Story Highlights
- 18% of Americans say they are active participants in environmental movement
- 65% think the environmental movement has done more good than harm
- 86% voluntarily recycle; 8% invest based on companies' environmental record
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the world marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, Â鶹´«Ã½AV is releasing its latest trend data about the environmental movement and Americans' efforts to support it. The full results are available here (PDF download).
Views of Environmental Movement -- Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the environmental movement in the U.S. has definitely (20%) or probably (45%) done more good than harm. Conversely, one-third think it has probably (25%) or definitely (8%) done more harm than good. The combined percentage who think it has done more good than harm is down from 76% in Â鶹´«Ã½AV's first measurement, from 1992.
Support for Environmental Movement -- 18% of Americans characterize themselves as active participants in the environmental movement and 44% say they are sympathetic to the movement but not active, while 30% are neutral toward the movement and 7% unsympathetic.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are much more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents to say they are active participants (24% vs. 14%, respectively) or sympathetic to the movement (57% vs. 30%).
When Â鶹´«Ã½AV first asked this question in 2000, 16% described themselves as active participants and 55% as sympathizers.
Efforts to Support Environmental Movement -- Among a list of 15 actions that Americans can take to help the environment, majorities report that they have done seven of them in the past year. Voluntarily recycling (86%) tops the list. The least common actions are contacting a business to complain that its products are harmful to the environment (10%) and investing based on the environmental record of companies (8%).
Yes, have done | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Voluntarily recycled newspapers, glass, aluminum, motor oil or other items | 86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reduced your household's use of energy | 76 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tried to use less water in your household | 73 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Used reusable shopping bags at the grocery store instead of the standard plastic or paper bags | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Avoided using certain products that harm the environment | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Replaced standard light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent light bulbs | 68 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bought product specifically because you thought it was better for the environment | 66 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contributed money to an environmental, conservation or wildlife preservation group | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Voted for or worked for candidates because of their position on environmental issues | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Signed a petition supporting an environmental group or some environmental protection effort | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contacted a public official about an environmental issue | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attended a meeting concerning the environment | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Been active in a group or organization that works to protect the environment | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contacted business to complain about its products because they harm the environment | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bought or sold stocks or mutual funds based on the environmental record of the companies | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each item based on approcimately 600 national adults. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GALLUP, Feb. 17-28, 2020 |
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