Over the past two decades, the public consensus in favor of tougher environmental
restrictions has weakened, primarily because of changing opinions among
Republicans.
For the first time in a Pew Research Center political values survey, only about half of
Republicans (47%) agree that “there needs to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the
environment.”
This represents a decline of 17 points since 2009 and a fall of nearly 40 points, from 86%, since 1992.
The partisan gap over this measure was modest two decades ago. Today, roughly twice
as many Democrats as Republicans say stricter environmental laws and regulations are
needed (93% vs. 47%). Read More
Russell Heimlich is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.
