Know Your Neighbors, Save the Planet

We analyze data from the 2010 General Social Survey to illuminate the relationship of social capital with pro-environmental behavior, a willingness to make sacrifices for the environment, and participation in organized environmental activism. Three kinds of social capital are examined: relational social capital, generalized trust, and community social capital. Specifically, we find that time spent with neighbors was positively correlated with both environmental lifestyle and willingness to sacrifice variables, whereas time spent with relatives was negatively correlated. Generalized trust was positively correlated with willingness to sacrifice variables, as well. Social evening spent with friends was associated with a single outcome variable: having attended an environmental issue demonstration. These findings are consistent with previous research concerning the influence of community-level dynamics on behavior, and suggest that social capital may be an important, though as of yet not well explored, mechanism for understanding shifts toward pro-environmental behavior.