Money over Environment

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It happened in the State of Florida and it happened with the defeat of Amendment 4. Those with money wanted more and those without, blamed their lack of it on environmentalists who were placing obstacles in the path of development by watching over our natural resources. Even my favorite politician is taking the Republican stand against the EPA. Mother Earth is not as important as money.

Following is an article and a Graph produced by Gallup:

The Great Recession appears to have had a big – and negative - impact on Americans’ sympathy for Mother Earth.

A Gallup poll released last week found that Americans are prioritizing economic growth over the environment by the widest margin in nearly three decades.

The poll found that 54 percent of Americans think economic growth should be given priority over environmental protection, while 36 percent thought the environment should be given the top priority.

For decades, the chart was reversed, with the majority of Americans saying that environmental protection should be the top concern. But things began to change when the economy entered its sharp decline in 2008, only reversing course again briefly following the Gulf Oil spill.

It’s unclear if the nuclear disaster in Japan will cause people to rethink those priorities. The survey of around 1,000 adults was conducted March 3 through 6, before Japan was rocked by a massive earthquake and tsunami, which has killed thousands of people and left a hobbled nuclear plant leaking radiation.

Gallup, By Allison Linn, senior business writer