Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: Courtesy Pew Research Center (Nelson Almeida/AFP; Joe Raedle; Russian Defence Ministry/Contributor; Pallava Bagla/Corbis; and David Silverman, all via Getty Images; and NASA/Cover Images/AP)

A new opinion poll has been released showing that science and scientists are held in high esteem across global publics.

However, there is ambivalence in many publics over developments in artificial intelligence, workplace automation, and food science.

The poll indicates positive views in other areas such as space exploration.

Meanwhile, public concerns around climate change and environmental degradation remain widespread. In most publics, majorities view climate change as a very serious problem, and say their government is not doing enough to address it and point to a host of environmental concerns at home, including air and water quality and pollution.

The survey was carried out before the COVID19 outbreak reached pandemic proportions.

Pew Research Center is author of this informative appraisal. It is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world.

Chart shows majorities in most publics surveyed see their government’s space program as a good thing for society.
Credit: Pew Research Center

Positive impact

One element of the wide-ranging survey found that space programs are generally seen as having a positive impact on society

Majorities in most publics see their government’s space exploration program as a good thing for society.

Among the 20 publics surveyed, a median of 72% say their government’s space exploration program has mostly been a good thing for society.

Survey stats

Data in the report came from a survey conducted across 20 publics from October 2019 to March 2020 across Europe, Russia, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.

The surveys were conducted by face-to-face interviews in Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, India and Brazil. In all other places, the surveys were conducted by telephone. All surveys were conducted with representative samples of adults ages 18 and older in each survey public.

To view the entire Pew Research Center report — Science and Scientists Held in High Esteem Across Global Publics – go to:

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/09/29/science-and-scientists-held-in-high-esteem-across-global-publics/

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