When in the aftermath of the 1973 energy crisis jobs began to disappear and prices to rise, it came to be widely believed that pocketbook issues would soon eclipse the public's recently-developed fervor for cleaning up the environment.¹ This view was shared, albeit covertly, by many environmental groups, which responded by reducing public visibility.

Now, however, word has come from unexpected quarters that environmental awareness is still with us despite the energy crisis. Two public opinion surveys conducted this summer by the Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) have found that a majority of people continue to support government efforts to clean the air and water even if it means higher prices for fuel and energy. That this should occur in a recession is surprising. But what is most significant is that the environment seems to have won out in this encounter with that supposed "irresistible object" known as resource shortages.²