U.S. Public Attitudes Toward Marine Environmental Issues

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

public opinion poll. Although critically important, it is only one of several tools used to determine the salience of SeaWeb's communications. The research has given SeaWeb a strong sense of what will work to engage the public, and can therefore be useful as a starting point for ways to frame and discuss other, sometimes more significant issues. The survey, conducted by telephone by the Washington, D.C.-based polling company The Mellman Group in May, 1996, interviewed a nationwide sample of 900 adults, with an oversample of 400 residents of coastal communities. The statistical margin of error for the base sample as a whole is _+3.3%: for the coastal oversample is _+4.9%. In general, the survey found: • Although oceans are not currently a top priority, this is an issue waiting to be made. There is a strong latent, if not manifest, concern for the fate of the ocean. It does not rank high on people's list of everyday anxieties, or even as a top environmental issue, but there is recognition of the ocean's importance, concern about its health, and a sense of responsibility to protect the ocean for present and future generations.