Public interest in the environment is falling: a response to Ficetola (2013)

McCallum and Bury (Biodiv Conserv 22:1355–1367, 2013) used internet search analysis to reveal the public’s falling interest in the environment. Ficetola (Biodiv Conserv 81.1:117–142, 2013) challenged these findings. He argued that “even though the proportion of queries went down, the absolute number went up”, interest may be growing, and the apparent changes in interest were artifacts of expanded use of the internet. We demonstrate why the proportion of the public, not the numbers of individuals drives policy, discuss the implications of proportional shares of interest for environmental policy, and address the concerns discussed by Ficetola (2013). Considering the growing evidence of fading public interest in the environment, and the devastating repercussions that this could have; it is clear that we must rapidly develop strategies to counter this alarming trend.

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