Importance of Environment

Mecklenburg County

Category and Percent Responding 1991 1993 1995 1997
1. Importance of protecting the environment in Mecklenburg
Very Important 86.3 82.0 84.0 81.8
Some importance 12.7 16.7 14.7 17.6
Not important 1.0 1.3 1.3 0.6
2. Believe the environment receives correct amount of attention
Too much attention 1.7 5.5 3.6 3.6
Right amount of attention 23.8 31.5 35.1 34.3
Not enough attention 74.4 63.0 61.3 62.1
3. Would pay higher taxes to protect the environment
Yes 73.0 62.7 64.9 59.1
No 27.0 37.3 35.1 32.5
4. Level of government best for environmental regulations
Local 41.2 55.2 43.3 46.9
State 16.4 21.5 30.2 26.7
Federal 18.4 18.5 23.5 17.5
Combination 22.7 4.9 3.1 8.9
Other 1.2 - - -
5. Rank of environment vs. education, economics, crime, health
Very High Priority 12.6 12.2 - -
High Priority 35.1 30.5 25.8 25.1
Medium Priority 41.5 42.4 55.7 59.1
Low Priority 10.7 14.9 14.3 12.8
Very Low Priority - - - 3.0
Source: UNCC Urban Institute Annual Surveys, October 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997