Acid Rain - Public Opinion About Acid Rain

Every year the Gallup Organization polls Americans about their attitudes regarding environmental issues. The most recent poll was conducted in March 2004. As shown in Figure 1.8 in Chapter 1, acid rain ranked last among the environmental problems considered during the poll. Only 20 percent of respondents expressed a great deal of worry about acid rain. Table 7.3 shows a dramatic decline in concern about acid rain since the late 1980s. In 1989 Gallup found that 41 percent of respondents felt a great deal of concern about acid rain and 11 percent felt none at all. By 2004 only 20 percent of people polled were concerned a great deal about acid rain and more than a quarter of those asked expressed no concern about the acid rain issue.