If friends, family members or co-workers don’t think protecting the environment should be a priority in the U.S., they are in the minority.
Most Americans think environmental preservation is more important than economic growth; believe climate change is occurring; and think the government and industry should do more to protect the environment and encourage sustainable development. That’s why Orange Orchard works with businesses to highlight ways they are limiting their impact on the natural environment. It’s common business and marketing sense.
While no polling can be considered 100 percent accurate, numbers don’t often lie. Recent Gallup polling suggests most Americans are concerned about the environment (the polling sample and methodology can be found at that link) and support more rigorous environmental protections.
Gallup this year conducted a series of polls and findings on Americans’ attitudes toward the environment, and here are some key takeaways:
- 89 percent express some level of worry about the loss of tropical rain forests, with 42 percent indicating they worry a “great deal” about the issue.
- 57 percent think environmental protections should take priority over economic development.
- 92 percent express worry about the quality of the environment, with 42 percent expressing a “great deal” of worry.
- 47 percent think the overall quality of the environment in the U.S. is “only fair.”
- 61 percent think the U.S. environment is getting worse.
- 42 percent of respondents consider themselves an “environmentalist.” Despite overall concerns about the environment, that percentage is a far cry from 1989, when 76 percent of Americans identified as an environmentalist.
- 59 percent said the environment should take priority over development of domestic energy supplies. That is a marked shift in opinion from 2011, when 41 percent of those polled indicated a preference for energy development over environmental protection.
- 66 percent favor higher emissions standards for gas-powered vehicles.
- 74 percent support higher emissions and pollution standards for business and industry.
- 66 percent oppose spending government money to support the coal industry.
It may seem at times expressing concern about the environment is tilting at windmills, but if you are concerned about protecting the planet and its life-support systems, don’t fret. You are not alone. You are, in fact, in the majority.
Contact Orange Orchard today for ways your business can connect with that majority.