A presidential election and the worst economic downturn in recent U.S. history have sidelined major issues to focus on creating jobs and reviving private sector growth.
Climate change, a once hotly debated topic, has been absent in public discussion so far in the months leading up to the November election.
This should come at no surprise, according to a recent Gallup poll, which finds that 49 percent of Americans prioritize economic growth over the environment.
This represents a drastic change from previous decades and even in years leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, when “more Americans favored the environment than economic growth, by a seven-point margin.”
Even for those who are concerned with environmental issues, climate change does not register as the direst. In a poll conducted by The Washington Post and Stanford University, only 18 percent of the 804 participants named climate as their top concern, compared to 33 percent in 2007.
Ironically, 78 percent of participants in the same poll said that “global warming will be a serious problem if left alone.” Eighteen percent say the government is “doing enough,” while 13 percent think businesses are “taking sufficient action.”
Why, then, does climate change remain on the back burner even for those who consider it a concern?
“People who are indifferent, or even hostile, to climate change are more receptive to the issue when it's talked about as a health issue,” as opposed to an environmental one, social scientist Matthew Nisbet said.
This is according to his study published in Climate Change Letters, a journal dedicated to exploring the “description, causes, and implications” of the issue, which was covered in the NPR piece, “When Heat Kills: Global Warming as a Public Health Threat.”
Whether or not human activity is causing Earth’s natural cycles to take a turn for the worst, and whether anything can be done about it, is a highly politicized topic that further divides party lines.
Perhaps the public health threat approach holds the key to gaining support across party lines for policies that can be implemented at both federal and state levels.
Especially since the same Washington Post-Stanford University poll found “widespread belief” among participants that actions taken against climate change would not “impose too much of an individual burden.”
Still, Americans are less likely to demand action from lawmakers on this issue than they would have been four years ago.
A separate Gallup poll shows that ratings of the environment have leveled since President Barack Obama took office in 2008. Currently, 49 percent of Americans say the environment is getting worse, as opposed to 42 percent who say it’s improving.
The gap has closed considerably from 2008 at the end of Bush’s second term, when 68 percent said it was getting worse compared to 26 percent saying it’s getting better.
Even if climate scientists and activists take Nisbet’s advice and start framing climate change as a health threat, public motivation for taking action just isn’t there.
By this time next year, the economy is sure to remain the priority as the November election plays out and we await the promises made to us on the campaign trail.
Let’s hope the environment can gain a brief moment in the spotlight between now and then.
Reach the columnist at damills3@asu.edu or follow him at @Dan_iel_Mills.
