Study: 66% of U.S. Adults Say Environmental Quality Is Worsening | National News

Positive feelings about the environment reached a record low in America, according to the latest Gallup poll.

Sixty-six percent of U.S. adults said that they think the environment’s quality is worsening while a record low 35% rated the quality of the environment as “excellent” or “good” – the lowest number since Gallup first conducted this survey in 2001.

“We certainly haven’t had positive numbers rating the environment… since 2001 so it’s not as though anyone in the general public was rating the environment very positively, and it’s fallen dramatically,” Megan Brenan senior editor at Gallup says. “But this, this eight point drop that we saw this year among all Americans, is pretty dramatic for the trend.”

The previous low point was 39% in 2009 and 2022. The decline this year can be attributed to independents whose positive ratings of environmental quality (34%) have dropped by 10 points since last year.

Levels of concern about the environment tend to be partisan. Democrats reported the lowest rating on record this year with 16% reporting a positive feeling about environmental quality. Republicans sit much higher at 63%.

The survey also cites that Republicans put economic growth over environmental protection, with 62% saying that the economy should be given priority even if the environment suffers to some extent. Eighty-six percent of Democrats prioritize protecting the environment even at risk of limiting energy supplies.

While independents’ environmental opinions usually sit with the national average, Republicans and Democrats tend to change their views based on the current president’s party. In 2024, when President Joe Biden was in office, 43% of Democrats believed the environment’s quality was getting better while only 35% of Republicans did.

“Unfortunately, most measures that we see, even the ones that you wouldn’t necessarily believe would have anything to do with the president, have become very polarized politically,” Brenan says.”

This year, with President Donald Trump in office, 60% of Republicans and just 6% of Democrats believe the quality of the environment is improving.

Across the board, Americans believe the U.S. government is not doing enough. A record high of 63% of U.S. adults say the government is doing too little in terms of protecting the environment, a six point jump from last year. Democrats are leading the sentiment.

“This measure among Democrats was 91% last year, and again this year, which is the highest that we’ve had among that group,” Brenan says. “I think it would have to be directly linked to President Trump and his administration’s policies towards the environment.”

Among eight listed environmental problems, the majority of Americans are worried about water pollution. Fifty-six percent worry a “great deal” about the pollution of drinking water, 53% worry about the maintenance of the nation’s supply of fresh water for household needs, and 50% are concerned about pollution of rivers and lakes.

Water pollution remains the top environmental concern since 2001.