Americans’ Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming

The report details American adults' engagement in conservation activities, such as turning off lights and recycling, and their levels of consumer and citizen activism regarding global warming. It highlights a gap between the perceived importance of these actions and actual behavior, while tracking trends in the adoption of energy-efficient lighting and intentions to increase conservation efforts over the following year.

• Turning off lights when not needed is the most common household conservation behavior, with 57% of respondents doing so 'Always' and 33% 'Often' in June 2010.
• There is a significant disparity in the use of public transportation or carpooling, with 40% of respondents reporting they 'Never' engage in this behavior as of June 2010.
• A majority of Americans have adopted energy-efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) to some degree; 14% report 'All' bulbs in their home are CFLs and 38% report 'Most' are CFLs in June 2010.
• While many view conservation as important, actual engagement varies; for example, 67% of respondents consider turning off lights 'Very important', and 53% consider recycling everything possible 'Very important'.
• Consumer activism remains low in practice, with 67% of respondents stating they 'Never' rewarded companies taking steps to reduce global warming by buying their products in the past 12 months.
• Direct citizen engagement with government officials regarding global warming is rare, with 89% of respondents reporting they 'Never' wrote letters, emailed, or phoned officials in the past 12 months.

APA

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Smith, N. (2010). Americans’ Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/June-2010-Americans-Actions-to-Conserve-Energy-Reduce-Waste-and-Limit-Global-Warming.pdf

Chicago

Leiserowitz, Anthony, Edward Maibach, Connie Roser-Renouf, and Nicholas Smith. Americans’ Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2010. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/June-2010-Americans-Actions-to-Conserve-Energy-Reduce-Waste-and-Limit-Global-Warming.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Leiserowitz |first1=Anthony |last2=Maibach |first2=Edward |last3=Roser-Renouf |first3=Connie |last4=Smith |first4=Nicholas |title=Americans’ Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=June 2010 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/June-2010-Americans-Actions-to-Conserve-Energy-Reduce-Waste-and-Limit-Global-Warming.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leiserowitz2010americans, author = {Leiserowitz, Anthony and Maibach, Edward and Roser-Renouf, Connie and Smith, Nicholas}, title = {{Americans’ Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2010}, month = jun, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/June-2010-Americans-Actions-to-Conserve-Energy-Reduce-Waste-and-Limit-Global-Warming.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }