on the effects of green energy by Claudia Geib, "Green Energy: Good for the Planet, Bad for Fossil Fuel Workers" Futurism, May 9, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted on the effects of clean energy policies by Jim Hanchett, "Vulnerable Communities May Be Adversely Affected by the Transition to Cleaner Energy" EurekAlert!, May 7, 2018.
David M. Konisky's research on new American citizens discussed by , "Higher Risks, Fewer Protections for America's Immigrants," Pacific Standard, May 2, 2018.
"Air Pollution from Industrial Shutdowns and Startups Worse than Thought," David M. Konisky (with ), The Conversation , February 14, 2018.
"Air Pollution from Industrial Shutdowns and Startups Worse than Thought," David M. Konisky (with ), The Conversation, February 14, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted by Steve Hinnefeld, "'Excess Emissions' Make Significant Contribution to Air Pollution" EurekAlert!, February 14, 2018.
David M. Konisky's research on , "Polls Suggest Less Environmentalism Among U.S. Christians," Futurity, February 1, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted , "Being Religious Does Not Make You Greener" The Economist, January 26, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted , "US Christians Turning away from the Green Light" The Fifth Estate, January 25, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted , "Survey Results Show Christians becoming Less Concerned about the Environment" Science Daily, January 23, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted by Emily Hopkins, "Are Christians Becoming More Environmentally Conscious? A New Study Says No." Indy Star, January 17, 2018.
David M. Konisky's research on , "3.2 Million More Americans Were Uninsured in 2017 Than 2016," White House Patch, January 16, 2018.
David M. Konisky's research on , "Christianity is Not Getting Greener," Scientific American, January 16, 2018.
David M. Konisky quoted by Patrick Caughill, "Here's What the Experts Make of Trump Removing Climate Change from the National Security Strategy" Futurism, December 29, 2017.
David M. Konisky quoted by Julia Conley, "Trump's Insistence on Coal Revival Finds Pushback Even in Coal Country" Common Dreams, November 28, 2017.
David M. Konisky quoted , "Efforts to Revive Coal Industry Unlikely to Work, May Slow Job Growth" Science Daily, October 27, 2017.
David M. Konisky quoted by Tom DiChristopher, "Trump is Still Pulling out of Paris Agreement, Despite Chatter of a Reversal, Experts Say" CNBC, September 19, 2017.
David M. Konisky quoted on how extreme weather affects public opinion about climate change by Denisse Moreno, "Severe Weather Events Have a Limited Effect on Support for Climate Policies" International Business Times, September 8, 2017.
David M. Konisky quoted on climate change by Javonte Anderson, "Climate Report Validates Global Warming Warnings; Indiana Experts Weigh In" Chicago Tribune, August 10, 2017.
"Will We Reverse the Little Progress We’ve Made on Environmental Justice?," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, April 16, 2017.
Guest to discuss how energy policy is encouraged or discouraged on Indiana Public Media, David M. Konisky, March 3, 2017.
Guest to discuss becoming aware of and addressing lead-based water infrastructure on Northeast Indiana Public Radio, David M. Konisky, March 3, 2017.
"Will a Weakened EPA Set Environmental Justice Back?," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, December 7, 2016.
"Clinton Seizes on Environmental Justice but Progress Requires Deep Reforms," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, June 8, 2016.
"Will Extreme Weather Events Get Americans to Act on Climate Change?," David M. Konisky (with ), The Conversation, February 5, 2016.
"Delayed or Killed, Keystone Pipeline Will Live On as Political Touchstone," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, November 4, 2015.
"Is Lagging on Climate Change a Political Liability?," David M. Konisky (with ), The Conversation, October 22, 2015.
David M. Konisky's research on public opinion on climate change discussed by "Climate Strategy Focused on Local Impacts is Most Effective with Americans," MIT News, October 1, 2015.
"Clinton Stance on XL Pipeline Reflects Muscle of Climate Activists," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, September 24, 2015.
"Hillary Clinton Stakes Out Safe Political Ground with Energy and Climate Plan," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, July 30, 2015.
"Will the Presidential Candidates Have a Substantive Debate on Climate Change?," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, May 13, 2015.
"The 2016 Candidates Aren’t Talking about Climate Change because Voters Don’t Care," David M. Konisky, New Republic, May 13, 2015.
"Environmental Justice: Big Ambitions, Little Action," David M. Konisky, The Conversation, April 22, 2015.
David M. Konisky's research on air polluting facilities discussed by , "Air Polluters Like to Send Their Emissions across State Lines," The Washington Post, June 9, 2013.
"State of the Nation: Who Cares about Climate Change," David M. Konisky (with ), Boston Review, July/August 2014.
Publications
"Racial, Ethnic, and Income Disparities in Air Pollution: A Study of Excess Emissions in Texas" (with ). Plos One (2019).
Examines the environmental justice implications of industrial air emissions in Texas. Finds that the percentage of Black population and median household income are positively associated with industrial air emissions.
"The Greening of Christianity? A Study of Environmental Attitudes over Time" Environmental Politics 27, no. 2 (2018): 267-291.
Failed Promises: Evaluating the Federal Government’s Response to Environmental Justice (MIT Press, 2015).
Evaluates environmental justice policy as it is has been implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the past twenty years. The central finding is that the federal government has largely failed to incorporate environmental justice considerations in its decision-making in areas ranging from permitting and enforcement to rulemaking and economic analysis.
"Cheap and Clean: How Americans Think about Energy in the Age of Global Warming" (with ) (MIT Press, 2014).
Examines Americans’ attitudes toward energy sources and energy policy, using ten years of original public opinion surveys. The book demonstrates that the U.S. public wants the country to rely less on fossil fuels and more on renewable technologies, and that these preferences are driven primarily by their perceptions of the economic costs and environmental harms – especially local environmental harms – of energy sources.
"Compliance Bias and Environmental (In)Justice" (with ). The Journal of Politics 75, no. 2 (2013): 506-519.
Provides an explanation of how community demographic characteristics influence compliance bias or the failure of regulatory officials to detect noncompliance. We find that while some poor and minority communities are vulnerable to compliance bias, such bias attenuates in the presence of either politically-mobilized communities or decentralized enforcement authority within the implementing agency.
"Inequities in Enforcement? Environmental Justice and Government Performance" Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 28, no. 1 (2009): 102-121.
Analyzes patterns of state enforcement of three federal pollution control programs – the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act – and finds that state administrative agencies performed fewer inspections and sanctions at facilities located in poor and minority communities.
"Regulatory Competition and Environmental Enforcement: Is There a Race to the Bottom?" American Journal of Political Science 51, no. 4 (2007): 853-872.
Examines the degree to which state government agencies are engaged in a race to the bottom in environmental regulatory enforcement. The analysis shows that, while states’ environmental regulatory actions are influenced by the regulatory behavior of the states with which they compete for economic investment, states do not respond in the asymmetric manner suggested by the race to the bottom theory.