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According
to Gallup’s annual Environment/Earth Day poll conducted in
March 2003, Americans grew more negative over the past year about
the quality of the environment in the United States. At the same
time, they also became less likely to favor aggressive action to
correct environmental problems. An important reason for this incongruity
in environmental views appeared to be Americans’ heightened
worries about the U.S. economy, although the situation with Iraq
could also have been a factor.
The percentage of Americans who evaluate the U.S. economy positively—calling
it “excellent” or “good”—has inched downward
each of the last two years, from 46 percent in March 2001 to 44
percent in March 2002, and to 41 percent in March 2003. (See Chart
1.) Over the same period, the outlook on the environment has fluctuated,
with the percentage saying it is “getting better” rising
from 36 percent in 2001 to 40 percent in 2002, and then dropping
to 33 percent this year.
The net result of these findings is that the percentage holding
a negative view of environmental conditions increased sharply over
the past year, from 38 percent in 2002 to 47 percent today as illustrated
in Chart 2. (This is the percentage of Americans who simultaneously
think environmental conditions are “poor” and staying
that way or “only fair” but worsening.)
Despite this change in Americans’ impressions about environmental
conditions, the public appears less willing than in the past to
support strong environmental protection measures.
One of the most striking findings in the Environment/Earth Day poll
comes from a question that asks Americans whether environmental
protection or economic growth should be given priority when the
two interests conflict. Since first asked in 1984, this has been
a key Gallup indicator of public sympathy toward the environmental
movement. This year’s results show the lowest percentage ever
recorded of Americans choosing environmental protection. Just 47
percent say protection of the environment should be given priority,
while nearly as many (42 percent) say economic growth should take
priority. Last year, the margin in favor of the environment on this
question was much stronger: 54 percent versus 36 percent. But even
that was low by historical standards. For most of the 1990s, the
public sided with the environment over the economy by more than
a two-to-one margin.
Consistent with this finding, Gallup also recorded a slight decline
in the percentage of Americans who believe additional action is
needed to prevent any major environmental disruptions. Over the
past year, the percentage saying “immediate, drastic action”
or “some additional action” is needed fell from 84 percent
to 79 percent. At the same time, the percentage believing “we
should take just the same actions we have been taking on the environment”
rose from 14 percent to 20 percent.
The Economic Factor
Americans have developed a great deal of economic apprehension over
the past two years, and this may largely explain the recent drop
in their environmental concern. A year ago at this time, a quarter
of Americans were upbeat about the economy (rating it “excellent”
or “good” and expecting it to remain that way), about
a third had mixed views, and another third were negative (rating
the economy “poor,” or “only fair,” but getting
worse). Today, nearly two-thirds are negative, while only 12 percent
are upbeat.
The percentage of Americans saying they worry “a great deal”
about the economy increased from 37 percent in 2002 to 44 percent
this year—the largest jump in worry seen for any of 11 different
issues rated. Concern about the environment has remained about the
same, with 34 percent to 35 percent of Americans in both 2002 and
2003 saying they worry a great deal.
Punctuating these findings, Gallup finds a strong reversal in what
was once a traditional pattern of public perception about long-term
U.S. problems. In the past, Gallup found relatively few Americans
naming the environment when asked, “What do you think is the
most important problem facing this country today,” but a big
jump in environmental mentions when the question is, “What
do you think will be the most important problem facing our nation
25 years from now?” In fact, the environment is typically the
most frequently mentioned problem on the 25-year outlook measure.
This year, the economy is the clear leader and the environment ranks
second. Last year, the two problems were closely rated, but the
environment had led by significant margins before that.
In the March poll, a combined 54 percent of Americans named war,
terrorism or other international problems as the top problem facing
the United States today. But relatively few named these as long-term
problems for the country (a combined 16 percent), similar to the
15 percent in March 2002. These figures are just slightly higher
than the eight percent in March 2001 (prior to 9-11)—suggesting
that the new international challenges the United States faces from
terrorism and the war with Iraq are not strongly affecting Americans’
long-term views of the country. This is particularly interesting
when contrasted with the sharp increase since 2001 in long-term
concerns about the economy.
These survey results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,003 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted
March 3 to 5, 2003. For results based on this sample, one can say
with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to
sampling and other random effects is ±three percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties
in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings
of public opinion polls.
Lydia Saad is with the Gallup News Service. For more information,
visit www.gallup.com. |
