Environment Not Highest-Priority Issue This Election Year

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

KEY POINT:The environment has only mid-range importance to Americans this year as an issue in the presidential campaign, and only a bare majority of Americans consider the environment to be a serious problem facing the country.

Although Americans identify the environment as an important issue this election year, it is not at the top of the list of issues voters will be taking into account in making their decision on November 7. The environment ranks about in the middle of the issues driving the campaign, according to recent Gallup polls, behind others such as education, health care, and the economy.

In a July 25-26, 2000 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, education ranked as the most important issue, with 89% of Americans seeing it as an extremely or very important factor influencing their vote. Education was followed by the economy, with an 86% importance score, and then by health care, Social Security, and handling the budget surplus. The environment was at only the ninth position overall, with 71% of adults saying the candidates' positions on the environment will be extremely or very important in influencing their vote for president this November. Twenty-nine percent said that the environment will be only somewhat important or not important at all.

 

Now I am going to read a list of some of the issues that will probably be discussed in this year's presidential election campaigns. As I read each one, please tell me how important the candidates' positions on that issue will be in influencing your vote for president -- extremely important, very important, somewhat important, or not important. [RANDOM ORDER]
July 25-26, 2000	Extremely important	Very important	Extremely/very important
	%	%	%
Education	43	46	89
The economy	35	51	86
Health care	37	47	84
Social Security	37	45	82
Handling the budget surplus	32	47	79
Medicare	34	44	78
Taxes	33	44	77
Creating opportunities for better-paying jobs	28	44	72
The environment	29	42	71
National defense	30	40	70
The gun issue	30	32	62
Foreign affairs	18	40	58
Abortion	25	27	52
Foreign trade	15	36	51

The environment also has very little top-of-the-mind salience at this point in time. Over the past eight years, when Americans have been asked to identify "the most important problem facing this country today," very few -- between just 1% and 4% -- have stated that the environment is the most important problem.

There is somewhat greater recognition, however, that the environmentwill bean important problem in the future. In an April 3-9, 2000 Gallup poll, 14% of adults said that in 25 years the environment will be the most important problem facing the country -- the most mentions of any one concern in response to this projective question. Mentioned most frequently after the environment was ethics, moral, and family decline -- 8% feel this will be the most important problem.

The environment's mid-range importance in terms of the presidential race this year is similar to the relatively low "seriousness" rating Americans give it in relation to other problems facing the country. The most serious problems, as perceived by the public, include drug use, with an 83% "seriousness" rating (the percentage who rate it as an extremely or very serious problem for our country), followed by crime and violence (82%), poor health care (67%), and hunger and homelessness (66%). Only a slim majority of Americans (55%) believe that environmental problems are an extremely or very serious problem -- putting it fifth on the list of seven problems tested.

 

Next, I am going to read a list of problems currently facing our country. For each one please tell me how serious of a problem you consider it to be for our country -- extremely serious, very serious, somewhat serious, or not serious at all. [RANDOM ORDER]
April 3-9, 2000	Extremely serious	Very serious	Extremely/very serious
	%	%	%
Drug use	38	45	83
Crime and violence	33	49	82
Poor health care	29	38	67
Hunger and homelessness	24	42	66
Environmental problems	17	38	55
Racial conflict	18	33	51
Illegal immigration	15	30	45

The environment may not rank as high as other issues do for Americans because of the fact that Americans are apparently satisfied with current efforts to protect it. A 1999 Gallup poll showed that 69% of Americans said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the state of the nation in terms of protection of the environment. Since this question was first asked, the number of adults who are satisfied has risen. In January 1993, only about half of all adults (52%) stated that they were very or somewhat satisfied.

Americans are also now more likely than in the past to feel that there has been a great deal of progress in dealing with environmental problems. In 1990, only 14% of Americans felt that a great deal of progress had been made in dealing with the environmental problems facing our country since the 1970s. This year, 26% of adults, almost double the amount in 1990, feel that a great deal of progress has been made. The number of people who feel that hardly any progress has been made, on the other hand, has dropped significantly over the past 10 years. In 1990, 21% of adults said that hardly any progress had been made in dealing with environmental problems; in the 2000 survey, that proportion has dropped to only 9%.

Most of the public also believes that the environmental movement, which began in the early 1970s, has had a positive impact on society. Seventy-five percent of Americans feel that the environmental movement has definitely or probably done more good than harm, while 21% of adults feel it has definitely or probably done more harm than good.

Americans Worry Most About Drinking-Water Pollution and Pollution of Rivers, Lakes and Reservoirs
An April Gallup poll asked Americans to indicate how much they worry about each of a list of environmental problems, and the results indicated that a strong majority said they worry a great deal or fair amount about all of the environmental problems listed.

But, on a relative basis, the public worries the most about the following issues: pollution of drinking water, ranking first, with 92% of the public saying they worry about it a great deal or a fair amount; pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs, at 90%; contamination of soil and water by toxic waste, 89%; and air pollution, 88%. Surprisingly, the high-visibility issue of global warming scored second to last, at only 72%. This may suggest that Americans are more concerned with issues that affect them personally, such as pollution of drinking water, rather than long-term global problems like the "greenhouse effect" or global warming, whose immediate or personal impact is harder to conceptualize.

 

I'm going to read you a list of environmental problems. As I read each one, please tell me if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or not at all. First, how much do you personally worry about … ? [RANDOM ORDER]
April 3-9, 2000	A great deal	A fair amount	Great deal/ fair amount
	%	%	%
Pollution of drinking water	72	20	92
Pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs	66	24	90
Contamination of soil and water by toxic waste	64	25	89
Air pollution	59	29	88
Ocean and beach pollution	54	30	84
The loss of natural habitat for wildlife	51	31	82
Damage to the earth's ozone layer	49	29	78
Extinction of plant and animal species	45	33	78
The loss of tropical rain forests	51	25	76
Contamination of soil and water by radioactivity from nuclear facilities	52	23	75
Urban sprawl and loss of open spaces	42	31	73
The "greenhouse effect" or global warming	40	32	72
Acid rain	34	31	65

II. WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS DONE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

KEY POINTS:Americans are not strongly convinced that the government should be more involved than business and industry, or citizens' groups are, in attempting to protect the environment and solve environmental problems. The public does think the government is doing too little to help solve environmental problems, however. The public also continues to favor protecting the environment even at the risk of curbing economic growth.

Who Is Responsible for Solving the Problems of the Environment?
Americans may not feel that the environment is one of the top issues in the presidential race this year because they do not feel strongly that it is primarily the government's role to cure environmental problems.

In fact, a recent Gallup poll showed that Americans are roughly equally divided when asked to choose which of three different entities should take the most responsibility for solving the nation's environmental problems.

• Only about one-third --34% -- say it is the responsibility of the government to solve the problems of the environment.
• Another 33% say business and industry have primary responsibility.
• Thirty-two percent say that citizens' groups and individual citizens have primary responsibility to solve environmental problems.

Interestingly, this has changed some over the past eight years. In 1992, most Americans (44%) felt the government had the primary responsibility in solving environmental problems. This compares to 20% of adults who felt business and industry had the primary responsibility and 29% who felt citizens' groups and individual citizens had the primary responsibility.

While only about one-third of all adults feel citizens' groups and individual citizens have the primary responsibility to solve environmental problems, 67% of adults in an April 2000 Gallup poll said that these groups and individuals can have a great deal or fair amount of an effect on solving our environmental problems. This figure has, however, decreased since 1992, when 81% of adults felt this way. Only one-third of all adults now feel that citizens' groups and individual citizens have not very much or no effect on solving the problems of the environment.

A different question asked earlier this year measured a slightly different aspect of environmental action: trust. The responses show that Americans have the greatest trust in environmental organizations and government agencies, and the least in business, specific political parties and the U.S. Congress.

 

As I read the following list, please tell me how much you trust each of the following to protect the quality of our nation's environment -- a great deal, a moderate amount, a slight amount, or none at all? [RANDOM ORDER]
April 3-9, 2000	A great deal	A moderate amount	Great deal/ moderate amount
	%	%	%
National environmental organizations	34	44	78
Local environmental organizations	28	46	74
Federal environmental agencies like the EPA	27	45	72
State environmental agencies	21	51	72
Local government agencies	12	47	59
The Democratic Party	15	41	56
The U.S. Congress	10	38	48
Small businesses	13	35	48
The Republican Party	10	33	43
Large corporations	9	28	37

Despite the fact that only about a third of Americans feel that the government should have the primary responsibility for solving the country's environmental problems, a majority of the public still feels that the U.S. government is doing too little in terms of protecting the environment, rather than too much. Fifty-eight percent of Americans say the U.S. government is doing too little to protect the environment, while 30% say the government is doing about the right amount. Only 10% state that the government is doing too much to solve the problems of the environment.

There has been a slight change in this sentiment over the years. Americans are now a little more positive about government efforts. Eight years ago, when this question was first asked, 68% of Americans stated that the government was doing too little to solve environmental problems.

The responses to these questions suggest that Americans do not have strong feelings that it is the role of the government, and only the government, to solve environmental problems. In particular, Americans appear to trust the way in which environmental organizations would help fix these problems. Still, there is an evident desire on the part of a good number of Americans to increase governmental efforts in this regard.

Americans Willing to Support Environmental Efforts Even at the Cost of Economic Growth
Gallup has been asking a question about trade-offs between protecting the environment and preserving economic growth for 16 years. About two-thirds of Americans now feel that the protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth, while 28% of Americans feel that economic growth should be given priority, even if the environment suffers to some extent. The responses to this question have not changed significantly over the years.

Most Americans Voluntarily Recycle Products
How is the public involved in efforts to preserve the environment? In general, most Americans are not involved in environmental activities that demand a great deal of time, such as being active members in environmental groups or complaining to a business about products that harm the environment. The vast majority of Americans are involved in activities such as recycling and reducing the amount of water used in their households -- activities that become relatively routine in the course of everyday life.

 

Which of these, if any, have you, yourself, done in the past year? [RANDOM ORDER]
April 3-9, 2000	Yes, have done
	%
Voluntarily recycled newspapers, glass, aluminum, motor oil or other items	90
Avoided using certain products that harm the environment	83
Tried to use less water in your household	83
Reduced your household's use of energy	83
Bought some product specifically because you thought it was better for the environment than competing products	73
Contributed money to an environmental, conservation or wildlife preservation group	40
Signed a petition supporting an environmental group or some environmental protection effort	31
Voted for or worked for candidates because of their position on environmental issues	28
Attended a meeting concerning the environment	20
Contacted a public official about an environmental issue	18
Been active in a group or organization that works to protect the environment	15
Contacted a business to complain about its products or policies because they harm the environment	13
Bought or sold stocks based on the environmental record of the companies	9