Introduction
Along
with population, issues related to environment have increasingly become a
primary concern to scientists. However, environmental perception in lay people actually
is a problem in campaigns that focus on conserving the quality of natural
environments, thereby sustaining human living space in a balanced situation. Of
natural resources, water has become more of concern recently in the scientific
community. Clear water nowadays has been regarded as one of the natural
resources that could be depleted by human usage. Many organizations in the
world call for preservation of clear water resources for a sustainable world.
Lubbock
is a city located in the northwestern part of Texas State with a mild,
semi-arid climate (Wikipedia, 2013), which has been facing different problems
related to water usage. According to the Water Department, the city is currently
under stage 1 of water restriction. According to Blackburn (2008), most of
Lubbock’s water supply comes from the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority,
"a group formed 50 years ago with 10 other Panhandle communities to build
and provide drinking water from Lake Meredith." Besides, Lake Alan Henry
with the estimation of $240 million is considered as the second sustainable and
cost effective water supply for the city and other neighboring communities.
Fleming (2012) mentioned the situation of a changing climate and scarce water
in West Texas. Many factors contributed to the present condition such as a
cycle of hotter temperatures, more people, water-sapping cotton farming, and a
devastating 2011 drought (Fleming, 2012). Farmers should be people affected by
the condition of scarce water. The limits on how much water farmers can pump
from their wells dropped to 21 inches per acre per year and it is anticipated
to be 18 inches in 2014 (Fleming, 2012).
Other victims, ranches, had to cut their cattle herd and use more resilient
grass seeds.
Due
to increasing problems related to water, there are many campaigns focusing on
solving the situation in Lubbock. Most strategies strive to find new replacing
water sources; others deal with reducing water usage by evoking in users recognition
of necessity of water conservation. However, one of the issues that scientists
and the authority are interested in is people's perception related to
environmental problems, especially perception in students and young people from
disadvantaged area (Starch, 1994). Also, there are many research findings
showing that women are more interested in environmental issues than men are
(Davidson & Freudenburg, 1996). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to
find out how people in Lubbock perceive about water problems and the
differences between men's and women's attitudes towards water issues.
Study Objective and Question
Based on existing
literature, it is posited that there are problems related to water resources in
Lubbock, which people should be concerned about. Specific aims of
the study are to explore whether people in the area recognize the current
contexts and other issues related to water resources. The main research
questions are: (1) To what extent do people understand the situation of water
resource in Lubbock and attitudes toward water conservation? (2) Is there any
difference in water issues' perception between men and women? Do students have
more awareness than residents in the area?
Hypothesis
It
is hypothesized that people recognize issues related to water resource and they
have a positive attitude in supporting authority toward establishing policies
for conserving water resources in Lubbock. In addition, it should be presumed
that Lubbock residents and women would be more aware about water issues than
students and men generally.
References
Blackburn, E. (2013). Many eyes on
Lubbock's water. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved on September 05, 2013 from http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060808/loc_287908754
Chow, D. (2013). Huge
aquifer that runs through 8 states quickly being tapped out. LiveScience. Retrieved on August 29, 2013 from http://www.nbcnews.com/science/huge-aquifer-runs through-8-states-quickly-being-tapped-out-8C11009320
Davidson, D. J., & Freudenburg,
W. R. (1996). Gender and Environmental Risk Concerns: A
Review
and Analysis of Available Research. Environment
& Behavior, 28(3), 302-339.
Fleming, P. (2012). Portrait of a
Drought: Finding Water Where It Ain’t. Climate
Progress.
Retrieved
on Oct. 10, 2013 from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/19/1052091/portrait-of-a-drought-finding- water-where-it-aint
Galbraith, K. (2012). Getting kids
to wise up about water conservation. The
New York
Times.
Retrieved on Oct. 10, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/us/getting- kids-to-wise-up-about-water-conservation.html?_r=1&
Sauter, M. B., & Hess, A. E. M.
(2013). Nine Cities Running Out of water. 24/7
Wall St..Retrieved on Oct. 10,
2013 from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nine-cities-running- water-192757786.html
Starch, R. (1994). Environmental
attitudes and behaviors of American Youth. National
Environmental
Education and Training Foundation. Retrieved on Oct. 10, 2013 from http://eelink.net/ROPER/TOC.html
Wikipedia. (2013). Lubbock, Texas.
Retrieved on Oct. 10, 2013 from
Young, A. D. (2013). Water
conservation rules to begin Monday include reduced
watering
hours. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved on Aug. 29, 2013 from http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2013-03-29/water-conservation-rules-begin- monday-include-reduced-watering-hours#.Uh9k5TakopU
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