Climate change is a multifaceted and dynamic issue that is interwoven with public

health, social justice, and economic issues. The current political climate reveals some doubt in

the general public and in congress as to the legitimacy of climate change and the necessity to

act on behalf of the environment. Understanding individual motivations about the environment is

more important than ever as we aim to provide health and wellness to all through stable

environments. This study aimed to shed light on the extent to which Americans place economic

value on the environment and on potential sociodemographic differences in these personal

valuations. We used data from the General Social Survey, a nationally representative annual

survey on social change. Dependent measures were three questions in the 2010 survey

concerning willingness to pay higher taxes to protect the environment, willingness to pay higher

prices to protect the environment, and level of agreement with the statement, “Economic

progress in America will slow down unless we look after the environment better.” Independent

variables included gender, education, and income. Bivariate results revealed that willingness to

pay higher taxes to protect the environment was negatively associated with income, implying

that those with higher income are less willing to pay to protect the environment. Higher

education and female gender were associated with greater willingness to place economic value

on the environment. Multivariate results showed that only education was a significant predictor

of willingness to pay higher taxes or prices, whereas income and gender were significant

predictors of the environmental attitude question. This study addresses what groups place

economic value on the protection of the environment. This information can be used to inform

efforts to shift social attitudes with the goal of improving the political climate to one that protects

environmental health and promotes wellness.

sonnega_aess_proposal_regression_and_crosstabs.docx