ENVIRONMENT

Q U I C K T A K E

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER the first Earth Day, America's environmental movement remains strong. While protection of natural resources is a priority issue for most voters nationwide, some see environmental laws and regulations as having gone too far--stifling economic activity and trampling on property rights. Reflecting these concerns and backed by business interests, Republicans in Congress have proposed reforms tailored to curb new federal regulations. Their strategy includes limiting unfunded mandates on state and local governments, applying strict risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis to new regulations before they can take effect, and requiring the federal government to compensate property owners for any regulatory burdens judged to be a "taking." Environmentalists and most Democrats, while open to reforming misguided regulations, believe Republican proposals go too far, preventing the EPA from fulfilling its mandate. The most liberal position sees the Republican agenda as a special interest-driven plot to roll back the gains of the past two decades.

P U B L I C O P I N I O N

In your view, is the protection of the environment one of the most important problems facing the country today, is it very important but not one of the most important, or is it not very important?

One of the most important	23	25
	12/95	11/90
Very important	65	69
Not very important	11	6
Not sure	1	-

TIME/CNN Poll, conducted January 25-26, 1995.

Do you think that the environmental laws and regulations that are currently on the books are adequate, should go further than they do, or have they gone too far already?

Adequate	29	19	29
	12/95	11/90	9/85
Should go further	42	63	45
Have gone too far	23	12	16
Not sure	6	6	10

TIME/CNN Poll, conducted January 25-26, 1995.

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