Californians' worries outpace their willingness to fund changes for the environment

LOS ANGELES - Most Californians believe the state's environmental problems threaten their health and well-being, but in some cases are reluctant to put their money where their concern is, a poll released Wednesday indicates.

Air pollution was by far the greatest statewide concern in the poll, which was released by the Public Policy Institute of California and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. Mark Baldassare, statewide survey director for the institute, said it's the first comprehensive, nonpartisan survey of Californians' environmental views.

Seventy percent of the 2,001 adults surveyed in the telephone poll said they view today's environmental problems as a very serious or somewhat serious threat to their health.

But Baldassare said there's a limit to what Californians are willing to do in the name of the environment.

''Many residents are willing to make sacrifices; they're willing to live with higher housing costs and higher gas prices,'' but are less convinced that more government spending is the answer, Baldassare said. ''I think it reflects a basic distrust of government as a solution to problems today.''

Half of the people surveyed said state government isn't doing enough to protect the environment, and 41 percent said presidential candidates' environmental views will be very important in the upcoming election.

But because specific environmental concerns vary so much from region to region, the survey gives candidates little direction on which specific issues to address, Baldassare said.

San Francisco Bay area residents, for instance, are far more concerned with traffic congestion and sprawl than other Californians, while Los Angeles-area residents are mostly concerned with coastal and air pollution.

Central Valley residents were in general less concerned with environmental issues than the rest of the state. They're also more likely to believe that stricter environmental laws cost too many jobs and hurt the economy.

''It suggests that depending on what region of California you're in and how prosperous the economy is in your region, that has a big effect on how you view environmental regulations,'' Baldassare said. Central Valley residents ''don't feel economically confident enough to make the trade-off.''

Californians are willing to pay for some environmental causes. Nearly three out of five said housing should not be built if it threatens endangered species, even if housing prices rise as a result. And 54 percent opposed more offshore oil drilling, even if that means higher gas prices.

Fifty-seven percent said they support buying undeveloped land with taxpayer money to protect it from sprawl, but respondents were less positive when the question was tied more directly to their wallets. When asked how they would vote on a local bond measure to preserve land - possibly adding to their property taxes - 52 percent said they would reject it.

And although Californians have a reputation for environmental awareness, on one question that was identical to one asked in a recent national poll, they showed less support for stricter environmental laws than did the nation overall.

Thirty-seven percent of Californians, but only 28 percent of Americans, said stricter laws cost too many jobs and hurt the economy.

The reason, Baldassare said, might be that Californians have more direct experience with such rules.

''Californians have a sophisticated attitude toward the environment,'' he said. ''They have a lot of experience with regulations, and probably a keener sense of some of the economic costs.''

The poll, taken from May 22 to May 30, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

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On the Web: www.ppic.org