Environmental attitudes of firewood users in Hungary: contradictions of knowledge and emotions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37045/aslh-2025-0006Keywords:
Services sustainability, Circular economy, Carbon-neutral, Carbon cycle, Climate change, Wood fuel, Wood combustionAbstract
This study examines environmental attitudes toward the production and utilization of firewood. A telephone survey using a structured questionnaire was conducted. The survey yielded 603 usable responses, and the analysis revealed that firewood users exhibited strong support for two fundamental environmental concepts: the notion that harvesting firewood from healthy trees is acceptable and the assertion that firewood is, in principle, carbonneutral. However, a significant proportion of respondents also expressed concerns that firewood use may potentially contribute to forest degradation and increase climate change. To further explore these attitudes, respondents were categorized into three distinct groups. A statistical analysis revealed significant differences among these groups in educational attainment and standard of living. Attitudes towards complex environmental issues are predominantly influenced by emotions that reflect general environmental concerns due to the public’s limited knowledge base, which hinders factual assessments.
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