Since 2000, Little Change in Commitment to Environment

Despite record amounts of media attention and ever certain science about threats to the environment, Americans’ commitment to taking environmentally sustainable actions remains little changed over the past eight years. In the first of their annual Earth Day survey reports, Gallup finds that only 28% of Americans say that they have made major changes in their lifestyles to protect the environment. This proportion is little changed over the 31% in 2000.

As for the actions that Americans’ consider major lifestyle changes, a strong plurality (39%) report the relatively simple activity of recycling. In all, the results underscore the major communication challenge in shifting public behavior towards meaningful energy conservation.