Many contemporary natural resource problems are attributable to use practices that are both wasteful and polluting. Two natural resource problem areas characterized by a particular cogency in the mid-1990s are water and energy--both electrical energy and the use of fossil fuels to generate forms of energy other than electrical. Wasteful and polluting use practices lead to reductions in the supply of usable water, as well as to increased costs associated with the maintenance of water resources and the delivery of usable water to consumers. Wasteful and polluting practices lead to similar outcomes in relation to energy. Wasteful uses of energy supplies lead to both supply shortages and to increased costs. Polluting uses of energy and the use of polluting practices in the conversion of fossil fuels to usable forms of energy lead to energy supply reductions and increased costs when legal restraints are placed on such practices. Polluting practices related to both the use of energy and the conversion of fossil fuels into usable forms of energy also frequently lead to adverse effects on water supplies.
Wasteful and polluting water and energy use practices are the result, at least in part, of both individual and societal attitudes toward the protection and use of natural resources, and in turn to the behavioral habits that have ensued from these attitudes. This study examined the relationship between consumer attitudes and natural resource waste.
Natural resource problems associated with wasteful and polluting use practices are particularly significant in contemporary Texas where the bulk of the population tends to view water and energy resources as both abundant and relatively inexpensive. In excess of one-half of the water used by Texas consumers, as an example, is applied to lawns and gardens. Further, the relatively low cost of water in Texas does not act as an incentive for industrial users to practice aggressive conservat...