Majority Say Environment, Global Warming Not A Top Priority

January 26, 2009

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A new poll shows that people who once put a huge emphasis on the government’s green efforts now have other issues they care about more.The latest Pew Research Center poll shows that the economy and job market have jumped to the top of the priority list for most people. Last January, 75 percent of Americans polled said that the economy should be a top priority, and in a year’s time, that has jumped to 85 percent.On the other hand, however, protecting the environment has fallen from 56 percent a year ago to just 41 percent today. Of the 20 issues raised, the least important issue raised was global warming. Experts say that issues such as the environments are secondary when there is a more immediate problem. For example, Pew Research Center president Andrew Kohut said that they saw a similar drop in secondary issues after September 11, 2001, when terrorism skyrocketed to the number one spot.

Unfortunately, this could cause problems for Obama, who has already been criticized for focusing on the environment when the public considers other issues to be more important. There is a partisan agreement that strengthening the economy should be the government’s top priority, but support for environmental issues as a top priority still divides Democrats (54%) and Republicans (20%).

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Reader Comments

Well, that’s how we got here. If we had been thinking holistically about our planet and the way it works and not just with our wallets then we wouldn’t be where we are with the economy, jobs, terrorism, social security, education, energy, Medicare, health care, etc….

newphase75 | January 26th, 2009

It’s not suprising that people are concerned about jobs and the economy – those are core “back pocket” issues.

The key to a stainable recovery is first cure our addiction to credit. Our whole system is based on governments, individuals and businesses having access to plentiful and cheap credit.

The next major issue for the US is renewable energy. If we can source our energy from within our country, and by renewable means, this will go a long way towards both an economic and environmental recovery.

Globalization will continue to be a strong theme. As much as people complain about our jobs outsourced – it’s a good thing that the rest of the world can find ways to produce goods and services, and save money, and have these countries participate peacefully in the global economy.

John | January 26th, 2009

It is too narrow to look at all these issues as separate. Economic stimulus and recovery can include a green plan for the future.

Carbonkid | January 27th, 2009