ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FOCUS GROUP ENTRY SURVEY FEBRUARY 1, 1997

Columnist : Lincoln Institute

1.) Have you ever heard of the Clean Air Act of 1990?

YES 62% NO 38%

1a.) If “YES”, do you have a generally positive, generally negative or no opinion of the Act?

POSITIVE 44% NEGATIVE 0% NO OPINION 56%

2.) Are you aware that the U.S. Congress has begun the process of rewriting and updating the Clean Air Act?

AWARE 8% UNAWARE 92%

 3.) Are you aware of proposals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which would create tougher regulations relative to the amount of particulate matter and ozone which would be allowed into the atmosphere from sources such as cars, power plants, etc.?

AWARE 38% UNAWARE 62%

  4.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a series of new, tougher regulations which would lower the amount of particulate matter and ozone which could be present in the atmosphere for a county to be in attainment of federal clean air standards. Generally speaking, do you favor tougher clean air standards?

FAVOR 92% OPPOSE 0% NO OPINION 8%

(62%) (38%) (0%)

4a.) If you answered “FAVOR” or “NO OPINION”, would you favor such tougher clean air standards if you knew they would add billions of dollars to the costs of everything from the generation of electricity to the gasoline you use in your car?

FAVOR 54% OPPOSE 15% NO OPINION 31%

5.) Generally speaking, are you aware of the “control measures” which are required to be placed into effect in any county considered not to be in compliance with clean air regulations?

AWARE 23% UNAWARE 77%

6.) Which of the following “control measures” would you consider to be reasonable and which would you consider to be unreasonable?

REASONABLE / UNREASONABLE

a. Centralization of auto emission inspections 69% 31%

(100%) (0%)

b. Mandated use of Reformulated Gasoline 85% 15%

(69%) (31%)

c. Required use of electric-powered vehicles 23% 77%

(8%) (92%)

d. Mandatory carpooling to work 54% 46%

(31%) (69%)

e. Significant gas tax hike ($25-$.50) 46% 54%

(62%) (38%)

f. Requiring businesses to install more efficient air pollution control devices 92% 8%

(100%) (0%)

g. Rationed (by allowing their use only every other week/weekend) use of personal items such as barbecue grills and gas-powered lawnmowers, wood-burning stoves, fireplaces and motor boats 33% 67%

(23%) (77%)

h. Increased property taxes 0% 100%

(23%) (77%)

7.) Would you support tougher standards on air pollution if you knew the county in which you live would be in non-attainment and some of the “control measures” mentioned in the previous question would apply to you personally?

YES 62% NO 0% NO OPINION 38%

8.) Do you feel passenger vehicles should be required to pass emission tests?

YES 100% NO 0% NO OPINION 0%

9.) Which of the following options most closely reflects your own opinion?

15% Emission inspections should be conducted at centralized testing (62%) stations.
85% Emission inspections should be conducted along with regular safety (38%) inspections.
0% There should be no emission inspections required. (0%)

10.) If you were told there was a type of gasoline available (commonly known as Reformulated Gasoline) which, if used by everyone would lower auto exhaust emissions and improve air quality, would you use such gasoline?

YES 100% NO 0% NO OPINION 0%

10a) If you answered “YES” or “NO OPINION” to the previous questions and were told that such gasoline was available, but would cost on average 15 to 30 cents more per gallon, but would lower exhaust emissions and improve air quality, would you – given a choice -use such gasoline?

YES 69% NO 23% NO OPINION 8%

10b) If you answered “YES” or “DON’T KNOW” to the previous questions and were also told that, in addition to costing more such gasoline would be harder on your engine and give you fewer miles to the gallon, but would also lower exhaust emissions and improve air quality, would you – given a choice – use such gasoline?

YES 0% NO 75% NO OPINION 25%

11.) If you were told proposed new government regulations might help improve air quality, but would cause the loss of jobs in your area, would you still favor adoption of that regulation?

YES 23% NO 46% NO OPINION 31%

(54%) (38%) (8%)

11a) IF you answered “YES” or “NO OPINION” to the previous question and were told that adoption of a proposed new government regulation would help improve air quality, but would result in the loss of jobs where you or a member of your immediate family works, would you favor adoption of that regulation?

YES 11% NO 67% NO OPINION 22%

(50%) (30%) (20%)

11b) IF you answered “YES” or “NO OPINION” to the previous question and were told that adoption of a proposed new government regulation would help improve air quality, but would DEFINITELY result in the loss of YOUR job or the job of a member of your immediate family, would you favor adoption of that regulation?

YES 22% NO 44% NO OPINION 33%

(36%) (27%) (36%)

12.) Do you feel businesses, from dry cleaners to bakeries, should be required to install equipment which would cut down on air pollution?

YES 92% NO 8% NO OPINION (0%)

(92%) (8%) (0%)

12a) IF you answered “YES” or “NO OPINION” to the previous question, would you support such a requirement on business if compliance increased costs to you by 10%?

YES 69% NO 23% NO OPINION 8%

(92%) (8%) (0%)

12b) If such requirements increased the cost to you by 25%?

YES 15% NO 77% NO OPINION 8%

(23%) (77%) (0%)

12c) If such requirements increased the cost to you by 50%?

YES 0% NO 92% NO OPINION 8%

(8%) (92%) (0%)

13.) Do you think the Federal government is the best protector of the environment?

YES 23% NO 23% NO OPINION 54%

(46%) (46%) (8%)

14.) On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, who do you trust to maintain a clean environment?

3.7 (3.3) Federal Government
3.2 (2.7) State Government
3.0 (3.5) Local Government
1.6 (1.7) Private Industry
3.2 (3.1) Government and Industry working together

15.) On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, how would you rate the efforts of the following to maintain a clean environment?

3.4 Federal Government
2.7 State Government
2.4 Local Government
1.2 Private Industry

16.) Do you think additional government regulations will help to improve air quality in your area?

YES 77% NO 8% NO OPINION 15%

(46%) (38%) (15%)

17.) Generally speaking, do you think air quality in your area is better, about the same or worse than it was five years ago?

BETTER 8% ABOUT THE SAME 62% WORSE 31%

18.) Generally speaking, do you think air quality in your area will be better, about the same or worse five years from now?

BETTER 8% ABOUT THE SAME 69% WORSE 23%

19.) On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, please indicate your LEVEL OF TRUST in each of the following to give you accurate information on environmental issues:

3.5 Television News
3.2 Radio News
3.0 Radio talk show hosts
3.4 Newspapers
4.0 Magazines (Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, etc.)
2.6 Sierra Club
3.2 Greenpeace
3.7 Clean Air Council
2.9 American Automobile Association (AAA)
3.9 American Lung Association
3.4 University/College professor
2.4 Think Tank
3.1 Chamber of Commerce
1.8 Local Businessman
4.1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
4.1 PA Department of Environmental Protection
2.8 U.S. Senator or Congressman
2.9 Governor
2.7 State Senator or State Representative
2.8 Local Elected Official

20.) Please indicate whether you AGREE or DISAGREE with each of the following statements:

a. Damage to the environment should be avoided no matter what it costs.

AGREE 38% DISAGREE 54% NO OPINION 8%

(38%) (54%) (8%)

b. Environmental protection is an important goal that should be balanced against economic costs.

AGREE 100% DISAGREE 0% NO OPINION 0%

(92%) (0%) (8%)

c. Environmental protection is costing too much and is leading to a loss of jobs.

AGREE 8% DISAGREE 38% NO OPINION 54%

(17%) (58%) (25%)

21.) Do you feel exhaust from passenger vehicles is a major cause of air pollution in your area?

YES 69% NO 31% NO OPINION 0%

22.) Do you think employers should encourage car-pooling among their employees?

YES 100% NO 0% NO OPINION 0%

23.) Do you think employers (including yours) should require car-pooling among their employees as a condition of employment?

YES 23% NO 62% NO OPINION 15%

(31%) (69%) (0%)

24.) Do you think the Federal government should, by law, require car-pooling for employees of larger corporations (500 or more employees)?

YES 38% NO 46% NO OPINION 15%

(54%) (46%) (0%)

25.) Do you think the Federal government should levy large fines against major corporations who don’t force their employees, as a condition of employment, to car-pool to work?

YES 15% NO 77% NO OPINION 8%

(15%) (85%) (0%)

EXIT SURVEY QUESTIONS ONLY

1.) Are you aware of the cost these control measures would impose on individuals such as yourself?

AWARE 77% UNAWARE 23%

2.) Would you support tougher standards on air pollution if you knew the county in which you live would be in non-attainment and some of the “control measures” mentioned in the previous question would apply to you personally?

YES 62% NO 31% NO OPINION 8%

3.) Would you favor tougher air quality standards if you were told the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) own Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee felt the proposed new standards were based on faulty scientific research?

FAVOR 23% OPPOSE 69% NO OPINION 8%

FINALLY, WE’D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOU:

1.) Are you a: MALE 38% FEMALE 62%

2.) Are you a: DEMOCRAT 45% REPUBLICAN 45% OTHER 10%

3.) Your income level:

38% Under $20,000 per year
15% $20,000 – $30,000 per year
15% $30,000 – $40,000 per year
0% $40,000 – $50,000 per year
23% $50,000 – $60,000 per year
0% $60,000 – $70,000 per year
8% $70,000 – $100,000 per year
0% Over $100,000

4.) Your education level:

0% No high school degree
0% High school graduate
54% College-level courses, no degree
38% College degree
8% Post-graduate degree

5.) Your age:

23% 18 – 24
8% 25 – 34
31% 35 – 44
0% 45 – 54
23% 55 – 60
15% 60 Plus