Americans Have Room to Improve Their Conservation Behaviors

According to the results of a national survey released recently by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities, there is a significant gap between Americans' conservation attitudes and their actual behaviors.

Large majorities of Americans say that it is very or somewhat important to turn off unneeded lights (93%), lower the thermostat in winter (82%), and use public transportation or carpool (72%), among other conservation behaviors. Yet the study found a number of large gaps between these positive attitudes and actual behavior. For example:

• 88 percent of Americans say it is important to recycle at home, but only 51 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 81 percent say it is important to use re-usable shopping bags, but only 33 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 76 percent say it is important to buy locally grown food, but only 26 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 76 percent say it is important to walk or bike instead of driving, but only 15 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 72 percent of Americans say it is important to use public transportation or carpool, but only 10 percent say they "often" or "always" do;

The results come from a nationally representative survey of 1,001 American adults, age 18 and older. The sample was weighted to correspond with U.S. Census Bureau parameters. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percent, with 95 percent confidence. The survey was designed by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities and conducted from December 24, 2009 to January 3, 2010 by Knowledge Networks, using an online research panel of American adults. The report can be seen here.