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A Questionnaire Case Study to Investigate Public Awareness of Smog Pollution in China’s Rural Areas

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  • Li Jiang

    (Faculty of Marxism, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
    Environmental Management Research Group, Vaasa University, Vaasa FI-65101, Finland)

  • Erkki Hiltunen

    (Environmental Management Research Group, Vaasa University, Vaasa FI-65101, Finland)

  • Xianglin He

    (Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China)

  • Liandong Zhu

    (Vaasa Energy Institute, FI-65101 Vaasa, Finland)

Abstract

Smog pollution is one of China’s most pressing public health issues today and has therefore received significant attention worldwide. Not only cities but also villages in China are suffering from smog pollution, especially since 2013. However, there is limited information available about public awareness on smog pollution in China, especially for where it concerns the residents living in villages. Based on a questionnaire survey, this study aims to help fill this gap. The results of the study show that the income of the majority of respondents comes from working in the city, accounting for 31.6% of the total income. The percentages for respondents related to access to smog information from various channels are as follows: TV (28.5%), radio (24.2%), neighbors (13.5%), Internet (9.8%), newspapers (8.3%) and others (7.8%). As for attitudes regarding the severity degree and main cause of smog pollution, most respondents (33.7%) thought smog pollution in villages was somewhat severe, while 26.3% agreed that the main contributor to smog pollution was industrial emissions, followed by coal burning at power plants (20.9%) and vehicle emissions (17.7%). The results also indicate that most of the respondents were satisfied with the government’s performance in terms of smog control. However, 67.9% of respondents indicated they would remain silent and not intervene when confronted by an activity that causes smog pollution. This study can help to improve an understanding of public awareness regarding smog pollution in China’s rural areas and thereby activate positive public participation in smog pollution prevention and management in the search for sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Jiang & Erkki Hiltunen & Xianglin He & Liandong Zhu, 2016. "A Questionnaire Case Study to Investigate Public Awareness of Smog Pollution in China’s Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-10, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:11:p:1111-:d:81750
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cuiping Xu & H. Holly Wang & Qinghua Shi, 2012. "Farmers’ Income and Production Responses to Rural Taxation Reform in Three Regions in China," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 291-309, June.
    2. GOLLEY, Jane & WEI, Zheng, 2015. "Population dynamics and economic growth in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 15-32.
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    Cited by:

    1. Xun Gong & Shenggang Yang & Min Zhang, 2017. "Not Only Health: Environmental Pollution Disasters and Political Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-28, April.
    2. Tong Zhang & Chaofan Chen, 2018. "The Effect of Public Participation on Environmental Governance in China–Based on the Analysis of Pollutants Emissions Employing a Provincial Quantification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Yan Wu & Pim Martens & Thomas Krafft, 2022. "Public Awareness, Lifestyle and Low-Carbon City Transformation in China: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Lingyi Zhou & Yixin Dai, 2017. "How Smog Awareness Influences Public Acceptance of Congestion Charge Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-15, September.
    5. Wang, Lingling & Watanabe, Tsunemi, 2019. "Effects of environmental policy on public risk perceptions of haze in Tianjin City: A difference-in-differences analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 199-212.
    6. Frederick Qiu & Ethan Wang & Matthew Fan & Hong Liao & Litao Wang & Zuyi Huang, 2018. "A Questionnaire Case Study of Chinese Opinions on the Haze Pollution and Economic Growth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-30, June.
    7. Xinghua Liu & Qian Ye & Ye Li & Jing Fan & Yue Tao, 2021. "Examining Public Concerns and Attitudes toward Unfair Events Involving Elderly Travelers during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Weibo Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.

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