A newly released international
study reveals that the issue of climate change is not a priority for people in
the United States and around the world.
The surveys showed that when asked
to rank priority worries, people were five times more likely to point to the
economy over the environment. Additionally, when asked about climate change,
people identified the issue as more of a national problem than a personal
concern. . . .
In the surveys, respondents were
asked the relative importance of eight issues: health care, education, crime,
the environment, immigration, the economy, terrorism and poverty.
The economy ranked highest in
concern in 15 countries, followed by health care in eight, education in six,
poverty in two, and terrorism and crime in one country each. Immigration and
the environment did not make the top of the list in any country over the
17-year period. In the United States, concern for the environment ranked sixth
while the economy was No. 1.
In terms of national averages, the
order of concern was the economy (25 percent); health care (22.2) education
(15.6); poverty (11.6); crime (8.6) environment (4.7), immigration (4.1) and
terrorism (2.6), the surveys showed. Terrorism’s low ranking was notable in
light of the widespread attention the issue has received since 2001, though it
topped the list of concerns in Turkey.
The paper, “Public Attitudes
towards Climate Change and Other Global Environmental Issues across Time and
Countries, 1993-2010,” was presented recently at the “Policy Workshop: Public
Attitudes and Environmental Policy in Canada and Europe, Canada-European
Transatlantic Dialogue,” at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. . . .
In the United States, only 3.6
percent of the people surveyed selected the environment as the nation’s most
pressing issue, as opposed to 15 percent of the people in Norway, which had the
highest level of environmental concern.
The surveys also asked questions
about worries concerning particular kinds of environmental problems, including
global climate change. One asked which problem among nine was most important
for their country as a whole as opposed to the individual.
Air pollution ranked first in 13
countries, followed by climate change, which was the top concern in 10
countries. In another question, the surveys asked people which environmental
problem they considered most personally dangerous and found that in only three
countries was climate change listed as the most dangerous environmental
problem, trailing nuclear power plants and industrial air pollution.
“One reason for the relatively low
ranking of climate change is that people often believed it did not directly
affect them. Climate change is seen more as a country-level problem than as a
personal problem,” Smith said. “While 14.6 percent cited it as the most
important environmental issue for their country, only 9 percent rated it first
for themselves.”
The latest surveys were completed
in 2010. Similar surveys have been conducted since 1993, and little change has
been noted on people’s concern for climate change. Differences exist among the
countries, however, suggesting that widespread public support for current
action on the issue will represent a major shift in attitude.
The surveys indicate some
expectation for greater future concern about climate change. “The greater
mentioning of climate change as a problem by those under 30 versus those 70 and
older probably reflects generational effects and if so, should tend to increase
levels of concern in the future,” Smith said.
Environmental issues are of
greatest concern in Scandinavian nations, Switzerland and Canada. They were
followed by France, Austria, Finland, the former West Germany, Taiwan, Korea
and New Zealand. Toward the bottom of the list are Croatia, Latvia, Chile,
Turkey, Lithuania and Argentina.
Climate change was listed
as the top environmental concern in Japan, West Germany, Canada, Britain and
Scandinavia, where between 19 and 26 percent of the population indicated it was
their top environmental issue.
William Harms, "Global Surveys Show Environment Ranks Low on Public Concerns," UChicago News, February 25, 2013.
The decision by the New York Times to terminate its Green Blog, together with the Washington Post's reassignment of its main environmental writer, suggest that these media giants have gotten the message. See Slate's amusing recounting of the Times' priorities, "The Times Kills Its Environmental Blog To Focus on Horse Racing and Awards Shows."
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