A worker disinfects a recycling bin in the Westwood section of Los Angeles earlier this month. Gallup said Monday that recycling is the most popular American activity to help the environment. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
License Photo
April 20 (UPI) -- The majority of Americans view the environmental movement positively, Gallup said Monday in an update of its trend data ahead of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday.
Sixty-five percent said the environmental movement has done more good than harm, according to the Gallup poll. This figure includes 20 percent who said the environmental movement in the United States has definitely done more good than harm and 45 percent who said it probably has done more good.
On the other hand, one-third of U.S. adults surveyed said they think the environmental movement has done more harm than good. This includes 25 percent who said it probably has done more harm than good and 8 percent who said it definitely has done more harm.
Though the majority said they think the environmental movement has done more good than harm, the 65 percent who said so was down from 76 percent in Gallup's first measurement in 1992, Gallup Research Consultant Megan Brenan noted.
Eighteen percent of U.S. adults surveyed said that they are active participants of the environmental movement, 44 percent said that they are sympathetic, but not active, and 30 percent said they are neutral and 7 percent unsympathetic.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents showed more support for the environmental movement than Republicans or Republican-leaning Independents.
Twenty-four percent of Democrats identified as active participants compared to 14 percent of Republicans or Republican-learning Independents. The Democrats or Democratic-leaning group were also more likely to say they are sympathetic to the movement, 57 percent compared to 30 percent.
The majority of those surveyed said that they have taken action to help the environment. The most popular activity was voluntarily recycling, which topped the list with 86 percent saying they'd done it.
Results are based on telephone interviews from a random sample of 1,020 U.S. adults, Feb. 17-28, along with a random sample of 1,019 adults, March 2-13, with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
