Driven to Change: The Social Context of Reducing Tailpipe Emissions

Our analysis of focus groups conducted in Chittenden County, Vermont suggests an understanding of vehicle emissions and their effect on human health and the environment is not a good predictor of individual behavior that might reduce emissions output. Instead, those who practiced low-emissions behavior such as walking, biking, carpooling, and riding the bus, indicated other motivations for doing so, including lower costs, health and exercise, ideological opposition to motor vehicles, and public and private incentive programs for using shared or public transportation. Further empirical work is necessary regarding potential social network solutions and the socially stratified limitations to reducing tailpipe emissions.