Poll: People think environmental groups extreme

Below is part of a press release from Moore Information from lastmonth. Very revealing information. Cmplete press release at this link.

Results of our recent national voter survey show a solid majority of American voters are of the opinion that environmental groups are too extreme. Specifically, 60% of voters nationwide agree with the statement; “While protecting the environment is important, environmental groups usually push for solutions which are too extreme for me.” Just 31% disagree with this, and 9% have no opinion. Sentiment was statistically identical in a Moore Information nationwide voter survey conducted in November 2003, when 61% agreed and 33% disagreed environmental groups were too extreme.

As would be expected, there are major partisan differences in opinion on this issue. While Republicans widely agree environmental groups are usually too extreme (81% agree), we also find a majority of Independents sharing this sentiment (57% agree/28% disagree).

There is a further split among Democrats —a plurality of Democrat men say environmental groups are too extreme, while Democrat women disagree in plurality numbers. Similarly, the majority of self-described Conservatives and Moderates believe environmental groups are too extreme, but Liberal voters for the most part, do not share this view.

Regionally, there is majority agreement throughout the country that environmental groups are usually too extreme; however, voters in the Pacific (CA, OR, WA, HI and AK), Northeast and North Central region are less likely to share this sentiment than voters elsewhere in the country. The belief that environmentalists go too far is highest among voters in the South and Mountain and Plains states.

Jobs Vs. The Environment

While voters are not particularly impressed with environmental groups, they are concerned about the environment. In fact, today a plurality of voters are more concerned about protecting the environment (49%) than protecting jobs (40%). This represents a shift in sentiment in the past two years — our 2005 national survey found the majority of voters landing on the jobs side of this issue (54% jobs, 30% environment).

Traditionally, the momentum on this particular debate is largely driven by the economy — in times of economic prosperity, concern about the environment tends to increase because people are less concerned about the pocket book and more likely to focus on other issues. Conversely, when the economy is poor, issues like the environment tend to take a backseat. This would explain the shift that has taken place with regard to the public’s sympathy for the environment today, versus two years ago, when the economic outlook was less than ideal…”

Full study here, complete with charts