Regional water quality concern and environmental attitudes

Abstract

Water plays a vital role in the functioning of the Earth's ecosystems. Polluted water has a serious impact on all living creatures, including humankind. It can negatively affect every possible aspect of human life: drinking, daily household needs, agricultural production, recreation, transportation, and manufacturing. Water quality problems, like all other environmental issues, are social problems. Attitudes and beliefs about the environment and water influence how water resources are used and underlie the social willingness to respond to water pollution. Efforts to address water quality issues can be better directed when interventions take into account how people think about the environment and frame water concerns. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.