Population change and environmental degradation have become two of the most pressing issues for sustainable development in the contemporary world, while the effect of population aging on pro-environmental behavior remains controversial. In this paper, we examine the effects of individual and population aging on pro-environmental behavior through multilevel analyses of cross-national data from 31 countries. Hierarchical linear models with random intercepts are employed to analyze the data. The findings reveal a positive relationship between aging and pro-environmental behavior. At the individual level, older people are more likely to participate in environmental behavior (b = 0.052, p < 0.001), and at the national level, living in a country with a greater share of older persons encourages individuals to behave sustainably (b = 0.023, p < 0.01). We also found that the elderly are more environmentally active in an aging society. The findings imply that the longevity of human beings may offer opportunities for the improvement of the natural environment.

Existing cross-national studies have identified that country-level economic and environmental factors can affect environmental concern at the individual-level. However, we know little in regard to how these contextual factors and their interaction with individual-level factors shape environmental concern within countries. Using China as an example, we examine three hypotheses: the affluence hypothesis, the degradation hypothesis, and the need contingency hypothesis. We measure environmental concern in three dimensions using twelve indicators. The latent mean comparison and multilevel structural equation modeling results show that provincial economic development and environmental degradation as well as their interactions with individual social-economic status have significant impacts on one’s environmental concern. Such impacts vary by the dimension of environmental concern. People from provinces with better economic conditions generally have higher environmental concern, especially for the perceived dangerousness of pollution and environmental behavior dimensions. The degradation hypothesis receives mixed support that depends on the measure of environmental degradation. Theoretical and methodological contributions as well as policy implications are discussed.

The production and burning of fossil fuels is the primary contributor to CO₂ emissions for the U.S. We assess the impact of producing coal, crude oil, and natural gas on the environment and economic well-being by analyzing state-level data from 2001 to 2015. Our findings show that coal production has led to more CO₂ emissions and no significant benefit to economic well-being. Crude oil production has a non-significant impact on CO₂ emissions but is related to a lower poverty rate, a higher median household income, and a higher employment rate. Natural gas withdrawals have a positive impact on median household income. We discuss these findings in the context of current U.S. energy policies and then provide directions for future research.

We compare environmental concern between people in the United States and China by analyzing two General Social Surveys carried out in 2010. The two surveys have the same questions about the environment that have been answered by national probability samples of respondents from each country. This study serves as a starting point to understand variation in environmental concern between these two countries that have major global environmental impacts. Our hypotheses draw on the measurement hypothesis and the theory of planned behavior. We found the Chinese report higher environmental concern when measured as environmental sacrifice and perceived dangerousness, whereas the Americans reported a greater frequency of pro-environmental behaviors. Results from structural equation modeling show that the connections between sociodemographic predictors and environmental concern vary depending on the dimension of environmental concern being examined. We discuss these findings in the context of existing literature and factors unique to each country.

Manatee. Feng's research interests include the interactions between human society and natural environment, employing multiple methods to analyze the anthropogenic ecological impact, public opinion about the environment, and the environmental movement. Contact can be directed to Feng at