In a representative survey of more than 1,200 US adults, participants significantly underestimated the environmental concerns of a range of demographic groups, particularly racial minorities and low-income Americans, and tended to associate environmentalists with being white and well-educated, despite poor and minority Americans reporting higher levels of environmental concern than other groups; such stereotypes might hinder efforts to address environmental inequities or broaden public involvement in environmental action, according to the authors.
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Article #18-04698: "Diverse segments of the US public underestimate the environmental concerns of minority and low-income Americans," by Adam R. Pearson, Jonathon P. Schuldt, Rainer Romero-Canyas, Matthew T. Ballew, and Dylan Larson-Konar.
MEDIA CONTACT: Adam R. Pearson, Pomona College, Claremont, CA; e-mail: adam.pearson@pomona.edu ; Jonathon P. Schuldt, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; e-mail: jps56@cornell.edu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences