In my quest to get more details about the recent poll on American disaster preparedness, I wrote to Mr. John Zogby the noted pollster who co-authored the article with SUNYIT.  (More details about that poll will be available in the future.)

He offered the following observations about the findings:

I have been polling since 1984 and have a perspective on these things. When I first started: Americans still littered and smoked, and they did not recycle. We have changed a lot. Here are some of things I have shared with clients and audiences along the way:

1. Fear is not the motivator we hope it will be. People just don’t want to live their lives looking over their shoulders. The message has to be more pro-active, protecting our children, providing a safer world and community
2. They will always trust the personal, familial, and local more than bigger agencies.
3. When Margaret Mead testified before the Senate about whether or not Americans would conserve on energy in the 1970s she noted that if the cause is right, the leadership is there, and everyone is assured that everyone else is participating, they will do it.
4. Today, most children come home from Kindergarten their first day of school with a message about saving the earth by not littering and about recycling. This is the long-haul strategy, too.

So, I guess we need the take the long view and keep trucking!!!