Americans choose economy over environment

I've talked about big business winning out over the environment in other articles, especially when it comes to the government, but apparently the American people feel the same way.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 48 percent of Americans believe that the economy should take priority over the environment. Given the recent state of the nation and the economic downturn, it’s not completely unexpected, but it’s a far cry from the early years of the 21^st century when two thirds of the people believe the environment should take priority.

The recession officially ended in 2009, but you wouldn't guess that by looking at job growth and sales trends. America is still reeling, and when you're standing in line at the food bank, it’s understandable that you won’t give two hoots about disappearing owls in the Appalachians or oil pipelines in Alaska.

For the average person, the environment isn't a passion. They’ll sign a petition to save the whales until it starts impacting their gas prices and then the whales can be damned. Ironically, this is actually an upswing from two years ago when more than half the people surveyed said the economy should come first.

Perhaps, this is why fracking and other environmentally unfriendly practices have taken hold and the number of wind and solar farms are on the downtrend. People care about feeding their families and keeping a roof over their head, and they’re willing to sacrifice the environment for a few years to do it.

The only word of warning I have for this type of thinking is that that losses to the environment happen quickly, but they aren't taken care of quickly. Taking a few years off environmental conversation in order to save a few dollars at the gas pumps could result in years of backsliding.

The moral is you shouldn't just work on saving the environment when times are good because it’s always going to be there regardless.

Photo courtesy of nbcnews.com