Less People Thinking “Green”

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By US Daily Review Staff.

If you think we are talking about money when we say “thinking green,” you are off. The green that was a subject of a recent poll pertains to the environmental movement. Financial hardships over the last few years are causing different priorities.

Since the summer of 2009, the Harris Poll has been tracking Americans’ attitudes toward the environment as well as their engagement in various environmentally-friendly, or “green,” behaviors. The latest installment finds that many green behaviors, including those capable of saving consumers money, continue to decline. And perhaps more alarming, considerably fewer U.S. adults now express concern for, and awareness of, environmental issues.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,451 U.S. adults (ages 18 and over), surveyed online between March 12 and March 19, 2012 by Harris Interactive.

Since these questions were first asked in 2009 there has been a decline in some green behaviors. In 2012, U.S. adults are now less likely to do each of the following in their daily life:

Reuse things they have instead of throwing them away or buying new items (65% 2009 vs. 61% 2012);
Make an effort to use less water (60% 2009 vs. 57% 2010 and 2012);
Buy food in bulk (33% 2009 vs. 30% 2012);
Purchase all-natural products (18% 2009 vs. 16% 2012); and,
Purchase organic products (17% 2009 vs. 15% 2010 and 2012).

They are also less likely to espouse certain green attitudes – fewer Americans describe themselves as “environmentally-conscious” (27% 2012 vs. 30% 2009), or say they personally care a great deal about the current state, and future, of the environment (31% 2012 vs. 36% 2009 and 34% 2010).

Most significantly, in 2012, only about 1 in 3 U.S. adults (34%) say they are concerned about the planet we are leaving behind for future generations – an almost 10 percentage point decrease since 2009 (43%).

At the same time, however, a minority of Americans – more so than in 2009 – continue to describe themselves as:

Conservationist (20% 2012 and 2010 vs. 17% 2009);
“Green” (17% 2012 and 18% 2010 vs. 13% 2009); and,
Environmentalist (16% 2012 and 2010 vs. 13% 2009).

So What?
Over the past few years, more pressing issues such as health care reform, economic recovery, and the upcoming presidential election have eclipsed discussions about the environment, so perhaps it is not very surprising that these latest Harris Pollresults continue to show a decline in “green” attitudes and behaviors. Unfortunately for consumers, some of the “green” behaviors they fail to adopt – such as buying food in bulk – could be saving them money, while others – such as recycling – could help us leave behind a cleaner, more sustainable future for our grandchildren. There may be a silver lining though, if the group of Americans who express the strongest commitment to the environment is a vocal and highly engaged minority.

TABLE 1A FREQUENCY OF VARIOUS GREEN BEHAVIORS “How often do you do each of the following in your daily life?”
Base: All adults
	Always/ Often (NET)	Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely/ Never (NET)	Rarely	Never
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Keep unneeded lights off or turn lights off when leaving a room	81	46	35	13	6	2	4
Recycle	68	43	25	17	15	8	7
Reuse things that I have instead of throwing them away or buying new items	61	23	38	25	14	7	6
Make an effort to use less water	57	25	32	28	15	8	7
Unplug electrical appliances when I am not using them	43	17	26	27	30	16	14
Purchase locally grown produce	36	6	30	43	21	12	9
Buy food in bulk	30	8	23	37	32	20	12
Purchase locally manufactured products	24	4	20	48	27	18	9
Purchase used items rather than new	23	5	18	38	39	24	14
Compost food and organic waste	18	9	9	15	67	16	51
Carpool or take public transportation	17	6	11	18	65	22	44
Purchase all-natural products	16	4	13	41	43	27	15
Walk or ride a bike instead of driving or using public transportation	16	6	10	21	62	25	37
Purchase organic products	15	3	12	37	48	27	21
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 1B FREQUENCY OF VARIOUS GREEN BEHAVIORS “How often do you do each of the following in your daily life?” Summary of those saying “Always” or “Often”
Base: All adults
	2009 Total	2010 Total	2012 Total
	%	%	%
Keep unneeded lights off or turn lights off when leaving a room	83	81	81
Recycle	68	68	68
Reuse things that I have instead of throwing them away or buying new items	65	63	61
Make an effort to use less water	60	57	57
Unplug electrical appliances when I am not using them	40	39	43
Purchase locally grown produce	39	33	36
Buy food in bulk	33	32	30
Purchase locally manufactured products	26	23	24
Purchase used items rather than new	25	24	23
Compost food and organic waste	17	15	18
Carpool or take public transportation	16	16	17
Purchase all-natural products	18	16	16
Walk or ride a bike instead of driving or using public transportation	15	15	16
Purchase organic products	17	15	15
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2A ENVIRONMENTAL LABELS “To what extent, if any, does each of the following statements describe you?”
Base: All adults
	Very well/ Completely (NET)	Completely	Very well	Fairly well	Somewhat well/Does not describe me (NET)	Somewhat well	Does not describe me at all
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
I am concerned about the planet we are leaving behind for future generations.	34	12	22	27	39	26	13
I personally care a great deal about the current state, and future, of the environment.	31	11	19	29	40	28	12
I feel a personal responsibility for taking care of the environment.	27	9	18	27	46	30	16
I am environmentally-conscious.	27	9	18	33	40	28	12
I encourage others to be more environmentally-friendly.	24	9	15	28	48	27	21
I am a conservationist.	20	6	14	24	56	30	25
I am “green”.	17	5	11	25	59	31	27
I am an environmentalist.	16	6	10	21	63	27	36
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

TABLE 2B ENVIRONMENTAL LABELS “To what extent, if any, does each of the following statements describe you?” Summary of those saying “Very well” or “Completely”
Base: All adults
	2009 Total	2010 Total	2012 Total
	%	%	%
I am concerned about the planet we are leaving behind for future generations.	43	36	34
I personally care a great deal about the current state, and future, of the environment.	36	34	31
I feel a personal responsibility for taking care of the environment.	29	29	27
I am environmentally-conscious.	30	29	27
I encourage others to be more environmentally-friendly.	26	25	24
I am a conservationist.	17	20	20
I am “green”.	13	18	17
I am an environmentalist.	13	16	16
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.