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ISSUE GUIDES: Environment

PUBLIC VIEW: RED FLAGS

The Red Flags section offers guidance on areas of public opinion research where findings may be misleading, unstable, or easily misinterpreted. Public Agenda uses several indicators to judge when survey results should be reported and used cautiously.

Red Flag Statements

How Important Are Environmental Issues? Environmental Protection -- At What Price?Consumption and Conservation

Americans give mixed signals on just how important protecting the environment is to them. On one hand, a large majority feels that environmental protection is a high legislative priority, with most people saying that they worry "a great deal" about pollution and sympathize with environmental concerns. On the other hand, most Americans say they are satisfied with the environment where they work and live, and recent surveys indicate that issues like education, health care, and Social Security will be more important considerations. Surveys also show a decline over the past decade in levels of public identification with the environmental movement and public support for stricter environmental laws.

  • Majorities say the environment should be an important priority, but seven in 10 say ...
  • Nearly six in 10 Americans say protecting the environment should be a top priority for Congress, but ...
  • On environmental issues, Americans say they worry most about water pollution
  • Public support for stricter environment laws and identification with environmentalism have dropped in the last decade

When surveys ask people to choose between the environment and the economy, answers change depending on how well the economy is doing – and many resist the choice even during prosperous times. When the economy was doing well in 2000, two-thirds of Americans said they favored protecting the environment even at the expense of economic growth. But during the sluggish times of 1992 and 2003, less than half of Americans favored giving priority to the environment. And, while most Americans say there should be stricter laws to protect the environment, only a modest majority says “people should be willing to pay higher prices” to do so. Even during the boom of the 1990s, however, most Americans said it’s not necessary to choose between protecting the environment and economic growth.

  • A strong majority of Americans say there should be stricter laws to protect the environment, but only a modest majority says ...
  • During a lagging economy, fewer Americans say they favor protecting the environment at the risk of curbing economic growth
  • During the 1992 recession, Americans were divided on whether the environment should be protected even if ...
  • Most Americans say it's not necessary to choose between the environment and economic growth

As with other environmental questions, there is evidence that the public does not see this as an either/or choice. Survey questions asking Americans to choose between more energy production and more conservation tend to show a slight preference for conservation. But questions that specifically offer Americans the choice of a combined approach show a healthy majority saying the country should stress both equally. A scan of other findings on energy and environmental issues also suggests that the public’s endorsement of conservation may not be all it appears to be. While very large majorities favor setting higher environmental standards for business and industry, more oppose limits on how much energy average consumers can use.

  • Given the choice, most Americans say the country should pursue both energy production and conservation equally
  • Slight majorities choose conservation over energy production
  • The majority of Americans favor setting higher emissions and pollution standards for businesses, but most oppose...

Public Agenda uses several indicators to judge when survey results should be reported and used cautiously:

  • Results change when survey questions are reworded slightly.
  • Results change when implications or trade-offs of a policy are pointed out.
  • Results may be misleading if reported in isolation or out of context.
  • Other research suggests that people have incomplete or inaccurate knowledge in this area.