Commentary

How Green Is My Attitude

According to the results of the recent online Harris Poll of 2,352 U.S. adults, Americans overall are now less likely than they were in the summer of 2009 to espouse certain "green" attitudes and engage in various environmentally-friendly activities.

A comparison between the 2010 and 2009 surveys reveals that fewer Americans are now "going green."  Specifically, compared to 2009, adults in America are now less likely to engage in various green behaviors in their daily life, including:

  • Making an effort to use less water
  • Purchasing locally grown produce
  • Purchasing locally manufactured products
  • Purchasing organic products
  • Composting food and organic waste

Frequency Of Various Green Behaviors in Daily Life (All Adults; % Sayings "Always or Often Do")

Activity

2009 Total

2010 Total

Keep unneeded lights off or turn lights off when leaving a room

83%

81%

Recycle

68

68

Reuse things that I have instead of throwing them away or buying new items

65

63

Make an effort to use less water

60

57

Unplug electrical appliances when I am not using them

40

39

Purchase locally grown produce

39

33

Buy food in bulk

33

32

Purchase locally manufactured products

26

23

Purchase used items rather than new

25

24

Purchase all-natural products

18

16

Purchase organic products

17

15

Compost food and organic waste

17

15

Carpool or take public transportation

16

16

Walk or ride a bike instead of driving or using public transportation

15

15

Source: Harris Poll, January 2011

And, U.S. adults are also less likely to have adopted certain environmental activities in the past year, including:

  • Purchased Energy Star appliances
  • Donated or recycled electronics
  • Switched from bottled to tap water
  • Installed a low-flow showerhead or toilet
  •  Purchased a hybrid or more fuel-efficient car

Environmental Activities In Last Year (All Adults; % of Respondents)

Environmental Activity

2009

2010

Energy-Efficient Lighting/Appliances (NET)

69%

66%

   Replaced regular light bulbs with more energy-efficient lighting (e.g., CFLs, LEDs)

63

61

   Purchased energy-efficient (e.g., Energy Star) appliances

36

30

Paperless Statements/Online Bill Pay (NET)

53

54

   Started paying bills online for my personal financial accounts

46

44

   Switched to paperless statements for my personal financial accounts

40

41

Donated or recycled a computer, cell phone or other electronic device or its parts

41

32

Switched from bottled water to filtered tap water

29

23

Low-Flow Showerhead/Toilet (NET)

25

20

   Installed a low-flow showerhead

17

13

   Installed a low-flow toilet

16

13

Patronized/Avoided a Business (NET)

15

15

   Patronized a business because of their environmental activities

11

10

   Avoided patronizing a business because of their environmental activities (or lack thereof)

9

10

Made home improvements that enabled me to take advantage of a "green" government tax credit (e.g., installed dual-pane windows, solar panels, insulation)

14

13

Hybrid/Fuel-Efficient Car (NET)

13

8

   Purchased a more fuel-efficient car that is not a hybrid

11

7

   Purchased a hybrid car

2

1

None

13

16

Source: Harris Poll, January 2011

Not only are fewer Americans behaving in environmentally-friendly ways, says the report, but many are now also less likely to embrace, or be influenced by, "green" attitudes. 36% say they are concerned about the planet they are leaving behind for future generations, compared to 43% who said so in 2009. And, only 28% of adults say environmental issues are very or extremely important to them when deciding how to vote for political candidates, compared to 36% who said this was important to them in 2009.

Environmental Label Description (% All Adults; Saying "Very" or "Completely Descriptive")

Description

2009

2010

I am concerned about the planet we are leaving behind for future generations

43%

36%

I personally care a great deal about the current state, and future, of the environment

36

34

I am environmentally-conscious

30

29

I feel a personal responsibility for taking care of the environment

29

29

I encourage others to be more environmentally-friendly

26

25

I am a conservationist

17

20

I am "green"

13

18

I am an environmentalist.

13

16

Source: Harris Poll, January 2011

 

Importance of Environmental Decisions (All Adults; Extremely or Very Important)

Issue

2009

2010

How you vote for political candidates

36%

28%

Which products or services you purchase

26

27

What company or business you work for, or apply for a job at

17

18

Source: Harris Poll, January 2011

Despite these declines in Americans' attitudes and actions concerning environmental issues, U.S. adults are now more likely to describe themselves as conservationist (20% 2010 vs. 17% 2009), "green" (18% 2010 vs. 13% 2009), and environmentalist (16% 2010 vs. 13% 2009) than they were previously.

The report writers conclude by saying that "... It is difficult to draw conclusions from these paradoxical results: on the one hand, only minorities of U.S. adults... think or act green. On the other hand, though still only a minority, more adults than before now label themselves in environmental terms. Only time will tell if Americans are just paying lip service to trendy buzz words like ‘green' and ‘environmentalist,' or if these are signs of a gradually expanding small but vocal ‘green movement.' "  

For more information from Harris Interactive, please visit here.

 

3 comments about "How Green Is My Attitude".
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  1. Shelley List from DLA Piper, January 24, 2011 at 9:35 a.m.

    The gap between green attitudes (as expressed by folks on surveys) and green behavior is well documented in the literature. Theories abound as to why, but cause is difficult to prove. Perhaps people are anxious to appear politically correct.

    According to the Pew Research Center (http://people-press.org/report/669/), the percentage of Americans who believe that science has produced solid evidence for global warming went from 79% in 2006 to 59% in 2010. This happens to correspond to a specific Republican strategy of targeting the certainty of global warming data, since they had no actual opposing data of their own. Their key message: "all the data isn't yet in."

  2. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, January 24, 2011 at 10:16 a.m.

    You know how it works: Tell enough lies loud enough, enough times and people believe it, at least 20% more. And that's just for starters as history repeats itself.

    Back to the study, what it doesn't show is when people have the opportunty to buy green whether affordable or not, available or not, needed to buy an appliance or not, etc. Here's organic produce and regular at the same price, which would you choose? Here's organic produce with limited choices at 3-4 times the price of regular, which would you choose?

  3. Ruth Barrett from EarthSayers.tv, January 24, 2011 at 11:42 a.m.

    Not good, not good. But at least someone has the measuring stick out, so those of us working to increase sustainability awareness can use the numbers to motivate the socially conscious investor community and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) folks to invest in using marketing and the media to "sell" their side of the story because what is being done NOW isn't working. Or am I just kidding myself?

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