Environmental Concern and Environmental Behavior in Foley, a Small Town in Minnesota

Examined households' and individuals' environmental behavior (EB) to explore motives for environmental actions and to identify major impediments to changed EB. 39 adults from 10 households with high environmental activity (EA) and 10 households with low EA were selected from among 140 respondents to a community-wide questionnaire. Four supplemental informants also participated. Research methodology was qualitative: ethnographic interviews. Ss cited a wide variety of reasons for changing EB. This reflects the difficulties in identifying the factors that determine EB. Five groups of conservers were identified: the Depression generation, children of the Depression generation, the Vietnam generation, role models, and gradual evolvers. Among nonconservers, 3 reasons for not taking environmental actions emerged: lack of time, no monetary reward, and inconvenience. Thus, a variety of measures and strategies must be developed to change people's EB.