Many environmental organizations make a fuss about Earth Day, held every year on April 22. It’s a day for calling for the protection of the Earth and its environment. But there is little to indicate over 40 years’ of these events have had much noticeable effect on protecting the environment.
Americans place less importance on environmental issues than they did in 1971, a year after Earth Day was established, according to a new Huffington Post /YouGov poll. But the poll also finds that more Americans are taking some steps to protect the environment, such as cutting down on electricity use, eating organic foods and recycling.
For Earth Day this year, The Huffington Post and its polling partner YouGov assessed how environmental attitudes and behaviors have changed since the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 by repeating questions that were originally asked on two 1971 surveys.
Half of Americans in 2013, compared to only a fifth in 1971, said they had cut down on electricity use, and Americans were more likely to say that they had eaten organic food in 2013 than in 1971. Although only 16 percent of Americans now say that they’ve stopped using disposable paper and plastic products, that’s double the 8 percent who said they had done so in 1971.
Reported recycling levels also appear to have gone up, although the new survey posed the question slightly differently than the 1971 survey, asking how often respondents saved any items for recycling rather than how often they saved individual materials like newspapers or glass bottles. In 1971, 26 percent of Americans said they saved newspapers or magazines for recycling, 19 percent saved glass bottles and 11 percent saved cans. In 2013, 79 percent of Americans report saving those or other items for recycling.
For a full assessment of the poll, check HERE
Check out Earth Day Network to see various programs you can get involved in not just on Earth Day but all through the year.
