VS stemt over Irak niet het milieu

"Americans care about the environment, but they don't usually vote that way in elections for president or Congress. Compared to voters in Europe, where the Green Party is a political force and global climate change is part of the public dialogue, U.S. voters in national elections tend to cast their ballots based on candidates' stances on the Iraq war, the economy and health care -- not on environmental policy.

Only about 3 percent of U.S. voters in recent exit polls said the environment was the most important issue to them in casting their ballots, according to Karlyn Bowman, who tracks public opinion polling for the American Enterprise Institute. That makes it a significant single issue, but far behind the hot-button issue of abortion, which between 9 percent and 13 percent of U.S. voters said was most important to them. This may be because Americans reckon the question about what the country wants in terms of the environment has long ago been settled, Bowman said.

"When we (in the United States) agreed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that we wanted a clean and healthful environment and we wanted to spend a lot of money to get one, once that consensus was reached at the national level, most Americans pulled away from the debate," she said."

Echt ontzettende BS de verklaring van mevrouw Bowman. Amerikanen vinden het milieu niet interessant omdat ze niet goed geinformeerd worden. De 150 tv kanalen die de gemiddelde Amerikaan kan bekijken gaan ook alleen maar over Irak en de hoge benzine prijs. De enige die nog een beetje internationaal nieuws brengt is CNN. Verder is het milieu ook in onze verkiezingen totaal geen issue, dus dat Europa anders is dan de VS...

Bron: www.reuters.com