Americans Favor Environment, but Don't Vote on It

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Compared to voters in Europe, where the Green Party is a political force and global climate change is part of the public dialogue, U.S. voters in national elections tend to cast their ballots based on candidates' stances on the Iraq war, the economy and health care -- not on environmental policy.

WASHINGTON -- Americans care about the environment, but they don't usually vote that way in elections for president or Congress.


Compared to voters in Europe, where the Green Party is a political force and global climate change is part of the public dialogue, U.S. voters in national elections tend to cast their ballots based on candidates' stances on the Iraq war, the economy and health care -- not on environmental policy.


Only about 3 percent of U.S. voters in recent exit polls said the environment was the most important issue to them in casting their ballots, according to Karlyn Bowman, who tracks public opinion polling for the American Enterprise Institute.


That makes it a significant single issue, but far behind the hot-button issue of abortion, which between 9 percent and 13 percent of U.S. voters said was most important to them.


This may be because Americans reckon the question about what the country wants in terms of the environment has long ago been settled, Bowman said.


"When we (in the United States) agreed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that we wanted a clean and healthful environment and we wanted to spend a lot of money to get one, once that consensus was reached at the national level, most Americans pulled away from the debate," she said.


Bowman said the environment has lost its potency as a national issue, but still mobilizes Americans in state and local races.


That mobilization is clear as the United States counts down to the Nov. 7 election for Congress and other offices.


California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has broken with the Republican Bush administration on environmental issues, has pushed for special state vehicle pollution standards, a bond issue meant to assure safe water and beaches, and for a sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.


Nearly 400 Green Party candidates are on U.S. ballots in 2006, and, so far, Greens have won 24 out of the 62 elections where they had candidates around the country, according to the greens.org Web site. However, those winners are all in local offices, ranging from the Sebastopol, California, city council, to the board of supervisors in Douglas County, Wisconsin.


PUBLIC SUPPORT


Most Americans do consider the environment important, according to Michael Bell, an environmental sociologist at the University of Wisconsin. Bell noted polling since 1983 shows a consistent high level of public support for environmental issues.


But he said few politicians make this a highlight of their campaigns, so voters leaving the polling booth are unlikely to list the environment as the reason they cast a ballot for a particular candidate, Bell said.


He also acknowledged that the environmental message is often one of "gloom and doom" -- a strategic mistake, in Bell's view.


"If to be an environmentalist is to put on a hair shirt every day, to force yourself at every second of the day to ask, 'Am I making the environmentally right decision?'... it's going to be rather overwhelming to people," Bell said.


The issue resonates with voters but not with business leaders, Bell said, adding, "That maybe is an important factor in understanding why it doesn't seem to resonate with politicians, whose interests often reflect those of business."


Source: Reuters


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