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Few Americans (18%) feel that major progress has been made regarding the environment, but Americans in general agree that the environment is a critical subject.

These issues are often presented as a choice between the economy and the environment. Many Americans are concerned with the health risks involved with pollution and feel that these risks should be taken into consideration when a solution is being implemented, and most Americans feel that the government should take more drastic steps to protect the environment. A majority of Americans advocate an increase in federal spending to protect the environment. As a whole Americans feel that economic growth should not be sacrificed for the environment, but many are willing to pay extra for products that do not compromise the environment.

The Bush administration says it wants international action on global warming, but won't implement Kyoto because the treaty would impose too great an economic burden at a time when energy prices are already skyrocketing. Meanwhile, most Americans feel that they have not been directly impacted by the degradation of the environment and feel confident about the quality of the environment for their homes and workplaces. However, a majority of Americans (56%) feel that the United States is on the right track regarding environmental concerns; the same sentiment is shared on the community level (66%).

A review of pro-environment legislation and progress in recent years:

- The Kyoto treaty, negotiated in December 1997, requires industrial nations to cut their production of polluting gases.

- A bill banning the practice of cutting off shark fins and throwing the fatally wounded fish back into the sea was signed in December 2000. "The legislation is aimed mainly at Pacific Ocean fishermen supplying fins to Asian markets, where they are prized as a specialty and thought to be an aphrodisiac."

- A nature reserve was implemented by the Clinton administration, covering 84 million underwater acres (an area larger than Florida and Georgia combined) along the Hawaiian Islands. The executive order establishes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, banning the removal of coral and restricting recreational fishing at existing.

- 80% of Americans endorse the U.S. stopping the drug flow by being tougher with Mexico.

- Many Americans report taking private measures to protect the environment. 90% report recycling, 83% reduce use of energy, 83% avoid use of products that harm the environment, 83% attempted to use less water, 73% purchased a product based on the possibility that it was better for the environment, 40% donated to an environmental preservation group, 31% signed a petition supporting an environmental group and 28% voted for a politician based on their position on environmental issues.

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