Green concerns have penetrated the global psyche, and people everywhere are increasingly aware because of the multitude of messages geared toward sustainability and conservation.  But, it seems that as people learn more about the environment and climate change, a greater amount of people have turned away from the idea that human activity is responsible for the warming of the planet.

According to a recent New York Times article, climate change in Britain was such a popular priority that in 2008 Parliament enshrined targets for emissions cuts as national law.  But since then, the country has evolved into a home base for a thriving group of climate skeptics who seemed to have convinced many that the threat of warming is vastly exaggerated.

A BBC survey in February found that “only 26 percent of Britons believed that climate change is happening and is now established as largely man-made.”  This is down from 41 percent in November 2009.  Another poll, conducted for the German magazine Der Spiegel found that 42 percent of Germans fearer global warming.  This was down from 62 percent four years earlier.

The lack of enthusiasm about climate change is also true of the United States.  According to a March Gallup poll, 48% of Americans believed that the seriousness of global warming was “generally exaggerated.”  This is up from 41 percent a year ago.

This is just one of many signs that a counter-trend to the green movement is emerging.  For companies and organizations, those who currently see environmentalism as an important social cause, and use it in their cause-related marketing, may increasingly get less traction from this message.  That is because, in the future, the public will expect every organization to be a good environmental citizen, and will look to them to take the lead, making decisions and actions cheaper and easier for members of the public.  At least for now, however, consumers generally expect that companies will accomplish these things without imposing any real burdens on the public.