The Grassroots of a Green Revolution

Abstract

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, environmentalism has become woven into the fabric of American life. Concern for environmental quality has influenced how we think, work, and recreate; what we buy; and how we govern. But popular consensus on the environment is more complicated than it appears. The real question is no longer whether Americans side with environmentalism, but the depth of their commitment. This book argues that understanding public opinion, the grassroots of the "green" revolution, is essential to sustaining genuine environmental progress. The long-term success of the environmental movement will be measured not only by its legislative achievements, but by its ability to persuade average citizens to back up their words with action and to further alter their voting patterns, buying habits, and lifestyles. The Grassroots of a Green Revolution uses polling data from a wide variety of sources to explore the myths, inconsistencies, and tensions that characterize public thinking on environmental issues. The book defines and describes key characteristics of public opinion, including direction, strength, stability, distribution, and consistency, and shows how those qualities influence behavior. The book uses that body of evidence to weigh the significance of environmental concern in U.S. politics and policy and to provide pragmatic advice for decision makers in their efforts to motivate Americans to act in an environmentally responsible way.

Public attitudes regarding large-scale solar energy development in the U.S.

“…Democrats and liberals typically support policies protecting the environment, while Republicans and conservatives generally oppose them ( [27,39,48,56,67]). While some research finds ideology to be significantly related to support for renewable energy, other research finds no significant relationship, implying that renewable energy has not yet been equated with environmentalism as defined by the literature.…”

Losing the Message: Some Policy Implications of Anthropocentric Indirect Arguments for Environmental Protection

“…During a recession in the 1980s, the public rejected a proposal by the Reagan administration to curtail existing environmental policies (Gilroy & Shapiro, 1986). These examples suggest a relatively stable public sentiment over time favoring environmental protection, and decadal data interpretations of public sentiment towards the environment support this proposition (Dunlap, 1991;Guber, 2003).…”

“…The myriad of factors allowing for policy windows to occur are not fully understood and likely vary depending on the circumstances presented in a particular policy setting (Kingdon, 1984). However, a strong public sentiment favoring the environment has historically been a key factor in passing environmental policies (Guber, 2003).…”

Redefining cyberactivism: The future of online project

“…This was in contrast to the almost equal representation of both genders in the groups. (p. 71) In fact, research specifically indicates that age, education, income, race, gender and partisanship are predictors of levels of environmental activism (Guber, 2003). So, even though participatory democracy may be a goal of some environmental movements, it is apparent that groups are making little progress toward this ideal.…”