Climate change and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic topped the concerns of 2,000 Americans who were asked to name the global issue that most concerned them on a daily basis. Most troubling to them of specific environmental issues were ocean garbage and water pollution, though habitat destruction was not far behind.
When asked which problem they would like to solve in an instant, water pollution was cited by 50 percent of the respondents, while 47.5 percent also wanted to solve the plight of endangered species and clean up the Pacific "Garbage Patch."
The survey was conducted for Nature's Logic, a pet food company, and the answers trended towards a desire to see a cleaner, more sustainable world. Deforestation, rising sea levels, natural resource depletion all ranked among the environmental problems cited by 41 percent or more of the respondents.
Interestingly, though, overfishing and the loss of biodiversity was cited as a concern by just 29 percent of those surveyed.
More than 40 percent voiced the need for companies to use renewable energy in their operations.
Nature's Logic CEO David Yaskulka interpreted the results as a call by consumers for companies to be both more transparent in listing the ingredients of their products, and to stick to natural ingredients.
“Brands should make it easy for consumers to make better choices – like keeping synthetic ingredients out of food or using more environmentally-friendly packaging," said Yaskulka. "And using easy-to-read environmental certifications on the packaging goes a long way in helping consumers decide which products to choose.”
According to the survey, 39.5 percent of the respondents said they "strongly agree" with the statement that they have made personal choices to reduce their environmental impact. Another 36 percent somewhat agreed with that statement.
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