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Enron Mail |
FYI - from cbsnews.com (4/26/01)
AP President Bush=20 (CBS) President Bush continues to receive some of his lowest marks from the= =20 public for his handling of environmental issues, according to the latest CB= S=20 News poll. Just 38 percent of the public approves of the way the president = is=20 handling the environment, and as many =01) 39 percent - disapprove.=20 One of the most telling reasons for Mr. Bush's low ratings on the environme= nt=20 is that the public views his priorities in this area as the opposite of=20 theirs. By more than 2-1, the public places a priority on protecting the=20 environment over producing energy. However, when asked which they think Mr.= =20 Bush feels is more important, Americans overwhelmingly think he is on the= =20 side of producing energy. While 58 percent of the public supports protectin= g=20 the environment, 70 percent think Mr. Bush supports energy production.=20 These divergent priorities are clearly evident on the issue of drilling for= =20 oil in the Arctic, something Bush strongly supports. A majority of American= s=20 oppose opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling= =20 for oil and natural gas: 54 percent disapprove of this plan, and 37 percent= =20 approve of it. Public opposition to drilling in the Arctic has remained fir= m=20 for the past few months.=20 The public is very clear on its priorities when it comes to the environment= :=20 75 percent think we need to maintain our present environmental laws in orde= r=20 to preserve the environment for future generations, while 19 percent want t= o=20 relax environmental laws in order to achieve economic growth.=20 Over the past twenty years, the public has become more supportive of=20 maintaining environmental laws; in 1981, 67 percent supported maintaining= =20 environmental laws.=20
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