We are a green nation, or fast becoming so, if one believes the ads on TV, which portray America as astutely conscious of past environmental sins and hell bent on treating the earth in a more kindly fashion.
We are inclined to see the rest of the world, particularly developing nations, as smudge pots of industrial waste and indifferent to the rape of rain forests as they speed toward a lifestyle of the sort Americans enjoy.
It's just not so, none of it.
Fact is, people in developing countries tend to be far more environmentally aware and responsible than those in many developed countries.
And for all the worthy chatter in the U.S. about recycling, this country comes in near the bottom.
This must seem counterintuitive, especially the business about environmental awareness among the developing nations. But actually it makes quite a bit of sense when you think about it, says Carl Edstrom, senior vice president product development and innovation at TNS, the research group, which has just completed a survey that looks at environmental attitudes around the world.
In developing nations, there’s a much closer relationship between people and the environment, and the impact is very direct when the environment is damaged, whether by polluted water or deforestation. It has an immediate or near-immediate effect on their ability to feed their family. As Emil Morales, a senior vice president at TNS, explains, “They are very aware of the environment because of the proximity and the impact it has on their lives."
The TNS study set out to compare attitudes about the environment among people in 17 different countries, assessing the respondents’ levels of concern for the environment, their willingness to seek out and pay for green products, and their general level of environmental activism--what they routinely do to lessen environmental damage in their daily lives.
Developed countries, particularly the U.S., Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong and Korea, were consistently at the bottom in environmental awareness and activism.
By contrast, respondents in Mexico, Thailand, Brazil and Malaysia in particular showed deep concern about environmental issues.
For instance, on average 84 to 94 percent of folks in developing countries said they believed in the threat of global warming. In developed nations, only about 49 to 64 percent see it as a threat.
Those in developing countries are more inclined to spend more money on environmentally friendly products. Across Latin America, 79 percent said they would do so, while in Asia, 62 percent said they would pay more for eco-friendly products. In Thailand, the figure rose to 94 percent.
Now look at Europe, where it fell to 57 percent, and Britain, which came in at just 45 percent.
The U.S. came in at just 53 percent.
When it comes to actively seeking out eco-friendly products, developed countries also lagged. In Latin America, 62 percent said they would do so, versus just 26 percent in the U.S. and 30 percent in Europe.
And of course this all raises an interesting question, certainly as the world knits itself closer together in trade and other areas. Which countries most worry other counties for their lack of concern over the environment?
In the lead is the U. S., followed by China.
One flaw of the study is that it was unable to gather enough responses from China to get a sense of attitudes in that country regarding the environment. The same was so with India, another country experiencing rapid development. They survey was done online, and the number of responses fell short of what was needed for a broad demographic sampling.
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere in popcult, “Iron Man” held onto the top spot at the box office over the weekend, bringing in another $50.5 million in ticket sales. The new release “Speed Racer” finished No. 2 with $20.2 million in ticket sales.
In DVD rentals for the week ended May 4, according to IMDb.com, new release “27 Dresses” topped the chart, followed by fellow new release “The Golden Compass.”
On iTunes this morning, Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” was No. 1, knocking Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” to No. 2 after two weeks on top.
And in books, the new James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet novel “Sunday at Tiffany’s” debut at No. 1 on The New York Times’ hardcover fiction best-sellers list for the week ended May 3, and also at No. 2 on USA Today’s chart for the week ended May 4.
|
TOP MOVIES
Weekend Box Office Estimates
Weekend of May 9-11, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
MOVIE
|
Engagements
|
Box office (millions)
|
|
1
|
Iron Man (
Paramount)
|
4,111
|
$50.50
|
|
2
|
Speed Racer (Warner Bros.)
|
3,606
|
$20.21
|
|
3
|
What Happens in Vegas (Fox)
|
3,215
|
$20.00
|
|
4
|
Made of Honor (Sony)
|
2,734
|
$7.60
|
|
5
|
Baby Mama (Universal)
|
2,627
|
$5.77
|
|
6
|
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal)
|
2,376
|
$3.78
|
|
7
|
Harold and Kumar Escape from
Guantanamo
Bay (Warner Bros.)
|
2,264
|
$3.16
|
|
8
|
The Forbidden Kingdom (Lionsgate)
|
1,724
|
$1.90
|
|
9
|
Nim’s
Island (Fox Walden)
|
1,601
|
$1.33
|
|
10
|
Redbelt (Sony Pictures Classice)
|
1,379
|
$1.14
|
|
Source: Yahoo Movies
|
|
IMDb TOP DVD RENTALS
Week ending May 4, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
27 Dresses
|
-
|
|
2
|
The Golden Compass
|
-
|
|
3
|
Cloverfield
|
1
|
|
4
|
Juno
|
2
|
|
5
|
Charlie Wilson’s War
|
3
|
|
6
|
AVPR: Alien vs. Predator – Requiem
|
4
|
|
7
|
There Will Be Blood
|
5
|
|
8
|
One Missed Call
|
7
|
|
9
|
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
|
6
|
|
10
|
Hero Wanted
|
-
|
|
Source: IMDB
|
|
ITUNES TOP 8 SONG DOWNLOADS
for week ended Monday, May 12, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
|
1
|
Take a Bow, Rihanna
|
|
2
|
Bleeding Love, Leona Lewis
|
|
3
|
Pocketful of Sunshine, Natasha Bedingfield
|
|
4
|
Lollipop, Lil Wayne
|
|
5
|
4 Minutes, Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake
|
|
6
|
Viva la Vida, Coldplay
|
|
7
|
No Air, Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
|
|
8
|
Love In This Club, Usher feat. Young Jeezy
|
|
Source: iTunes
|
|
NEW YORK
TIMES BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending May 3, 2008
|
|
Fiction (hardback)
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
Weeks on chart
|
|
1
|
Sunday at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
|
-
|
1
|
|
2
|
The Whole Truth by David Baldacci
|
1
|
2
|
|
3
|
Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber
|
-
|
1
|
|
4
|
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben
|
2
|
3
|
|
5
|
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
|
4
|
5
|
|
Nonfiction (hardback)
|
|
1
|
The Revolution by Ron Paul
|
7
|
2
|
|
2
|
A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
|
-
|
1
|
|
3
|
Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
|
1
|
2
|
|
4
|
Home by Julie Andrews
|
3
|
5
|
|
5
|
Escape by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer
|
2
|
6
|
|
Fiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
|
4
|
18
|
|
2
|
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
|
3
|
13
|
|
3
|
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
|
1
|
35
|
|
4
|
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
|
5
|
35
|
|
5
|
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
|
2
|
35
|
|
Nonfiction (paperback)
|
|
1
|
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
|
1
|
66
|
|
2
|
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
|
2
|
67
|
|
3
|
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey
|
-
|
80
|
|
4
|
Marley & Me by John Grogan
|
5
|
8
|
|
5
|
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
|
4
|
18
|
|
Source: New York Times
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USA
TODAY BESTSELLING BOOKS
Week ending May 4, 2008
|
|
Rank
|
TITLE
|
Last week
|
|
1
|
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow
|
1
|
|
2
|
Sunday at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
|
-
|
|
3
|
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
|
2
|
|
4
|
The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
|
-
|
|
5
|
|
