{"id":555,"date":"2008-07-03T09:59:30","date_gmt":"2008-07-03T14:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2008\/07\/03\/pew_poll_problem\/"},"modified":"2008-07-28T13:29:33","modified_gmt":"2008-07-28T18:29:33","slug":"pew_poll_problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2008\/07\/03\/pew_poll_problem\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem with the Pew Poll"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sheryl CanterThis post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.<\/i><\/p>\n

According to a poll conducted in June by the Pew Research Center<\/a>, soaring gas prices have caused a significant shift in American attitudes in just four months. American priorities, they say, have shifted strongly towards energy exploration and drilling, and away from conservation.<\/p>\n

Is environmentalism dead, or is this result mainly due to how Pew framed the survey questions? I think the latter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Take, for example, this question:<\/p>\n

\n

Right now, which ONE of the following do you think should be a more important priority for this country:<\/p>\n

Protecting the environment<\/b><\/p>\n

OR<\/p>\n

Developing new sources of energy<\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The question implies that you have to make a choice – that it’s one or the other. But this isn’t so — it’s possible to do both. What if the options were develop clean energy<\/b> or develop dirty energy<\/b>? The results would have been quite different.<\/p>\n

The second question in the Pew poll had a similar problem:<\/p>\n

\n

Right now, which ONE of the following do you think should be the more important priority for U.S. energy policy:<\/p>\n

Expanding exploration, mining and drilling, and the construction of new power plants<\/b><\/p>\n

OR<\/p>\n

More energy conservation and regulation on energy use and prices<\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That’s like asking people whether they’d prefer to eat disgusting food or go hungry. Those are hardly the only options! What if the choices were drill for oil<\/b> or get the electric car on the road<\/b>? Again, the results would have been quite different.<\/p>\n

Pew’s inartfully worded poll tells us that Americans are feeling squeezed, for sure, but little more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund. According to a poll conducted in June by the Pew Research Center, soaring gas prices have caused a significant shift in American attitudes in just four months. 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