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ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Sunday, October 16, 2005
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Environmental Standards Cannot Be
Too High Say Most Americans
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), October 16, 2005 - Three in four U.S. adults (74%) agree that "protecting the environment is so important that requirements and standards cannot be too high, and continuing environmental improvements must be made regardless of cost."
In addition, a plurality of adults (47%) agree that "there is too little government regulation and involvement in the area of environmental protection." These attitudes are significantly more pro-environment than in 2000, the last time Harris Interactive(1) examined these issues.
Major findings of the survey include:
- While the proportion of adults who agree that it is important to protect
and improve the environment regardless of cost has increased over the
last five years (66% in 2000 vs. 74% now), a significant proportion of
the public currently disagrees with this statement (25%).
-- This year, Democrats (85%) are more likely to agree with this
statement than Independents (75%) or Republicans (60%).
-- Liberals (82%) and moderates (77%) are more likely to agree with
this statement than conservatives (69%).
- Just fewer than half of U.S. adults (47%) think the amount of government
regulation and involvement in the area of environmental protection is
too little, while one-third (32%) says it is about the right amount and
one-fifth (19%) believes it is too much. The percentage of adults
believing the amount of regulation and involvement is too little has
increased since 2000 when 39 percent of adults felt this way.
-- Currently, Democrats (61%) are more likely to believe there is too
little government oversight with respect to environmental
protection than Independents (55%) or Republicans (23%).
-- At the same time, a higher percentage of liberals (67%) than
moderates (56%) or conservatives (27%) feels there is too little
government regulation and involvement.
- According to U.S. adults, water pollution and air pollution are the top
environmental priorities for the nation. When asked to rate the priority
of seven environmental issues on a scale of one to 10 where one means "a
low priority" and 10 means "a high priority,", about half (52%) of
adults rate water pollution a "9" or "10" while 48 percent rate air
pollution this high of a priority.
-- The second tier of priorities includes global warming, ozone
depletion, and depletion of forest lands (each rated a "9" or "10"
by 41% of adults).
-- Recycling more material (39% rate it "9" or "10") and insisting
that other nations adhere to our level of environmental standards
(26% rate it a "9" or "10") trail as high priorities.
- Just one of eight groups examined is credited with doing more than their
share to help reduce environmental problems.
-- A plurality of adults (42%) believe environmental groups are doing
more than their share to help reduce environmental problems. On the
other side of the coin, 71 percent believe large corporations are
doing less than their share.
-- The general public does not escape its own wrath as 63 percent of
adults say the general public does less than its share. Majorities
also feel local businesses (50%), the president (53%), and Congress
(57%) are doing less than their share.
-- Conversely, the public has mixed views on the role of state or
local government. Forty-six percent say they are doing less than
their share, 43 percent believe their efforts are about right, and
10 percent believe they are doing more than their share. The media
also receives mixed reviews (44% less than, 37% about right, and
18% more than their share).
- A majority of all U.S. adults (58%) describe themselves as sympathetic
to environmental concerns, while 12 percent say they are active
environmentalists, four percent are unsympathetic, and 24 percent
consider themselves neutral. These figures are relatively unchanged in
the surveys dating back to 1995 (53% sympathetic, 11% environmentalist,
5% unsympathetic, and 29% neutral).
These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 1,217 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive(R) between August 9 and 16, 2005. It is important to note that this survey was conducted prior to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, events which have placed some additional focus on environmental issues.
Quality Jobs Legislation Key to Pfizer Deal
CHESTERFIELD, (SLFP.com), October 16, 2005 - Pfizer will invest nearly $200 million to expand its research and development facility in Chesterfield and maintain its work force of about 1,200 employees thanks, in large part, to the Missouri Quality Jobs Act that offers incentives to companies who chose to keep doing business in the Show Me State.
"I am very pleased that Pfizer is making this significant investment in Missouri and will continue to provide the kind of high paying, high quality jobs that help support the cutting-edge research the company already does in our state," Governor Matt Blunt said in a statement. "I am strongly committed to life science research and through the Missouri Quality Jobs Act we were able to strengthen our relationship with Pfizer well into the future."
The Missouri Quality Jobs Act was passed overwhelmingly by the General Assembly in May and was signed into law by the governor shortly after. The governor initially proposed the measure as a major part of his legislative economic development package.
"We've been working with Pfizer for some time to help them solidify this substantial capital investment in St. Louis County," said St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. "The new facility will help strengthen Pfizer's presence in the community as a major contributor to the region's growing life sciences sector and for St. Louis County's continuing efforts to keep and grow high-paying life science jobs."
Under a memorandum of understanding with the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Pfizer will receive $500,000 in tax credits per year for five years under the retention portion of Missouri Quality Jobs Act. Pfizer, a Fortune 500 company, researches and develops leading prescription medicines and has six major research and development centers worldwide including the Chesterfield facility.
The Pfizer announcement comes a month after Express Scripts became the first company to utilize the Missouri Quality Jobs Act. On Sept. 8, Express Scripts announced that the company would relocate its new headquarters to the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis where it will employ more than 1,100 workers.
"We are already seeing some major successes in creating and retaining jobs as well as expanding investment in Missouri thanks to the Quality Jobs Act," Blunt said. "It is clear that Missouri means business when it comes to creating jobs and Pfizer's commitment to the state is just another example of that."
Travelers Lack Time not Money
ST. LOUIS, (PRNewswire), October 16, 2005 - According to the Travel Industry Association of America;s (TIA) third quarter 2005 Traveler Sentiment Index, time available and interest in travel are the greatest perceived barriers to consumers taking pleasure trips.
Conversely, consumers are feeling more optimistic about their ability to travel based on affordability. The overall index remains virtually unchanged from last quarter's rating; however, it is down nearly 10 percent from a year ago and is at its lowest point in the history of the index. The survey took place from July 5 - 15, 2005.
Compared to last quarter, declines were posted in three of the five indices measuring travel sentiment. Consumers are substantially more negative about having enough time to take a pleasure trip, with that index falling 5.6 percent, and their interest in taking a pleasure trip dropped 5.1 percent. Perceptions of the quality of service received while on a trip fell 2.4 percent.
On a more positive note, consumers reported more positive perceptions about the affordability of pleasure travel with that index increasing 10.2 percent over second quarter 2005. They were also more positive about having enough money to take a pleasure trip, with that index rising 7.8 percent.
"Despite these improvements, American travelers still remain significantly more negative about the affordability of travel and their financial capability to participate than they did in earlier years, reflecting real travel price increases in recent months," noted Dr. Suzanne Cook, TIA's senior vice president of research. "These tendencies may be further exacerbated by additional pressures on pricing created by the recent hurricanes in the Gulf area."
Due to industry concerns about the threat of terrorism, TIA began to measure consumer perceptions about travel safety starting with the fourth quarter 2001 (October) survey. While travel safety is not a component of the Traveler Sentiment Index, it can be indexed and seasonally adjusted by itself against the baseline of fourth quarter 2001. The travel safety index for this quarter is at 110.3, down 6 percent from second quarter 2005 and down 5.8 percent compared to one year ago.
When the overall Traveler Sentiment Index is examined on a regional basis, the Midwest and the West were the only two regions with gains in their overall indexes. Significant increases were seen in the Midwest in the "affordability" (+43.8%) and "financial" (+21.5%) indices from last quarter. The West also showed an increase of 16.3 percent in the "affordability" index. Despite a decrease in its overall index, the South did show increases in the "financial" index and the "affordability" index (+9.9% and +8.1%, respectively). The Northeast posted declines in all five indices.
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