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Abstract: Environmentalism is increasing among the general public, with more people believing in the severity of anthropogenic climate change and adopting green behaviors. This paper studies the change in levels of environmentalism over time and which individual-level factors—namely, gender, race, and class—play a significant role. Drawing on data from the General Social Survey in the years 1993, 2000, 2010, and 2021, I use factor analysis to develop three components of environmentalism: concern, attitudes, and behavior. Relying on T-tests and linear regression models, I find some evidence that suggests environmentalism has increased in 2021 among both men and women when compared to previous surveyed years. Still, for some variables, women are more likely than men to be environmentally concerned, have positive attitudes toward pro-environmental efforts, and engage in environmentally friendly behavior across all years. Environmentalism is also influenced by race, occupational prestige, education, political affiliation, age, and parenthood status, although there are no interaction effects between race, class, and gender. Contrary to my hypotheses, there are no significant gender differences regarding the belief that climate change is extremely bad for the world, willingness to pay more to protect the environment, or participation in environmental activism. These results imply that while gender may still be a significant predictor of some types of environmentalism, these distinctions are evolving in complex ways.

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