The Nicholas Institute

Environmental Survey Results: Why Pro-Environmental Views Don’t Always Translate Into Votes

Eight-in-10 Americans say they support pro-environmental policies, but a new national survey by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions finds their support often stops short of the ballot box. The survey suggests opportunities for how to address this disconnect.

“These results are a wake-up call, but they also represent an important opportunity,” said Tim Profeta, director of the Nicholas Institute. “They help us understand what we need to do to build public consensus and break down barriers to environmental progress. This is central to the mission of the Nicholas Institute.”

The survey’s findings were announced by Profeta at a press briefing at the U.S. Senate on the opening day of the institute’s inaugural environmental summit in September. Profeta was joined by U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), William K. Reilly, former EPA head and chair of the advisory board of the Nicholas Institute, and Peter Nicholas, chairman of Boston Scientific. Profeta, Reilly and the pollsters also presented the findings of the survey during the summit in Durham.

The survey of 800 registered voters found that 79 percent favored “stronger national standards to protect our land, air and water,” with 40 percent strongly supporting it.

But only 22 percent said environmental concerns have played a major role in determining whom they voted for in recent federal, state or local elections.

Even among self-described environmentalists, only 39 percent could recall an election in which a candidate’s environmental stance was among the two or three most important reasons why they voted for or against him or her.

“There is a clear disconnect here,” Reilly said. “Seventy-four percent of Republicans and 85 percent of Democrats say they support stronger environmental standards. Yet, when it comes time to vote, they rank the environment low on their list of priorities.”

In focus groups, the environment ranked last out of nine issues tested, both as a vote qualifier and in terms of expressed personal importance to voters. The nine issues, in order of their expressed importance, were: the economy and jobs; health care; Iraq; Social Security; terrorism; education; moral values; taxes; and the environment. Only 10 percent of voters identified the environment as one of their top concerns, compared to 34 percent for the economy and jobs.

The research was conducted for the Nicholas Institute by Hart Associates and Public Opinion Strategies. The organization surveyed 800 registered voters nationwide and conducted focus groups of voters in Columbus, Ohio, and Knoxville, Tenn. The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percent.

To read the white paper on the survey and the five reasons pollsters identified for the disconnect, visit the Web site >.

The issue of trust—or lack of it— appeared to play a role in many voters’ ambivalent attitudes toward environmental problems. Only 19 percent said there are “a lot” of trustworthy sources of information on environmental issues, while another 40 percent said there are “likely some trustworthy sources.”

Voters generally viewed universities and research institutes as the most credible sources of information and the least likely to have hidden agendas or special interests.

photo captions:Tim Profeta with Bil Reilly; Jared Diamond; Peter Nicholas