What if 1 in 10 People Changed Habits?

Calculations show individual actions can have a significant climate impact.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The Associated Press looked at four everyday behaviors in the U.S. - food, transportation, home energy, and clothing - and calculated the emissions reductions if just 1 in 10 people made a switch, like swapping beef for chicken, driving an electric vehicle, using an electric heat pump, or buying secondhand clothes. The results show tens to hundreds of billions of pounds of carbon pollution could be avoided annually through small individual changes.

Why it matters

Climate change is often seen as too big for individual action to matter, but these calculations demonstrate that when personal choices add up, the impact can be substantial. Small shifts in common behaviors like eating, driving, heating, and shopping can collectively make a meaningful difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The details

The AP gathered data on the emissions impact of beef production, gasoline vehicles, natural gas furnaces, and new clothing manufacturing. They then calculated the emissions reductions if 1 in 10 Americans who currently engage in those activities switched to lower-carbon alternatives like chicken, electric vehicles, heat pumps, and secondhand clothing. For example, swapping one beef meal per week for chicken could cut 13 billion pounds of CO2 annually, while 1 in 10 households switching from gas to electric heat pumps could avoid 11 billion pounds of CO2.

  • The AP's analysis was published on February 12, 2026.

The players

Dave Gustafson

Project director at Agriculture & Food Systems Institute.

Dillon Fitch-Polse

Professional researcher and co-director of Bicycling Plus Research Collaborative at the University of California, Davis.

Leah Stokes

Associate professor of environment politics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Constance Ulasewicz

Consumer and family studies emeritus faculty and lecturer at San Francisco State University.

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What they’re saying

“Beef is a commonly consumed item that has one of the largest carbon footprints per pound. It is probably one of the largest individual choices that people make with regard to what they eat that has a direct impact on personal carbon footprint.”

— Dave Gustafson, Project director at Agriculture & Food Systems Institute

“If a large percentage of people changed a little bit of their travel, then all of a sudden the benefits are huge.”

— Dillon Fitch-Polse, Professional researcher and co-director of Bicycling Plus Research Collaborative at the University of California, Davis

“People's homes are kind of like little fossil fuel power plants that people operate, and they just don't realize that's what they're doing. That's really the collective action thing is for people to understand that there is fossil fuel infrastructure right under their noses in their own homes.”

— Leah Stokes, Associate professor of environment politics at the University of California, Santa Barbara

“What you can do is not throw in the trash. So it's repairing your clothing so you can extend the life, and buying from a secondhand store.”

— Constance Ulasewicz, Consumer and family studies emeritus faculty and lecturer at San Francisco State University

What’s next

None specified.

The takeaway

While no single individual action can solve climate change, these calculations show that if millions of people make small, sustainable changes to their daily habits, the collective impact can be substantial. By rethinking common behaviors like eating, transportation, home energy, and shopping, people can significantly reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to broader emissions reductions.