Behavioral Attitudes towards Water Conservation and Re-use among the United States Public

摘要

Water scarcity is among the most pressing environmental problems of the 21st century. In the United States, almost half of the country is experiencing moderate to extreme droughts with the western part being the most severely hit. Water conservation behavior has emerged as an important solution to water scarcity. While many studies investigated the behavioral aspects of environmental concern, little is known about the links between pro-environmental behavior and water conservation attitude. Using the 2010 General Social Survey (GSS) in the United States, this study answers two questions. First, what is the relationship between socio-economic characteristics and pro-environmental behavior? Second, is there a relationship between pro-environmental behavior and water conservation attitudes? Regression analysis revealed that while socio-economic characteristics did not significantly predict water conservation behavior, pro-environmental behavior emerged as a significant predictor. People who were pro-environmental had greater tendency to conserve water compared to those who were not.