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<br />UM's Twin Cities household ecosystem project links consumer behavior to
<br />household pollution
<br />Attitudes toward the environment are not
<br />necessarily good predictors of eco-friendly
<br />environmental behaviors in households,
<br />according to early results of the Twin
<br />Cities Household Ecosystem Project, a
<br />comprehensive household pollution study
<br />spearheaded by Larry Baker, a senior fellow
<br />in the University of Minnesota's Water
<br />Resources Center.
<br />The project, which involved a 22-page
<br />survey of 3,000 urban and suburban house-
<br />holds in Ramsey and Anoka counties--an
<br />area stretching from urban St. Paul neigh-
<br />borhoods to exurban developments-to de-
<br />termine what motivates people's behaviors
<br />related to pollution, is the first of its kind in
<br />terms of scope and scale.
<br />The survey focused on carbon dioxide,
<br />which contributes to global warming, and
<br />nutrients, including nitrogen and phospho-
<br />rus, which contribute to eutrophieation of
<br />surface waters. The questions centered on a
<br />range of behaviors such as household energy
<br />use, recycling, food choices, vehicle use,
<br />vacation habits, pet ownership, and lawn
<br />care practices. To complete the survey,
<br />a team of eight undergraduate students
<br />measured 5,300 trees on a subsample of the
<br />surveyed properties to allow the research-
<br />ers to estimate the annual carbon uptake by
<br />trees in household yards.
<br />"Households are a major source of pollut-
<br />ants in post-industrial cities. The goal of
<br />our study is to understand the connection
<br />between household behaviors and pollution
<br />production," said Baker, an environmental
<br />engineer.
<br />7-he interdisciplinary study includes the
<br />contributions of Sarah Hobbie, an ecologist
<br />and instructor in the University's Depart-
<br />ment of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior;
<br />Kristen Nelson, an environmental sociolo-
<br />gist and assistant professor in the Univer-
<br />sity's Department of Forest Resources; and
<br />University postdoctoral research associate
<br />Cinza Fissore.
<br />"We're finding that general attitudes toward
<br />the environment are not good predictors of
<br />specific environmental behaviors," said Nel-
<br />son. "For example, if someone isn't aware
<br />that fertilizer can impair water quality, they
<br />aren't likely to change their behavior. But
<br />even if they are aware, they may need more
<br />information about what to do to help them
<br />to change their behavior. Even more im-
<br />portantly, they may need to know that their
<br />o~~'n behavior actually makes a difference."
<br />Researchers expect the study to be used to
<br />design policies to reduce pollution, includ-
<br />ing ones that target households that produce
<br />a disproportionate amount of pollution.
<br />The study is funded by the National Science
<br />Foundation's program on Coupled Human-
<br />Natural Systems.
<br />Conference speakers, continued from page 1
<br />Paul Capel, University of Minnesota
<br />Paul Capel Land Use and Water Quality: Lessons from the First Two Decades of the USGS NAWQA
<br />Studies. Dr. Capel works on the Fate and transport of organic chemicals in the em~ironment.
<br />He is a research scientist with the US Geological Survey's Water Resources Division where
<br />he is coordinating a national study on agricultural chemicals and has worked with the Pes-
<br />ticide National Synthesis for the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program.
<br />Major research interests are environmental chemistry, environmental fate and behavior of or-
<br />ganic chemicals, enviromnental chemodynamics, and environmental education. His current
<br />research predominantly focuses on the occurrence, behavior and transport of pesticides in
<br />the hydrologic system (air, surface water, stream sediments, ground water). He is an adjunct
<br />professor in Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota, as well as faculty in the Water
<br />Resources Science Graduate Program, teaching Environmental/Aquatic Chemistry.
<br />Rex Johnson l~i~eclond Drainage and lts Impacts in Minnesota. Dr. Johnson's research career
<br />focuses on the relationships of migratory birds and their habitats at multiple spatial scales,
<br />with a special emphasis on wetland and grassland birds of the North American Prairie Pot-
<br />hole Region (PPR). Since ]998, he has been employed by the Migratory Bird Program of the
<br />U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There he has worked intensively on the systematic integra-
<br />tion of biological planning and monitoring into migratory bird conservation. He works with
<br />migratory bird joint ventures, and the international migratory bird conservation initiatives,
<br />especially the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Since 2000, Dr. Johnson also
<br />has led the Service's Habitat and Population Evaluation Team (HAPET), which provides
<br />scientific decision support to many federal, state, and local agencies working in the PPR.
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<br />Rex Johnson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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<br />September 2009
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