Depletion and Conservation of Natural Resources - Public Opinion About Natural Resources

Every year the Gallup Organization conducts a comprehensive poll of Americans on environmental issues. The latest poll was conducted in March 2004. Poll participants were asked to express their level of

TABLE 9.2
Public concern about loss of tropical rain forests, 2004
PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU PERSONALLY WORRY ABOUT THIS PROBLEM A GREAT DEAL, A FAIR AMOUNT, ONLY A LITTLE, OR NOT AT ALL. THE LOSS OF TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS?

	Great deal %	Fair amount %	Only a little %	Not at all %	No opinion %
2004 Mar 8–11	35	26	23	15	1
2003 Mar 3–5	39	29	21	11	*
2002 Mar 4–7	38	27	21	12	2
2001 Mar 5–7	44	32	15	8	1
2000 Apr 3–9	51	25	14	9	1
1999 Apr 13–14	49	30	14	6	1
1991 Apr 11–14	42	25	21	10	2
1990 Apr 5–8	40	24	19	14	3
1989 May 4–7	42	25	18	12	3
SOURCE: "Please tell me if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or not at all. The loss of tropical rain forests?," in Poll Topics and Trends: Environment, The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ, March 17, 2004 [Online] www.gallup.com [accessed March 30, 2004]

concern about two issues related to natural resources: loss of tropical rain forests and extinction of plant and animal species.

As shown in Table 9.2 only 35 percent of the respondents expressed a great deal of concern about the loss of tropical rain forests. This value is down from a high of 51 percent recorded in 2000. Concern about this issue has varied over the years, but made a noticeable drop in priority over the last three years. In 2002 just over a quarter of those asked (26 percent) expressed a fair amount of concern about the loss of tropical rain forests, while 23 percent felt a little concern, and 15 percent expressed no concern at all.

Poll participants were slightly more worried about the extinction of plant and animal species. (See Table 9.3.) In 2004 more than a third (36 percent) indicated they felt a great deal of worry about this issue, while 26 percent expressed a fair amount of worry, and 23 percent felt a little concerned. Only 15 percent of those asked expressed no worry at all. In 2000 the percentage of people expressing a great deal of concern about this issue was 45 percent.

In 2004 Gallup pollsters also asked people to express their approval or disapproval over opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil exploration. As shown in Figure 9.10 a majority (55 percent) of people are opposed to the idea, while 41 percent support it. These values are very similar to the results obtained in Gallup polls conducted during 2001 and 2002.

TABLE 9.3
Public concern about extinction of plant and animal species, 2004
PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU PERSONALLY WORRY ABOUT THIS PROBLEM A GREAT DEAL, DEAL, A FAIR AMOUNT, ONLY A LITTLE, OR NOT AT ALL. EXTINCTION OF PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES?

	Great deal %	Fair amount %	Only a little %	Not at all %	No opinion %
2004 Mar 8-11	36	26	23	15	*
2003 Mar 3-5	34	32	21	12	1
2002 Mar 4-7	35	30	22	12	1
2001 Mar 5-7	43	30	19	7	1
2000 Apr 3-9	45	33	14	8	*
SOURCE: "Please tell me if you personally worry about this problem a great deal, a fair amount, only a little, or not at all. Extinction of plant and animal species?," in Poll Topics and Trends: Environment, The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ, March 17, 2004 [Online] www.gallup.com [accessed March 30, 2004]

FIGURE 9.10
Public opinion about opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration, March 2003