Debunking Environmental Myths:

Unveiling How Voters Really Feel About Clean Air and Water

Public Opinion Research Project Overview

In the year 2000, the LCV Education Fund undertook perhaps the most extensive public opinion research project specific to voter attitudes toward the environment. Through 22 polls covering 26 states and one national poll, the LCV Education Fund worked with 12 polling firms, Democratic and Republican, to complete over 14,600 interviews with likely voters.

In analyzing the results of this year-long opinion research project, one thing became abundantly clear: American voters of all political stripes, of all socio-economic backgrounds, and in all parts of the country value clean air and water and are overwhelmingly willing to factor this concern into their voting decisions. The findings of this significant polling project specifically uncovered that many common expectations about voters’ views toward environmental issues are simply not supported by research. In fact, five common myths about environmental attitudes will be debunked through the following analysis.

A series of standard questions was asked the same way on each poll.  The uniformity of responses to the standard questions leaves little doubt that voters rate clean air and water as top tier issues and strongly prefer pro-environment candidates to candidates who support fewer regulations on business. Across the board, voters reject the notion that a clean environment and a strong economy are mutually exclusive and they support better enforcement of environmental laws, or stronger laws.

This polling project has created a new baseline for documenting movement and trends in public opinion on the environment, both nationally and in individual states. The LCV Education Fund commissioned polls in the following states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New England (Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island), New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The polling data has been shared with state-based environmental advocates, state political parties and legislatures, state government leadership, the media, and is available on the Internet.  Upon completion of the polling, LCV Education Fund employees conducted message training seminars to ensure that state and local environmental groups take the most effective advantage of the findings.

Read the Standard Questions (21 kb PDF)

View the State-by-State Poll Comparison (33 kb PDF)

View the Project Press Release here (48 kb PDF)