Factors Preventing Environmental Behaviours - Essay Example

The factors that Prevent People from Engaging in Proenvironmental Behaviours Introduction The field of environmental psychology, which was first developed during the mid 1900s, explores the wide range of the interactions that take place between the environment and humans. The field is very diverse and broad; it explores the psychological basis of environmental protection and degradation, as well as the relationship between pro-environmental behaviours and the attitudes developed about the environment (Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002). Over the past three to four decades, many sociologists and psychologists have studied the roots of direct and indirect human interactions with the environment. Through the review environmental psychology, this paper will explore the factors that restrain people from engaging in proenvironmental behaviours (Climate Change Communication Advisory Group, 2010). Examples of proenvironmental behaviours include minimizing the consumption of energy and resource; reducing waste production and limiting the use of toxic substances (Gifford, 2007). The factors limiting people from engaging in proenvironmental behaviour Climate Change Scientists around the globe have been championing for the substitution or the halting of the activities that lead to climate change, including the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The impacts of these activities, which trigger increased climate change, have been communicated to communities widely (Naser, 2012). The unwillingness to adopt the behaviours that help in combating climate change, which is evident from the unwillingness to engage in proenvironmental behaviours can be attributed to a number of factors (Patchen, 2006). The factors include that proenvironmental behaviours have not been presented with reference to the social norms of society, which would make the new behaviours the norm (De Young, 2013). Another factor limiting the adoption of proenvironmental behaviours is that, the developers of corrective policies and measures have not been matched with a proper understanding of the underlying attitudes and behaviours, as well as their bases (Schultz, et al., 2007). The personal, pro-environmental behaviours that are encouraged by environmental protection agencies include reducing domestic energy consumption and maintaining higher fuel standards for cars. In the context of reducing climate change, people are discouraged from adopting proenvironmental behaviours by their perception of social and personal risks; they associate the adoption of the behaviour changes to discomfort and risk (Bamberg & and Schmidt, 2003). For example, encouraging people to reduce their domestic energy consumption is likely to become counterproductive, because the foreseen social and personal risks of doing so may appear very expensive (Patchen, 2006). In this case, reducing the consumption of the electricity used for heating the home is likely to present the threat of catching cold or other diseases, which is more threatening than the perceived effect of climate change (McAdam, 2010). The risks of behaviour change in relation to maintaining higher fuel standards for the people living in bad terrain are likely to challenge the adoption of proenvironmental behaviours (Bamberg & and Schmidt, 2003). This is because; these people are inclined to prefer high-fuel consuming vehicles for their daily use. Due to the conflict of priorities, it is likely that they will trade-off their commitment to environmental protection, with the prevention of the risks related bad roads. In the different cases, it has been demonstrated that the topic of climate change has been counterproductive, because the behaviour changes proposed have not been framed to benefit the individual and the social fabric as a whole (Patchen, 2006). Population The second factor preventing people from engaging in proenvironmental behaviours is population explosion (Engelman, 2009). Some of the behaviours that are not proenvironmental, which people are forced to engage in, by the pressure of increasing population include scrambling for water resources. For example, the UN projects that there will be, over 4 billion people living in the countries classified as water-stressed, which is higher than the 2008-09 figure of half a billion (Engelman, 2009). Explosive population increases the competition for water resources and land, due to the fact that the huge population will need land for farming, construction and grazing. The effect of the scramble for the limited land and water resources leads to increased deforestation, in the population’s efforts to clear land faming and organizing other production resources. Some of the human activities that will signify an increase in the adoption of environmentally degrading behaviour will include the destruction of plant life, which is among the pillars of a stable eco-balance. The second behaviour will be the destruction of the habitats of water and wild animals, which destabilizes the food supply chain and the balance of the ecosystem (Engelman, 2009). Thirdly, the depletion of forests for triggers the loss of water resources, which is likely to contribute to further environmental imbalance. Population increase is accompanied by increases in the consumption of energy resources, some of which cause pollution. For example, population increase leads to an increase in the production of carbon dioxide, due to the increased demand for manufactured products (Engelman, 2009). Some of the human behaviours that evidence unwillingness to adopt proenvironmental behaviour include the increasing problem of traffic congestion, following the increased affordability of vehicles, despite the fact that public transport offers the same benefits (McKee, et al., 2003). Resource Depletion The continued growth of human populations leads to an intensification of material consumption and the expansion of production technology. The effects of these changes include the reduction of the quantity and the quality of environmental resources (Vlek & Steg, 2007). The depletion of different resources holds the potential of channelling the demand for resources high, which increases the probability of adopting behaviours that are not environment friendly (MacDonald, 2010). Examples of such behaviours include those of risking water and land resources, following the heightened demand for oil resources, which is evident from the ocean-bed drilling of oil. Case examples of the environment-threatening behaviours that have been triggered by the increased scarcity and the depletion of oil resources from surface wells include the pollution of air, water and lands during the Exxon Valdez incident and the BP oil spill (NOAA, 2011). One example of a loop of resource depletion, which is increasing the adoption of environment degrading behaviours leading to the depletion of other resources is that of Arizona. The exhaustive use of the water resources of the region have led to a decline in the water table, which calls for the usage of more oil or electric energy to pump the available water from the ground (Fitzpatrick, 2008). The need for extra power for pumping water from the ground has forced the residents to cause more pollution and to become more wasteful (Lonergan, 1998). Pollution Dirty water is the number one health risk of the modern society, which is a threat to the public and the sustenance of quality life. The pollution-causing dirt is drawn during the flow of rain and snow run-off from higher grounds to rivers and lakes. The unavailability of clean drinking water is leading to the adoption of human behaviours that undermine environmental conservation (NRDC, 2014). Some of the environment-threatening behaviours include the drilling of underground water, which leads to the decline of the water table. The pollution of water masses leads to their neglect, which encourages the people living around the water masses to use them as waste disposal grounds (Ragab & Prudhomme, 2002). The increasing scarcity of clean water resources leads to the adoption of environment threatening behaviours, including those of scrambling for the available water, which threatens the sustainability of aquatic life (Kuponiyi, 2001). The insufficiency of water resources and the pollution of clean water resources have led to the destabilization of sensitive habitats like wetlands (Ragab & Prudhomme, 2002). Species Extinction (loss of biodiversity) The loss of biodiversity is most times addressed through biodiversity offsetting. However, species extinction is likely to encourage behaviours that are threatening to the ecological balance of a region. Some of these adverse human behaviours include the disregard of the offset site, after the impact site is used for development purposes (Bull, 2013). The second adverse behaviour is that the companies or the individuals interested in developing some areas of biodiversity interest start campaigns to discredit the value of the current biodiversity (Kotiaho, et al., 2005). The effect is that the area proposed to possess higher biodiversity value is often, not as valuable as it was proposed; such a program affects the ecological balance negatively. The loss of certain food species is, often, followed by the adoption of the behaviours of hunting for similar animals, for the uses served by the extinct species (Ehrenfeld, 2010). This case is evident from the hunting patterns of slow-moving animals and flightless birds, which are hunted for food, after more edible or preferred species become scarcer (Ishwaran & Erdelen, 2005). Aesthetics Engineering and construction projects are among the most common activities in the rapidly developing 21st century society. For example, road construction projects are likely to improve the aesthetic value of an area, but at the same time lead to irreparable environmental damage. For example road construction excavations leave bare, steep slopes, which become more vulnerable to soil erosion (Transport SA, 2001). The soil erosion that takes place at these construction sites is likely to cause water pollution downstream. For this reason, the human activities of engineering and construction should incorporate environmental protection into the search for functional and aesthetic value (Harris & McCaffer, 2013). Conclusion Environmental psychology explores the relationship between humans and their environment. Through this paper, the factors limiting the adoption of proenvironmental behaviours will be explored. These factors include the unclear nature of climate change issues, population explosion, resource depletion, pollution, species extinction and aesthetics. 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