CLEAN-AIR FOREVER - A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF OPINIONS ABOUT AIR-POLLUTION AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Many current initiatives to develop the electric vehicle depend upon p ublic perception that electric vehicles (EVs) are good for the environ ment. This study investigates how people acquire information about the environment and EVs, and whether their opinions about environmental e fficacy change over time and experience levels. These issues are explo red across two data sets. The first data set is a panel survey of Cali fornia households (n = 1718) and environmental opinions are tracked ov er two waves of survey. A decline in the environmental ethos is associ ated with several factors, including interpersonal communications and exposure to more specialized media. A sample of households from the pa nel study were subsequently chosen, among others, to participate in a 2-week long trial of EVs (n = 69). Opinions about environmental effica cy are studied as users gain first hand knowledge of an EV. Opinions a bout the environmental efficacy of the EV show improvement, but trial users become less likely to cite the environmental benefit as a reason for choosing the technology, and they do not change their opinions ab out providing policy incentives. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All ri ghts reserved.