Despite billions spent annually on outreach, education, and outright propaganda, a new Gallup poll shows Americans still don’t think climate change is the most significant environmental concern facing the world.
As shown in Figure 1 below, “Global warming or climate change” ranked dead last among seven environmental issues in the new 2022 Gallup Poll.
Those surveyed ranked the drinking water pollution as their top environmental concern. The “pollution of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs,” ranked second among the public’s environmental concerns. Concern over “the loss of tropical rain forests,” “air pollution,” species extinction, ranked third through fifth in order. “Global warming or climate change,” came in dead last as the environmental concern those surveyed “worried [about] a great deal.”
Gallup’s press release states:
From 2001 to 2015, closer to a third of Americans said they worried a great deal about the environment, with the figure exceeding 40% only twice, in 2001 and 2007.
In terms of which environmental issues Americans worry about, Gallup finds pollution of drinking water and pollution of natural waterways at the top of the list, with majorities saying they worry a great deal about each. This includes more than six in 10 Democrats, 58% of independents and about four in 10 Republicans.
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Global warming is also a major concern for Democrats, at 67%, while ranking last among independents and Republicans. Air pollution and loss of tropical rain forests rank as mid-level concerns for all groups.
Americans have repeatedly ranked ‘climate change’ aka Global Warming dead last among all environmental issues.
Here is a timeline of poll results related to the topic:
2012 Gallup survey: Climate dead-last among all ENVIRONMENTAL concerns
2015 Gallup: Americans Worry Least About Global Warming
Clearly there is a consensus amongst the public that there are bigger environmental problems to worry about than climate change.
