Poll: Seven Key Gallup Findings About the Environment on Earth Day

Pollution of drinking water remains Americans’ top environmental concern, and few ever say that the government is doing “too much” to protect the environment. 62% of Americans say that they worry at least “a fair amount” about climate change, including 42% who worry “a great deal” about it. 61% of Americans recognize that pollution from human activities is the primary cause of increases in the Earth’s temperature over the past century. 59% of Americans recognize that the effects of global warming have already begun. Only 19% of Americans say that the U.S. government is doing “too much” to protect the environment. Americans are far more likely to say that the government is doing too little (50%), while 28% believe that the government is doing “about the right amount.”