Unconventional Shale Gas Development, Risk Perceptions, and Averting Behavior: Evidence from Bottled Water Purchases

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas H. Wrenn ◽  
H. Allen Klaiber ◽  
Edward C. Jaenicke
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Bottled Water ◽  
Averting Behavior ◽  
Development Risk

scholarly journals Detecting community response to water quality violations using bottled water sales

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (42) ◽  
pp. 20917-20922
Author(s):  
Maura Allaire ◽  
Taylor Mackay ◽  
Shuyan Zheng ◽  
Upmanu Lall
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Bottled Water ◽  
Water Contaminants ◽  
Averting Behavior ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
Public Notification

Drinking-water contaminants pose a risk to public health. When confronted with elevated levels of contaminants, individuals can take actions to reduce exposure. Yet, few studies address averting behavior due to impaired water, particularly in high-income countries. This is a problem of national interest, given that 9 million to 45 million people have been affected by water quality violations in each of the past 34 years. No national analysis has focused on the extent to which communities reduce exposure to contaminated drinking water. Here, we present an assessment that sheds light on how communities across the United States respond to violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, using consumer purchases of bottled water. This study provides insight into how averting behavior differs across violation types and community demographics. We estimate the change in sales due to water quality violations, using a panel dataset of weekly sales and violation records in 2,151 counties from 2006 to 2015. Critical findings show that violations which pose an immediate health risk are associated with a 14% increase in bottled water sales. Generally, greater averting action is taken against contaminants that might pose a greater perceived health risk and that require more immediate public notification. Rural, low-income communities do not take significant averting action for elevated levels of nitrate, yet experience a higher prevalence of nitrate violations. Findings can inform improvements in public notification and targeting of technical assistance from state regulators and public health agencies in order to reduce community exposure to contaminants.

scholarly journals Drinking water in West Virginia (USA): tap water or bottled water – what is the right choice for college students?

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 827-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Germain Levêque ◽  
Robert Clyde Burns
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
West Virginia ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Research University ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Bottled Water ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
At Home

Abstract West Virginia has had a history of water quality issues. In parallel, the world is facing a plastic pollution crisis. In order to better understand behavioral responses to perceived water quality, a survey was conducted at a major research university to ask participants about water quality perceptions and drinking water behaviors. A total of 4,188 students completed the survey during the Spring 2017 semester. Logistic regression analyses were used to predict behaviors. Results indicated that a third of the student population primarily used bottled water for drinking purposes at home, while 39% used a filter at home and 26% drank water directly from the tap. On campus, bottled water use was reported by 36% of the students, water fountain use represented 31%, and 29% of the students brought their own water with reusable cups/bottles. Health risk perceptions, organoleptic perceptions (i.e., taste, odor, color), and environmental concern were predictors of the different behaviors. Students originally from West Virginia had a higher propensity of using bottled water. We argue that bottled water consumption should be reduced in areas where water quality is not an issue. In this sense, there is a need for education among the student population in West Virginia.

Endogeneity of Risk Perceptions in Averting Behavior Models

2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Lloyd-Smith ◽  
Craig Schram ◽  
Wiktor Adamowicz ◽  
Diane Dupont
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Averting Behavior ◽  
Behavior Models

The politics of Asian fracking: Public risk perceptions towards shale gas development in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 46-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huimin Tan ◽  
Jianhua Xu ◽  
Gabrielle Wong-Parodi
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Public Risk

Bottled water versus tap water

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 654-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Christopher Graydon ◽  
Paola Andrea Gonzalez ◽  
Abdiel Elias Laureano-Rosario ◽  
Guillermo Reginald Pradieu
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Bottled Water ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage

Purpose Bottled water consumption continues to break records worldwide and its environmental impact is often underestimated by the consumer. Many factors affect individuals’ choices to consume tap water and bottled water including perceived health risks and water quality. The University of South Florida (USF) has joined a nationwide initiative to become carbon-neutral, and reducing bottled water consumption was a chosen strategy. The purpose of this study was to assess the risk perceptions and drinking water choices of the USF-Tampa campus community. Design/methodology/approach A sample of 561 students, faculty and staff members responded to an online survey. The survey contained questions about the use of bottled water and tap water, reusable water bottles, risk perceptions and demographics. Findings The results revealed that certain groups – undergraduate students and ethnic/racial minorities (e.g. black/African American, Hispanic/Latino) – drank significantly more bottled water. Among political ideologies, Liberals drank the least bottled water. Females and minorities had significantly greater risk perceptions of the tap water on campus. Important perceived benefits were tap water being less expensive and better for the environment than bottled water. Important perceived barriers were poor tasting tap water and the desire for filtered water. Originality/value The findings suggest the need for public health campaigns to increase awareness of health, environmental and financial consequences of bottled water consumption. Such campaigns should aim to discourage bottled water and any potential increased sugar-sweetened beverage consumption while promoting tap water consumption.

scholarly journals UK public perceptions of shale gas hydraulic fracturing: The role of audience, message and contextual factors on risk perceptions and policy support

2015 ◽  
Vol 160 ◽  
pp. 419-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Whitmarsh ◽  
Nick Nash ◽  
Paul Upham ◽  
Alyson Lloyd ◽  
James P. Verdon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Policy Support

scholarly journals The Psychological Process of Residents’ Acceptance of Local Shale Gas Exploitation in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liuyang Yao ◽  
Dangchen Sui ◽  
Xiaotong Liu ◽  
Hui Fan
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Psychological Process ◽  
Perceived Fairness ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Risk And Benefit

Local communities and their opinion on shale gas exploitation (SGE) play an essential role in the implementation of energy policies, while little is known about the reasoning process underpinning the acceptance of SGE. The present study develops a conceptual framework to examine the psychological process of residents’ acceptance of local SGE, in which the impacts of trust, knowledge, and fairness are mediated by risk and benefit perceptions. Structural equation modeling has been applied to analyze the hypothesized relationships based on a dataset of 825 households in China’s largest shale gas field. Our results indicate that residents’ perceived fairness and trust positively affect their benefit perceptions and negatively affect their risk perceptions, which results in positive influences on acceptance, and knowledge of SGE’s environmental impacts positively affects perceived risks, which results in a negative influence on acceptance. Moreover, residents’ acceptance is primarily determined by their benefit perception, followed by perceived fairness, and knowledge is the least important determinant. Thus, our study contributes to the literature by exploring the structural relationships between various psychological predictors and the acceptance toward SGE, and the results from our empirical survey provide insight into designing appropriate strategies in the process of generating and communicating shale policies.

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