POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT - POLLS, POLICIES, AND PUBLIC-OPINION

Although recent academic and popular attention has argued for a weddin g between population and environmental problems and policies, the scie ntific knowledge base for these topics has grown separately and at dif ferential rates. Environmental research has grown faster than populati on research, while the joint treatment of these topics remains in its infancy. International polls that have included many questions concern ing environmental attitudes have included far fewer on population. The few surveys on population attitudes have ignored the environment. The World Fertility Survey and the Demographic and Health Survey are fert ility, rather than population, surveys. They have been useful in preci pitating national policies on family planning, but are poor models for needed attitudinal and cognitive research on population and the envir onment. Some contemporary polls, such as the UNDEP sponsored poll cond ucted by the Louis Harris Agency, have serious methodological defects. Others, such as the 1992 Gallup poll, contain valuable data from whic h future surveys could profit. The conclusion outlines the need for a new multinational survey of Population/Environment Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (PEKAP).