Environment Ranks Low on List of Concerns

I recently read an article published through the University of Chicago that outlined polling conducted by the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) regarding the environment and other issues. It researched 33 countries from 1993 to 2010, gathering data about which issues were perceived as the most important: health care, education, crime, the environment, immigration, the economy, terrorism and poverty. Of the eight issues, the environment ranked only ahead of terrorism and immigration. Researchers attribute this to the feeling that environmental concerns are more of a "national problem" than an area of personal concern. In the U.S., only 3.6% of responders ranked the environment as their highest concern. Norwegian responders, in contrast, were four times as likely to perceive the environment as their biggest concern. 

It will be interesting to see whether attitudes regarding the environment change in coming years. Otherwise the environment will continue to be a marginal area of concern, especially for Americans.

You can read more from the article here.

Posted by Colin Wescott