PUBLIC CONCERN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

The spring of 1970 was a milestone in the effort to increase public awareness of environmental problems. During this period, the nation's attention was increasingly drawn to pollution and other threats to the environment. A dozen special television broadcasts examined the issue, while numerous magazines picked up the theme, and environmental groups were formed in an attempt to coordinate local conservation efforts, and extend their concern to the entire community. A climax was reached on April 22, when communities across the nation were urged to observe Earth Day. If it is clear that public opinion was a principal target of all these efforts, it is less clear just how much of the intended message has gotten across, and what other factors have affected public concern for the environment. Some answer to these questions is provided by the results of a recent survey of public opinion in Durham, North Carolina. In late March, 197o, questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of some 300 Durham residents, and nearly threefourths of these were completed and returned.' The survey dealt with the issue of environmental damage on several different levels, and aimed at discovering how aware people were of this problem, who or what they felt was responsible for it, and how it might be solved.