Writing it down: suggestions for a new approach towards understanding pro-environmental behaviour

A fashionable field of enquiry – the relationship between expressed attitudes and actual behaviour in the context of sustainable development – is complex (Staats et al. 2004 Staats, H, Harland, P and Wilke, H. 2004. Effecting durable change: a team approach to improve environmental behaviour in the household. Environ Behav., 36(3): 341–367. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and difficult to apply in a policy-relevant manner (Aall and Norland 2005 Aall, C and Norland, I. 2005. The use of the ecological footprint in local politics and administration: results and implications from Norway. Local Environ., 10(2): 159–172. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). However, recent research indicates that the use of a household diary can be beneficial in helping to quantify household environmental impact, in educating householders about their impact, and in identifying major ‘behavioural turning points’, where householders may focus efforts to reduce their environmental impact (Hunter et al. 2006 Hunter, C, Carmichael, K and Pangbourne, K. 2006. Household ecological footprinting using a new diary-based data-gathering approach. Local Environ, 11(3): 307–327. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). In other words, the use of a diary by householders is a potentially powerful tool in encouraging and facilitating desired behavioural change. This paper reports on the initial findings of an innovative study that assessed the use of a household diary approach as a means of framing and collecting household environmental data and, critically, as an educational vehicle for bringing about behavioural change. Based on the initial findings, it is clear that there is some potential to develop practical policy measures that empower householders by allowing them to better grasp their environmental impact and, consequently, recoup positive implications in terms of financial savings (e.g. reducing the amount of food thrown out) and health benefits (e.g. more walking/cycling).     

Book Reviews

HUMIC SUBSTANCES by G.G. Choudhry. 185 pp. University of Amsterdam Gordon & Breach Science Publishers: New York, London, Paris. $44. ISBN 0-677-06440-3

ENERGY AND CHEMISTRY Edited by R. Thompson. Royal Society of Chemistry, 1981. Special Publication No. 41, 359pp., £11.50, Soft Cover ISBN 0-85186-845-2.

SALT MARSH ECOLOGY Tertiary Level Biology Series by Steven P. Long and Christopher F. Mason. 160 pp. Blackie: Glasgow, 1983. Limp £7.95, Cased £16.95. ISBN 0-216-91439-6 ISBN 0-216-91438-8 Pbk.     

Synthesis and application of titanium dioxide photocatalysis for energy,decontamination and viral disinfection: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Global pollution is calling for advanced methods to remove contaminants from water and wastewater, such as TiO2-assisted photocatalysis.  The...     

Book review

Environmental Management, (3 Volumes) Editors B. Nath, L. Hens and D. Devuyst (Brussels, Vubpress: 1993. Approx. 890 Pp. Paperback) (£25 Per Volume) Isbn 90 5487 035 4-6

The Chemistry and Deposition of Nitrogen Species in the Troposphere, Editor A. T. Cocks, Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry, 1993, X + 134pp., Isbn 0 85186 355 8, Price £35.00.     

Reply to "Down-to-Earth" is Imperative! On the Problems of Landscape-Ecological Regionalisation by Means of Multivariate Statistical Methods Friedrich Weller (Ravensburg, Germany) in DIE ERDE 2009, 140:113-125

This report provides a brief review of the fourth joint meeting of the German Language Branch of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC GLB) and the Working Group "Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology" of the German Chemical Society (GDCh) held from 6^th to 9^th of September 2010 at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in Dessau-Rosslau (Germany). For the first time a governmental institution was responsible for the local organization, a novelty that was expressed in the meeting's main theme "From insight to decision (making)". 366 participants discussed 105 oral and 125 poster presentations and three invited key speakers from government, academia and industry. The best oral and poster presentations of the meeting were awarded. Moreover, the annual young scientist award of SETAC GLB for the best diploma and doctoral thesis and the best publication award of the GDCh-Working Group "Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology" were officially handed over. The reader of the meeting (mostly in German language) including the meeting program and all abstracts is for free available via: http://www.setac-glb.de     

Low-temperature preparation of a N-TiO2/macroporous resin photocatalyst to degrade organic pollutants

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Highly active TiO2 photocatalysts prepared at a low temperature are promising reagents to degrade organic pollutants.  Moreover, the addition of...     

Identification of disinfection by-product precursors by natural organic matter fractionation: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - During disinfection of drinking water, natural organic matter reacts with chlorine to produce harmful disinfection by-products. The...     

Treatment of fracturing fluid waste by Fenton reaction using transition metal complexes catalyzes oxidation of hydroxypropyl guar gum at high pH

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Hydroxypropyl guar gum (HPGG), polyacrylamide (PAM) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) are widely used as thickeners in...     

Social chemistry

This article is both an essay to propose social chemistry as a new scientific discipline and a preface of the books Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World. Environmental chemistry is a fast emerging discipline aiming at the understanding the fate of pollutants in ecosystems and at designing novel processes that are safe for ecosystems. Past pollution should be cleaned, and future pollution should be predicted and avoided (Lichtfouse et al. 2005a). Such advices are still not applied by humans as demonstrated by the Fukushima nuclear event and global warming. Human errors are repeatable. We therefore suggest a possible solution, which involves bridging chemistry and society by integrating social sciences in chemical research. In particular, citizen discourse analysis should be useful to design chemicals that are both innovative and accepted by society. Then, we present the recent success of environmental chemistry through the foundation of the Association of Chemistry and the Environment; the increase in the impact factor of Environmental Chemistry Letters from 0.814 in 2006 to 2.109 in 2009; and over 35,000 chapter downloads of the book Environmental Chemistry. Lastly, we highlight major topics of the new book series Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World (Lichtfouse et al. 2011a, b). The two first volumes are entitled Nanotechnology and Health Risk, and Remediation of Air and Water Pollution.     

High photocatalytic removal of NO gas over SnO2 nanoparticles under solar light

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Tin oxide nanoparticles (SnO2 NPs) with a diameter less than 10 nm are usually used in waste water treatment via the photocatalytic reaction. However,...     

Book Reviews

SOVIET SCIENCE REVIEWS–SECTION B., CHEMISTRY REVIEWS. Edited by M. E. Vol'pin. Volume 5. Organofluorine Chemistry pp 397. Volume 6. Organophosphorous Chemistry pp 442. OPA Ltd., for Harwood Academic Publishers, 1984. $170 each. Hardback. ISBN 3-7186-0139-7 and ISBN 3-7186-0139-7.

CURRENT TOPICS IN CHINESE SCIENCE-SECTION B., CHEMISTRY. Volume 2, pp 572 and Volume 3, pp 563. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1984. $64 and $68 both soft covers. ISBN 0-677-06230-3 and ISBN 0-677-40385-2.

THE EXPORT OF HAZARD. Transnational Corporations and Environmental Control Issues. edited by Jane H. Ives. 229 pp. Routledge and Kegan Paul: Boston, London and Henley. £14.95. ISBN 07102 0072 2

ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY by Peter O'Neill. 232 pp. Allen and Unwin 1985. ISBN 0-04-551085-7, £20. ISBN 0-04-551086-5 Pbk, £8.95.     

Photoelectrochemical technology for solar fuel generation,from single photoelectrodes to unassisted cells: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Photoelectrochemical solar fuel generation requires a highly integrated technology for converting solar energy into chemical fuels. Dihydrogen (H2) and...     

Complexation of plasmid DNA and poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(propylene oxide) polymers for safe gene delivery

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Gene delivery is the process of introducing foreign genetic material, such as DNA or RNA, into host cells. Gene...     

Cl,Br, B,Li, and noble gases isotopes to study the origin and evolution of deep groundwater in sedimentary basins: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Deep groundwater characteristics provide valuable information on oil and gas extraction and evolution of hydrosphere, and nonmetallic...     

Quantitative structure–activity relationship methods for the prediction of the toxicity of pollutants

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Continuous flow of toxic and persistent compounds to the environment is a global health issue. However, assessing the toxic effects of compounds...     

Lignin and polylactic acid for the production of bioplastics and valuable chemicals

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Global warming and plastic pollution result from the massive use of fossil fuels, calling for the development of sustainable bioplastics derived...     

Barcoding drug information to recycle unwanted household pharmaceuticals: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Huge quantities of unwanted pharmaceuticals are left in households, notably as a consequence of the rising drug demand caused by improved...