Resource Type: Social Science Research

Don’t necessarily assume that climate hawks are actually doing much about the environment in their personal lives. Those highly concerned about climate change may be more supportive of government climate policies, but less likely to take personal actions such as recycling, using public transit, buying environmentally friendly consumer products, and using reusable shopping bags, as compared to those skeptical or indifferent about climate change.

The authors of this paper seek to clarify how African-Americans and Hispanics differ from Anglos when it comes to pro-environmental orientations, measured via a battery of questions about environmental and climate concern. Using a 2016 online survey, weighted to reflect the 2010 US Census for gender and race, the authors found that Hispanics reported higher environmental/climate beliefs than Anglos, with African-Americans in between. However, there were no significant differences among the three groups when it came to knowledge of pro-environmental behaviors, risk perceptions from climate change, or pro-environmental behavioral intentions.