Last week, the U.S. National Science Board released its 2008 Science and Engineering Indicators (download the entire report here). It’s basically a one-stop source for data describing U.S. and international science and engineering. To get an idea of what is contained in this dense yet informative report, here are the chapters:

1. Elementary and Secondary Education
2. Higher Education in Science and Engineering
3. Science and Engineering Labor Force
4. Research and Development: National Trends and International Linkages
5. Academic Research and Development
6. Industry, Technology, and the Global Marketplace # Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding
7. State Indicators

There are a ton of statistics on a variety of topics relating to science (evolution in the classroom, genetic engineering, PhD hiring trends), but since this is an environmental-themed blog, I’ll stick to that stuff. Below are some excerpts from the report that I found to be particularly interesting regarding the public perception of environmental issues:

• In 2006 Gallup surveys, most Americans (62%) believed that the government spent too little to protect the environment and only a handful thought it spent too much (4%).
• As gasoline prices increased, public support for oil exploration in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and expanded use of nuclear energy rose substantially between 2003 and 2006. However, support dropped significantly in Gallup’s 2007 survey.
• In 2004, 2006, and 2007, Gallup asked Americans how much they worry about 10 environmental issues. The percentage of Americans who said they worried “a great deal” about global warming rose by 15 points during this period, more than for any of the other issues.
• At 36%, the percentage of Americans worrying a great deal about (global warming) was 10 or more points below the comparable figure for “pollution of drinking water” (58%), “pollution of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs” (53%), “contamination of soil and water by toxic waste” (52%), and “maintenance of the nation’s fresh water supply for household needs” (51%).
• The percentage of Americans who believe that most scientists think global warming is occurring has also been rising for over a decade.
• Although most Americans think that global warming is mostly the result of human activities rather than natural changes, public opinion on this question has been stable since 2001.

The obvious contradiction between the first two points above is particularly troubling. We think that the government should spend more to protect the environment, but we also support actions with serious environmental consequences when our pocketbooks get tight. Ugh. Here is a figure from the report to drive that point home:

It’ll sure be interesting to see how these issues are brought up during the upcoming U.S. presidential race.

Speaking of the election, wouldn’t it be nice if there was an entire science-themed debate?. Well, some (including AAAS) are trying to get such a debate organized. Check out ScienceDebate2008 for more information. But just as a heads up, “The Environment” is one of the three proposed general topics (along with “Health and Medicine” and “Science and Technology Policy”).