The Gallup poll focusing on the environment http://www.gallup.com/poll/1615/Environment.aspx shows a general trend that the public seems to think the environment should hold more importance than the economy. With the recent oil spill, I think more people have been interested in how the environment is affected long term as well as the here and now. In most polls the protection of the environment is first and foremost compared to protecting different resources.
Not surprisingly many people think the government isn't taking the right kind of action to help with the oil spill and fully believe that BP is responsible for cleaning it up. It is clear that the public does not think the environment is doing well, but getting worse which is reflected in the numbers tied to performance of those in power.
As soon as issues hit really close to home, we become interested and concerned, as is the case with the oil spill. This may be the downfall of the environment; we start to care as soon as we are faced with something devastating.
It's interesting how the public criticized President Bush BIG TIME for the mess of Hurricane Katrina, but Obama hasn't really gotten a whole lot of blame for the oil spill. I mean, literally, it's not his fault. Same goes for Bush. A natural disaster is not anyone's fault. What I'm trying to say is that from a public official standpoint, it seems as though Obama isn't being charged as being a lame duck for not getting the ball rolling on fixing the oil spill...
ReplyDeletePolitics and the environment go hand in hand more than most people realize. I like what you said about how whenever an issue hits close to home, that is when concern is raised. Great job! Excited to see where you go with this topic!