Climate and the Environment

Over the past century, human activity has rapidly destroyed or polluted many ecological systems and habitats throughout the world. Being aware of and actively involved in solving environmental problems is necessary not just for the health of the environment but also for the health and safety of people worldwide. For the most effective environmental management to occur, environmental and natural resource agencies and organizations must build strong partnerships among themselves and with the public. An understanding of public behaviors, attitudes, and opinions toward environmental issues, combined with biological information, sets the foundation for effective programs, laws, policies, and communication strategies designed to increase overall awareness of environmental problems and to improve the overall health of the environment.

The human element of environmental management is becoming more important as it becomes clear that an understanding of the public often means the difference between the success or failure of environmental programs. Natural resource and outdoor recreation organizations use biological and ecological research to better understand and manage the environment around us, and they use human dimensions research and techniques to better understand and work with their constituents and stakeholders. Among the benefits of using human dimensions research are enhanced management of the resource and a constituency that is supportive of the organization and its mission. Overall, environmental organizations that effectively incorporate the human element into environmental programs ultimately spend more time and money on the program, as opposed to making ill-fated decisions because of a lack of understanding of the public and constantly dealing with controversy.

Responsive Management can design and conduct environmental studies that assess issues such as 1) public awareness of and attitudes toward organizations working on environmental issues, 2) attitudes toward environmental law enforcement and opinions on regulations and laws, 3) how people value the environment, 4) public perceptions of the health of the environment and what people are willing to sacrifice for the sake of environmental protection, 5) public behaviors and attitudes toward air quality, 6) public behaviors and attitudes toward water pollution, 7) opinions on wetlands and wetland restoration, 8) attitudes toward habitat, habitat protection, and development, 9) landowner attitudes toward environmental issues, 10) information and education about environmental issues, 11) where the public receives their information on environmental issues, and 12) public awareness of agency funding and support or opposition to numerous funding mechanisms for environmental programs.

Responsive Management has conducted numerous studies on public attitudes toward environmental issues. For example, Responsive Management conducted a nationwide study for the American Museum of Natural History to determine Americans’ opinions on and knowledge of water and water-related issues; a nationwide study to assess hunters’ and anglers’ knowledge of, attitudes toward, and opinions on global warming issues, particularly as they relate to more specific policy issues, as well as message themes regarding global warming that resonate with sportsmen; and focus groups and a telephone survey to assess Georgia residents’ opinions on litter, littering practices, and anti-littering programs in Georgia and to test anti-litter messages, the results of which provided the basis for the development of Georgia’s Litter. It Costs You. statewide anti-litter campaign.

In a study of Delaware residents’ environmental attitudes and behaviors, Responsive Management found that 56% of Delaware residents said that industry/chemical companies are the largest polluters of water in Delaware while only 10% of respondents said that homeowners/individuals were the largest polluters of water in Delaware. Strong majorities of Delaware residents take actions which help mitigate the adverse impacts that runoff has on water quality. A slight majority of Delaware residents said that they already do as much as possible to help improve water quality.

More examples of Responsive Management’s work on environmental issues include an employee survey of the Virginia Soil Conservation Partnership to gauge attitudes toward their working environment, management, compensation, future orientation, ethics, mission, and many different conservation topics; a study to better understand Georgia residents’ attitudes and opinions toward water resource issues in Georgia, willingness to participate in water conservation measures, and educational messages to which the public will respond in a statewide water conservation campaign; and a survey of sportsmen nationwide to measure attitudes toward energy development in the Rocky Mountain West, including opinions on energy needs and the effects of development on fish and wildlife.

Following are other examples of our research on climate and environmental issues: