THE VAST majority of Portuguese do not believe their individual efforts towards environmental issues count, according to a study carried out by Eurobarometer.
Most people are more concerned with larger environmental problems, such as industrial air and water pollution, rather than sorting and recycling rubbish or conserving energy and reducing household waste.
According to the study, the main reason people do little to help the environment is because “no one else bothers”. The conclusions showed that, although people were worried about the environment and climatic change, they didn’t do anything to personally help the situation.
Water pollution worried 57 per cent of those surveyed, while 55 per cent were concerned about air quality. However, only 22 per cent sorted household waste and used recycling centres, or made efforts to save water, electricity and paper. C.G.
