264: environment prioritised above economy in UK

This is a tale of the unexpected... Today's linked article from the UK's Guardian newspaper suggests that UK citizens wish to tackle environmental challenges ahead of economic woes. A recent poll conducted for the newspaper by ICM found that 52% of respondents thought the environment should be the UK government's top priority, compared to 44% who favoured the economy. This contradicts the assumption often made, for example by environmental economists, that people's support for environmental protection grows once they become well-off and diminishes when times are tougher. Indeed, middle-class respondents were least likely to prioritise the environment in the ICM poll. What does this tell us? Well, many respondents also said they would live more frugally as the recession bites. Could it be that moves to reduce consumption are now seen as both economically and environmentally sustainable, at least from a household perspective? In the UK at least, it seems as if pressure is building for a paradigm shift in economic thinking... An end to public policy myopia? That would be something!