Main Street America's View of the Environment in the 1990's
Over a decade ago the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), then known as the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF) commissioned a Roper Starch Worldwide survey to help America's leaders-educators, policy makers, business executives, media representatives and the general public-better understand what Americans know about the environment. The survey includes an assessment of their attitudes and behaviors around environmental issues as well. Using a quiz style format, the 1998 National Report Card (also referred to as the NEETF/Roper Survey) examines the public's belief in environmental "myths"-outdated or erroneous information about the environment.
The 1998 NEETF/Roper Survey is a continuation of seven straight years of data gathering about Americans' views on the environment. The National Report Card was launched in 1992 by Times Mirror Magazines in collaboration with Roper Starch. Times Mirror commissioned each of the first four years of the survey, and NEETF took over the project in 1995.
Overview and Highlights
As with its six predecessors, the 1998 NEETF/Roper Survey investigates environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among adult Americans. While the environment is not always a daily front-page issue, in the late 1990s, the subject is as full of public importance and controversial positions and statements as ever. Water and air pollution, toxic waste, Superfund sites, the use of public lands for commercial purposes and the protection of endangered species are all issues facing the nation today. Attitudes about the issues vary by region, and even by household.
What are the sources of these differing attitudes? Are the positions people hold based on fact or fiction? To determine the extent to which Americans support inaccurate positions, this year's study includes a section centered around some common misperceptions or "environmental myths"-popular but incorrect information about environmental issues and problems. Once such myths are identified, educational programs can be created to address the differences between fact and fiction, fostering a population that better understands why laws are passed to protect the environment and how their own actions have an impact on the environment.
For the most part, general attitudes toward the environment and toward laws and regulations designed to protect the environment have remained stable over the last few years. While government intervention is questioned in many arenas of public life, Americans continue to largely support government programs when the environment is the area in question. And, many feel that the next few years will be critical for the long-term health of the planet.
The 1998 National Report Card: Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors evaluates public attitudes as they exist today and have changed over the past seven years. It is based on a nationally representative sample of 2,000 Americans, age 18 and older, surveyed by Roper Starch Worldwide in May 1998.