Shades Of Green: Environmental Attitudes in Canada and Around the World

214 Pages·1997·9.65 MB·English

by  Pammet Frizzell

SHADES OF GREEN
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SHADES
OF GREEN
ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES IN
CANADA AND AROUND THE WORLD
Edited by
Alan Frizzell
Jon H. Pammett
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SURVEY PROGRAMME
(ISSP) SERIES # 2
CARLETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © Carleton University Press, 1997
Printed and bound in Canada
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Shades of green: environmental attitudes in
Canada and around the world
(ISSP (International Social Survey Programme)
series ; 2)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-88629-321-9
1. Pollution—Public opinion. 2. Environmental
policy—Public opinion. 3. Pollution—Canada—Public
opinion. 4. Environmental policy—Canada—Public
opinion. 5. Public opinion—Canada. I. Frizzell, Alan,
date- II. Pammett, Jon H., date- III. Series.
HC79.E5S42 1997 363,7 C97-900398-9
Cover Design: Your Aunt Nellie
Typeset: Mayhew & Associates Graphic Communications, Richmond, Ont.,
in association with Marie Tappin
Carleton University Press gratefully acknowledges the support extended to its
publishing program by the Canada Council and the financial assistance of the
Ontario Arts Council. The Press would also like to thank the Department of
Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada, and the Government of Ontario
through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation, for their assistance.
SCOTT BENNETT 35
TABLE 12: ROTATED VARIMAX VARIABLE LOADINGS ON MAJOR
FACTORS EXTRACTED FROM QUESTIONS ON PERCEIVED
ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
Nature of Loadings on Loadings on Loadings on Loadings on
Environmental First Factor: Second Factor: Third Factor: Fourth Factor:
Threat General Air and Car-Related Nuclear Power Greenhouse
Water Pollution Pollution Pollution Effect
Car Pollution
Impacting
Environment .217 .859 .041 .193
Car Pollution
Impacting Family .231 .857 .122 .186
Car Pollution
and Increase in
111 Health in Cities .176 .654 .327 .162
Nuclear Power
Stations Impacting
Environment .098 .135 .889 .104
Nuclear Power
Stations
Impacting Family .159 .107 .891 .146
Industrial Air
Pollution
Impacting
Environment .665 .301 .288 .075
Industrial Air
Pollution
Impacting Family .635 .284 .370 .110
Pesticides and
Chemicals Impacting
Environment .518 .233 .504 .155
Pesticides and Chemicals
Impacting Family .528 .184 .551 .192
Waterway Pollution
Impacting Environment. 83 5 .133 -.035 .181
Waterway Pollution
Impacting Family .816 .127 .129 .201
Greenhouse Effect
Impacting
Environment .226 .245 .132 .880
Greenhouse Effect
Impacting Family .211 .222 .211 .875
Eigen Values 6.07 1.21 1.45 1.00
Total Variance
Associated
with Factor 46.7% 9.3% 11.2% 7.7%
Note: The signs of the factor loadings are as obtained from analysis. However, in many cases,
the numeric order of coding of categories was reversed prior to running the analysis. The
inverted nature of the original coding would have complicated the assignment of a positive
conceptual meaning for some factors.
LIST OF TABLES
Chapter 1
1 Prices and Jobs 3
2 Environment and Jobs 4
3 Progress and Environment 5
4 Environmental Efficacy 6
5 Environment and Growth 7
6 Environment and Taxes 9
7 Environment and Participation II
8 Government Responsibility 12
9 Air Pollution by Cars 13
10 Nuclear Threat 15
Chapter 2
1 Preferences for Government Intervention in the
Environmental Activity of Individuals 21
2 Preferences for Government Intervention in the
Environmental Activity of Businesses 21
3 Preferred Focus of Government Energy Policy 22
4 Sociotropic Perceptions of Severity of Environmental Threats 23
5 Egocentric Perceptions of Severity of Environmental Threats 23
6 Greatest Perceived Threat to Personal Environment 25
7 Willingness to Make Material Sacrifices to Protect
the Environment 26
8 Percentage Frequency of Altering Behaviour to Conform
with Environmental Goals 27
9 Percentage of Respondents Giving Correct Answers
to Environmental and Scientific Knowledge Questions 30
10 Beliefs about Science, Nature and the Environment 32
11 Perspectives on the Importance of Nature 33
12 Rotated Varimax Variable Loadings on Major Factors Extracted
from Questions on Perceived Environmental Threats 35
13 Post Varimax Rotation Variable Loadings on Major Factors
Extracted from Questions on Willingness to Commit Resources
and Behaviour to Environmental Improvements 38
14 Post Varimax Variable Loadings on Major Factors Extracted
from Questions on Beliefs about the Environment, Nature,
Science and Progress 40
15 Coefficients for Various Predictors of Preference for Government
Involvement in Individuals Environmental Activity 42
16 Coefficients for Various Predictors of Preference for Government
Involvement in Businesses' Environmental Activity 45
Chapter 3
1 Trade-offs Between the Environment and the Economy 60
2 Best Environmental Policies and Political Behaviour 61
3 Preferences for Paying for Environmental Protection 63
4 Severity of Environmental Risks 64
5 Ranking of Perceived Greatest Threats 65
6 Policy Instruments in the Green Plan 67
7 Familiarity with the Green Plan 67
8 Perceived Effectiveness of the Green Plan 68
Chapter 4
1 Perceived Hazards to Environment Generally
and to Self and Family 81
2 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Perceived Hazards to
Environment Generally and to Self and Family in Particular,
Canada, 1993 84
3 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Perceived Hazards to
Environment Generally and to Self and Family in Particular,
United States, 1993 85
4 Protecting the Environment, Attitudes and Activities,
Canada and the United States, 1993 87
5 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Attitudes and Activities
Regarding Environmental Protection, Canada, 1993 90
6 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Attitudes and Activities
Regarding Environmental Protection, United States, 1993 91
7 Covariance Structure Analysis of Determinants of Attitudes
and Behaviour Regarding Environmental Protection,
Canada, 1993 92
8 Covariance Structure Analysis of Determinants of Attitudes
and Behaviour Regarding Environmental Protection,
United States, 1993 93
Chapter Five
1 Scores on Individual Environmental and Scientific
Knowledge Items Across Countries 107
2 National Scores on Environmental and Scientific
Knowledge Scales 108
3 Country Ranges on Individual Items 109
4 Factor Loadings Across Countries 115
5 Factor Loadings Across Countries: College Educated Only 116
6 Correlations with Environmental and Scientific Knowledge 119
7 Multiple Regression of Scientific and Environmental Knowledge 121
Chapter Six
1 Attitudes to Science in Twenty-two Countries, 1993 131
2 Concern for the Environment in Twenty-two Countries, 1993 133
3 Attitudes to the Environment and the Economy in
Twenty-two Countries, 1993 134
4 Predictors of Environmental Concern in Twenty
Countries, 1993 137
5 Distribution of Attitudes of Environmental Concern
and Faith in Science in Four Countries, 1993 140
6 Predictors of Willingness to Accept Cuts in Standard of
Living in Twenty Countries, 1993 142
Chapter Seven
1 Mean Values for Selected Environmental Attitudes by Country,
Ranked by GNP per Capita, 1993 153
2 Belief that Economic Growth is Needed for Environmental
Protection, by Country, 1993 154
3 Belief that People Worry too much about Progress Harming
the Environment, by Country, 1993 154
4 Willingness to Accept Cut in Standard of Living
for the Environment, by Country, 1993 155
5 Willingness to Pay much Higher Prices for the Environment,
by Country, 1993 155
6 Mean Values for Respondents' Assessments of Environmental
Dangers in Selected Countries, by Country, 1993 159
7 Predictors of Support for Economic Growth/Progress,
by Country, 1993 161
8 Predictors of Willingness to Sacrifice for the Environment,
by Country, 1993 165
PREFACE
POLICY APPROACHES to environmental concerns vary from country to
country and records of national achievement in environmental protection
are diverse. But there are some common elements to environmental prob-
lems, whether they fall within the jurisdiction of national or regional gov-
ernments, or are more general. Sometimes theatre-specific problems can
be addressed by bilateral agreements such as those between Canada and
the United States on such matters as pollution in the Great Lakes and the
St. Lawrence Seaway. More general concerns about atmospheric and
marine pollution can only be dealt with by international co-operation and
co-ordination. Such co-operation must be inclusive, since rogue nations
could jeopardize the good intentions of other countries.
Three factors are necessary to ensure co-operation and action on
environmental matters. First, there must be a forum to work out solutions
to, and agreements on, environmental dilemmas. Second, there must be
the political will to implement ensuing proposals. This volume concen-
trates on the crucial third element, supportive public attitudes about the
importance of the environment. Public opinion around the world must
demand and support environmental protection, and such opinions will
encourage or undermine the resolve of authorities to make difficult, and
often costly, policy decisions.
But is there a community of interest on the environment that spreads
across national frontiers and fosters international action? This question
was the focus of the International Social Survey Programme (iSSP) envi-
ronment survey of 1993. The ISSP is a group of research organizations from
twenty-six nations who each year conduct identical surveys on a specific
topic. Despite differences of language, culture and demography a common
methodology creates a set of comparative attitudinal data. Each country
creates its own data file and these are combined at the Zentralarchiv für
Empirische Sozialforschung at the University of Cologne. Twenty countries
participated in the 1993 environment survey, though there are twenty-
two data sets as Northern Ireland and former East Germany are treated as
independent units of analysis.
This book contains the main findings of this international research
project. It is the second of a series of annual volumes, following the pub-
lication o(cid:237) Social Inequality in Canada (Ottawa: Carleton University Press,
1996) which reported the results of the 1992 ISSP survey. Future annual
volumes are planned on the subjects of Women and Changing Gender
Roles (1998), National Identity (1999) and the Role of Government
(2000).
This book is organized to explore several aspects of public opinion on
the environment, both in Canada and around the world. Chapter 1 pro-
vides an overview of how people in different countries agree or disagree
on a range of environmental issues. In Chapter 2, Scott Bennett examines
Canadian attitudes about the environment and the influences that form
them, particularly opinions on the governments responsibility for environ-
mental protection. This theme is developed in Chapter 3 where attitudes
are related to policy, especially the Canadian federal government s Green
Plan. Chapter 4 broadens the picture, comparing attitudes in Canada
and the United States on a variety of environmental issues, and finding
more similarities than differences.
The second half of the book explores the international ISSP data in
depth, from three directions. Tom Smith looks at knowledge levels about
the environment around the world in Chapter 5 and explains what fac-
tors are critical in the development of such knowledge. Chapter 6 deals
with the interrelationship of attitudes about science, environment and
religion, and shows how faith in the ability of science to solve environ-
mental problems, while varying from country to country, mitigates the
publics view of the seriousness of the environmental situation. In
Chapter 7 Joan DeBardeleben examines differences in attitudes between
the Western industrialized countries and those countries of the former
Soviet Union and shows how economic circumstances shape perceptions
about the environment.