Journal of Environmental Protection

According to an annual poll held by Gallup including more than 1000 people, most Americans trust the national and local organizations for environmental protection and conservation and preservation work the most. The least trust in regard to environmental protection is in the large corporations and in the Republican Party according to the poll.

About 26% of the public put a lot of trust in their local environmental organizations for protecting the environment. 43% have claimed to have “moderate” trust in these groups and 3 of every 10 asked has no trust at all.

This year, the results of the poll show that the trust which Americans have in the national organization has diminished as compared to the percentage back in 2000.

As for governmental environmental protection, the results of the poll show that 22% of the US residents asked have a lot of trust in federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, while 42% have claimed to moderately trust them. State agencies are trusted even less according to the poll.  The level of trust in any kind of governmental environmental organizations and agencies has decreased significantly from 2000.

The poll also includes questions about the level of trust in politicians for making a change and becoming stewards in the environmental protection cause. The results show that only 11% of the residents asked trust Congress a “great deal” and only 35% trust it moderately. 53% of the Americans asked have claimed to have little or no trust in politicians and in the Congress to help protect the environment.

The results of the poll by Gallup show that the people in America tend to trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party when it comes to environmental protection.

The numbers show that 15% of the Americans trust the Democratic Party a lot, and 37% trust it moderately in regard to environmental protection.

Only 9% of those asked have claimed to trust the Republican Party a lot, while 32% have moderate levels of trust in the Republican Party for environmental protection.

As for the industry, it can be concluded that the public is quite skeptical about the treatment of the private industry of the environment. As a whole, small businesses seem to be likelier to be trusted as compared to large ones. 15% trust small businesses a great deal and 30% claimed that they moderately trust small businesses to help protect the environment.

As for large corporations, only 7% of the people asked claimed to put a lot of trust in the large corporations for helping protect the environment.

With the global warming reaching catastrophic levels, this dramatic climatic change is causing the warming up and melting of the Arctic, which has led to other potential dangers for nature there.

The danger is for an increase of pollution as well as exploitation by resource companies which are looking to drilling in the area as the ice is melting and it is easier to approach new sources of oil, gas minerals and hydropower.

Shell has already revealed its plans to drill in the area, and so are other oil and gas drilling companies.

These new sources of fossil fuels will lead to a further increase of the harmful added greenhouse gases causing permanent damage to the atmosphere, the weather and to the world and its population.

Also, the small and unique population and ecosystems of the Arctic are also threatened by the new dangers of pollution, harm, and existence.

Recently Shell said that it is currently stopping its planned project for drilling in the Chukchi Sea which has been considered a major breakthrough by the environmentalists, but unfortunately, the dangers are not all gone for this environmentally sensitive area. Another oil drilling company – Italian Eni has announced a 5.5 billion dollar oil drilling project for the Norwegian Arctic area.

Already, the impact on the environment in the Arctic is becoming evident and is being documented. Reindeer herders in Siberia are reporting the rapid disappearance of the tundra as the frost is melting. The Inuit hunters are worriedly watching as the sea ice disappears in the ocean which is causing changes in the behavior and habits of the sea animals such as the seals.

Sami people no longer can predict the weather in the region either due to the climatic changes which are affecting the entire Arctic area.

Overall, the changes in the climate in the area are now being considered as unpredictable and can pose a serious threat to the infrastructure, the local people and the over 21,000 Arctic animal species.

With a global increase of the temperature levels with an average of 2 degrees Celsius, this tendency is spreading to the Arctic as well. The level of the sea has risen by about 8cm since 2000 due to the melting of the ice. With the melting of the permafrost in the area, a massive release of methane in the atmosphere is expected, which can have a serious effect on the global weather.