New Year's resolution: Shed carbon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three-quarters of Americans, the world's largest polluters, plan to be more environmentally responsible in 2008 by reducing household energy or recycling more, a survey showed on Monday.

Half of those polled said they would make a "green" New Year's resolution, according to the survey by GfK Roper and commissioned by marketing consultancy Tiller LLC.

Two-thirds of Americans plan to cut their use of household chemicals, while 42 percent said they would take reusable fabric bags to the supermarket to reduce the use of plastic bags.

"When it comes to life choices, green is clearly a primary color. Americans are viewing the environmental impact of their actions with increased responsibility and deliberation," said Rob Densen, chief executive of Tiller.

But Densen added: "New Year's resolutions being what they are, let's hope that Americans are more successful at reducing waste and energy consumption than we are at reducing our waistlines."

The telephone survey of 1,004 adults was conducted between December 7 and December 9. The margin for error is plus or minus 3.0 percent.

The United States has faced criticism abroad for refusing to sign on to the Kyoto climate change agreement and for its fossil-fuel consuming habits. But Washington agreed last week to be part of international negotiations on a new pact to fight global warming that will follow Kyoto beyond 2012.

U.N. climate experts say that warming, blamed mainly on greenhouse gases emitted by burning fossil fuels, will bring more drought, heat waves, floods and rising seas.

The survey found one-third of respondents felt guilty in recent years about not living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. "Guilt is not going to save the environment, but at least it's a step in the right direction," Densen said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by Philip Barbara)