PUBLIC-OPINION IN THE 1980S - CLEAR CONSENSUS, AMBIGUOUS COMMITMENT

Is protecting the environment so important that environmental standards cannot be too high and improvements must be made regardless of cost? During the 1980s, the proportion of the U.S. public that responded positively to this question increased from less than half to nearly three-quarters. Transforming this sentiment into effective political action, however, will be the challenge for the decade ahead.