(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The views of adults in the United States on conservation appear to be shifting, according to a poll by Gallup released by USA Today. 49 per cent of respondents think the protection of the environment should be given priority even at the risk of curbing economic growth, down six points in a year.

Conversely, 42 per cent of respondents believe economic growth should be given priority even if the environment suffers to some extent, up five points in a year.

In his campaign website, Arizona senator John McCain—the presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party in this year’s United States election—discusses his views on environmental protection, saying, "We are vested with a sacred duty to be proper stewards of the resources upon which the quality of American life depends. Ensuring clean air, safe and healthy water, sustainable land use, ample greenspace—and the faithful care and management of our natural treasures, including our proud National Park System—is a patriotic responsibility."

In October 2007, Illinois senator Barack Obama—who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination—declared: "It is our responsibility to ensure that this planet remains clean and safe and liveable for our children and for all of God’s children. But in recent years, science has made it undeniably clear that our generation is not living up to this responsibility. Global warming is not a someday problem, it is now."

Polling Data

With which one of these statements about the environment and the economy do you most agree? Protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth; or, Economic growth should be given priority, even if the environment suffers to some extent.

Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,012 American adults, conducted from Mar. 6 to Mar. 9, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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