It's the Green Economy, Stupid: Gallup Gets It Wrong

With its latest poll on the environment, Gallup does prove one thing: If you ask a bad question, you'll get a bad answer.

According to Gallup, Americans were more likely to say economic growth should take precedence over environmental protection by a whopping 53 percent to 38 percent. If those were the results of a presidential election, it would be a landslide. And, according to Gallup, this represents a marked shift from the way Americans have felt about the environment and the economy over the last couple of decades.

If Gallup is right, environmentalists and their allies should pack their bags and look for greener (pardon the pun) pastures. But here's the problem with this little statistical boon to the enemies of new climate laws: It's a bunch of hot air.

In the poll, which was released Thursday, participants were asked with which of the following statements did they most agree: "Protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth" or "economic growth should be given priority, even if the environment suffers to some extent"?

It doesn't take a Vulcan to figure out what's wrong with this statement. The way the question is framed, we have only two choices: Create more jobs for Americans or be a bunch of irresponsible, tree-hugging hippies.

The way the question is framed, there is no such thing as green jobs or a green economy. When President Clinton said, "The choice between jobs and environment is a false one. We can have both," he had no idea what he was talking about, the poll would have you believe.

In the state of Washington alone, the number of green jobs grew by a third last year — at the height of the recession! Even in places as far afield as Las Vegas and Kalamazoo, the green sector of the economy is growing. And yet Gallup can't craft a couple of questions for Americans that would take this growth into account.

The core of environmental policy being promoted today is the idea that environmental protection and economic stability are inextricably linked, as The Energy Collective puts it. But questions are still being asked that skew the results by taking this part of the argument off the table.

Gallup's latest poll comes hot on the heels of other polls that show American support for environmental legislation is waning. These polls are conveniently timed to show an alleged erosion of public support for a green agenda just before the debate on new climate laws hits the floors of Congress.

But the question I'd like to ask is about the questions themselves: Who is framing the questions this way, and why?

Photo Credit: net efekt