Thinking Globally and Acting Locally?: Environmental Attitudes, Behaviour and Activism

Using data gathered from a 1992 national study of American public environmental attitudes and behavior, this paper empirically investigates the link between attitudes and self-reported behaviors regarding the environment. Findings suggest that attitude intensity is correlated with self-reported environmental behavior and political activism in environmental issues, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Respondents with environmentally protective attitudes report they are indeed “thinking globally and acting locally”. Additional findings suggest that women are significantly more likely than men to participate in environmentally protective behaviors and policy issues, and the gender difference in behavior appears to be greatest among older adults.