Dueling polls: 'Stick to jobs,' or 'save the Bay'?
Do Marylanders want their government to focus for now on creating jobs over cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay? Or do they think water pollution is a serious problem that will need more government regulation - and maybe some more of taxpayers' money - to reduce?
Those are the seemingly conflicting messages that emerge from a pair of public opinion surveys done in recent weeks - one at the behest of the state's builders, the other at the bidding of a state-funded environmental grant-making group.
More than four out of five Maryland voters want the O'Malley administration to put a higher priority on creating jobs than on restoring the bay, according to the poll done in January by Gonzales Research & Marketing Inc. of Annapolis for the Maryland State Builders Association.
According to the same telephone survey of 802 registered voters, more than half - 57 percent - say economic growth should be the state's main focus, even if it means the environment suffers in the process. And a slim majority - 53 percent - say they're not willing to pay a penny more for bay cleanup and restoration.
On the other hand, in a late December telephone poll of 1,005 Marylanders, 64 percent rated water pollution in rivers, streams and the bay as a very serious problem. The survey was done by OpinionWorks, also of Annapolis, on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
In that poll, nearly three-quarters, or 71 percent, said they think government regulation will be needed to address it. Seventy-three percent back the concept, at least, of the "pollution diet" that the Environmental Protection Agency has imposed on bay states.
On paying for bay cleanup, 49 percent of Marylanders in the bay trust poll say they're willing to shell out a "reasonable" fee if state leaders said the money was needed to control polluted runoff from storm water. That support jumps to 71 percent if people are told the storm-water fee would be enacted across the state, and that the revenue would be returned to their communities, creating jobs.
So which is closer to reflecting the public's attitudes about cleaning up the bay these days?
Steve Raabe of OpinionWorks says he thinks the Gonzales poll is based on a flawed premise that there's always a tradeoff between boosting the economy and restoring the bay. "It's a false choice," Raabe says, contending that most believe environmental protections need not hinder economic growth, and can actually help it.
Patrick Gonzales defends his firm's approach, saying there can only be one top priority at a time. He points out that in a separate poll, 58 percent of Marylanders indicated the economy was their 
top concern, while only 2.4 percent pointed to the environment as their biggest worry.
On one issue, at least, it seems the dueling polls agree. Both found overwhelming public support for tightening restrictions on lawn and garden fertilizers and their application, which lawmakers in Annapolis are going to be asked to consider. Eighty percent favored "strengthened regulations" in the OpinionWorks survey, while nearly two-thirds backed additional rules in the Gonzales poll.
For more on the two polls, go here and here.
(PHOTOS/Top: Waves break at Sandy Point State Park, 2008 Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum. Above: Lawn spreader, courtesy Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.)
Comments
The Chesapeake Bay has been a valuable source of jobs, in both food production, and recreation since even before it was discovered by the Europeans. To neglect this valuable resource so that we can spew pollution around the globe to bring crab meat and rockfish from around the world is a testiment to the past short sightedness of most Americans. The movement toward being sustainable MUST include protection of the Land and Sea where we derive our food. If we continue down the wrong path we will not only have no local food to eat but we will continue to destroy the air we breathe and the children we love.
As we get closer to the realization that the two topics rely on each other, the closer we will get to creating a truly sustainable future. A healthy Bay means healthy people, which means healthy food, and clearer air. Businesses will thrive as more people want to live here. After all, it is supposed to be the "Land of Pleasant Living". The Green Economy is good for all.
Posted by: Stan Sersen | February 9, 2011 8:36 AM
Improving the health of the bay is important to all Marylanders. We all rely on the bay in some way such as for recreation, for food or for transportation.
Posted by: Carl | February 9, 2011 10:36 AM
Creating jobs and cleaning-up the Bay are NOT necessarily mutually exclusive - both can be attained through expansion of shellfish aquaculture enterprises. Aquacultured oysters filter water and create critical habitat for other valuable species (crabs, fish) as well as provide "blue-green" jobs for Maryland's working waterfronts. In this regard, the future is bright for Maryland - we have incredible untapped potential for aquaculture and an Administration is very supportive of this new industry. Please support shellfish aquaculture in Maryland!
Posted by: JohnnyOysterSeed | February 9, 2011 10:37 AM
Well said Stan. I was just going to pose the question 'Why can we not do both at the same time?' We do have to address the polluting business that keep polluting. They do so because the fines are cheaper to pay than fixing the leak, or filtering their waste water, or letting heated water cool before injecting it into natural waterways, etc. I am looking at you Beth Steel.
Posted by: JT Runner | February 9, 2011 10:54 AM