Environmental concern among householders is widespread and growing, according to a study undertaken for the Department of the Environment(*). A representative sample of 103 was interviewed for the study.
It was found that understanding of environmental issues is patchy, although domestic energy has registered with few people as a source of environmental problems. The report says that individuals often feel that what they personally do in their own homes is not significant. Many are concerned about global warming, but they neither understand the carbon dioxide mechanism, nor connect it with using energy in the home.
Most people are inclined to believe the environmental threats which they hear in the media, the report says. Such stories are not only ubiquitous but many are also now endorsed by governments and official sources. Frightening events like Chernobyl make people more ready to believe that disaster lurks, shaking their faith that authorities and experts are safely in control.
The notion of “energy efficiency” should be made more real, the report concludes. The possibility of making major savings (financial and environmental) through more efficient equipment and better insulation of the house fabric needs to be communicated. “There may be scope for trying to establish an ‘energy-efficient life-style’ as a social norm, rather than just trying to communicate the nuts and bolts of insulation.”
(*) Attitudes to energy conservation in the home. HMSO £10.
