How does Perception of the Environment Relate to the Transport Choices of the General Public?
How do environmental matters affect peoples choice of action? Is a strong message about the impacts of climate change or local air pollution going to be enough to pursuade people to "do their bit"? Whilst it may be unlikely that environmental matters alone are sufficient to promote a change of behaviour in most people, it may be that they either help to justify measures and policies put in place to restrict people’s behaviour or add weight to positive measures incentivising sustainable transport options.
Whilst the current focus on Climate Change is understandable in the light of current claims that Climate Change poses a bigger threat than global terrorism (Guardian 12 June 2006), how does the public relate to a threat where the worst consequences are dislocated in both space and time? And in particular, how do the threats posed by climate change compare with those posed by other risks related to choice of transport option that are experienced much more in the here and now, such as road safety, noise pollution and, of most relevance here, conventional air pollution?
If current public understanding of air pollution doesn’t lead to modified behaviour, how could the air pollution community improve the message?