Comparing the effectiveness of education and technology in reducing wood smoke pollution: A field experiment

• Published in: Journal of environmental psychology 2011-12, Vol.31 (4), p.282-288
• Main Authors: Hine, Donald W., Bhullar, Navjot, Marks, Anthony D.G., Kelly, Patricia, Scott, John G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air quality; Applied psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Community psychology; Emission; Environment. Ecology; Environmental Education; Environmentally responsible behavior; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health risks; Households; Perceptions; Pollution; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Risk perception
• ISSN: 0272-4944; 1522-9610
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2011.05.003

This study describes a field experiment assessing the effectiveness of education and technological innovation in reducing air pollution generated by domestic wood heaters. Two-hundred and twenty four households from a small regional center in Australia were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: (1) Education only – households received a wood smoke reduction education pack containing information about the negative health impacts of wood smoke pollution, and advice about wood heater operation and firewood management; (2) SmartBurn only – households received a SmartBurn canister designed to improve combustion and help wood fires burn more efficiently, (3) Education and SmartBurn, and (4) neither Education nor SmartBurn (control). Analysis of covariance, controlling for pre-intervention household wood smoke emissions, wood moisture content, and wood heater age, revealed that education and SmartBurn were both associated with significant reduction in wood smoke emissions during the post-intervention period. Follow-up mediation analyses indicated that education reduced emissions by improving wood heater operation practices, but not by increasing health risk perceptions. As predicted, SmartBurn exerted a direct effect on emission levels, unmediated by wood heater operation practices or health risk perceptions. ► Education and SmartBurn canisters both reduced household wood smoke emissions. ► Education reduced emissions indirectly through improved wood heater operation practices. ► SmartBurn directly reduced emissions, unmediated by wood heater operation.