{"id":37368,"date":"2012-02-29T06:04:27","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T13:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=37368"},"modified":"2012-02-29T06:04:34","modified_gmt":"2012-02-29T13:04:34","slug":"western-voters-see-past-green-vs-growth-debate-do-policymakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/02\/western-voters-see-past-green-vs-growth-debate-do-policymakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Western voters see past green-vs.-growth debate; do policymakers?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Organ Mountains (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Optical illusions are said to \u201ctrick the eye.\u201d There are numerous examples that seem to \u201chide\u201d one image within another \u2013 depending on which image the eye focuses, the other may not seem evident. But once we pause, adjust and view the picture fully, it changes our perspective permanently: We can\u2019t help but see both images \u2013 both present and inextricably linked together.<\/p>\n

The 2012 Colorado College Conservation in the West poll<\/a> shows us that when Western voters look at the public lands that surround them, they see the full picture: a vital resource for their quality of life, while at the same time an engine for their local economy.<\/p>\n

To hear some pundits and politicians describe it, voters must have tunnel vision instead: They must view their land, water and wildlife as either a source of jobs or as the foundation of a healthy environment \u2013 and never both. Yet this new data demonstrate that Westerners across the political spectrum say the old way of looking at the picture \u2013 trying to pit the economy against the environment \u2013 just doesn\u2019t match their perspective.<\/p>\n

Four in five voters across six inner West states polled \u2013 Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming \u2013 believe we can \u201cprotect land and water and have a strong economy with good jobs at the same time, without having to choose one over the other.\u201d Only 19 percent say that these two goals are even \u201csometimes\u201d in conflict, and that we therefore must choose one over the other. The strong rejection of this false choice is evident in every state, with Latinos and Anglos, and among Republicans, Democrats and swing voters.<\/p>\n

Whichever aspect of their natural surroundings they look at, Western voters continue to see these dual benefits for their economy and their way of life:<\/p>\n