Political Polarization and Environmental Attitudes in the U.S.

• In Event: Attitudes About Climate Upheaval and the Development-Conservation Tradeoff

Abstract

In the past, support for environmental protection in the United States was relatively nonpartisan. That situation began to change in the late 1970s with partisanship playing an increasing role in attitudes and behavior regarding the environment. Despite the growing importance of environmental issues, Republicans, especially conservative Republicans, express greater skepticism about climate change, global warming, and concern for the environment, in general. Our research takes advantage of a new method of estimation to gauge the degree of partisan and ideological variability in environmental attitudes across birth cohorts and time. Additionally, while similar analyses has been constrained by a single measure tapping into “environmental spending support” from the General Social Survey, our research analyzes 15 years of nationally representative data from Gallup's General Poll Social Survey and uses a variety of dependent variables that capture a range of environmental issues. Our research thereby contributes to our understanding of large-scale changes in environmental attitudes, and the degree to which partisan identification and political ideology is at the root of environmental concern and political efforts to promote a green agenda.

Authors

• Juliet Carlisle, University of Utah

• April K. Clark, Northern Illinois University

• Jerry Michael Stott, University of Utah