Americans tend to like where they live. For some (maybe you!), this hometown pride motivates them to try to control pollution and protect nature. But for most, the tendency is project their positive feelings about their community onto the local environment. Note the discrepancy in how participants in the survey below assessed the condition of the local, national, and international environment.

Source: Survey on American Attitudes on the Environment, 2005

This perception gap helps explain why so many Americans can simultaneously say they are concerned about water pollution while at the same time appear complacent about local problems. But this attitude has its upsides. Watch today’s episode to find out what they are.

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