Americans Want More Done to Protect the Environment As we head into the new millennium, we thought it appropriate to point out that a wide variety of public opinion surveys taken in the past year show that Americans favor tougher environmental standards, particularly for clean air. Surveys from 1999 reveal strong support for stricter environmental statutes, as well as a growing concern with the overall quality of the environment. Here is a summary of key findings, with an attached bibliography.
Potential voters place the environment high on their list of important issues.
9 Government can play a large role in protecting the environment. Nearly two-thirds of all adults surveyed in a Council for Excellence in Government poll stated that the government must have a part in cleaning up the environment. 5 Americans believe that environmental problems will increase. 8 Half of the registered voters polled in an American Lung Association survey said that air pollution and air quality is dirtier today than it was 10 years ago. 2 Belief in environmental problems spans nearly every demographic subgroup, also according to the American Lung Association.