Presentation Abstract
With growing numbers of programs devoted to environmental behavior change, there is a corresponding need for measures of behavior change at a variety of scales. This presentation describes the “Sound Behavior Index”, an ongoing behavior change measure developed for the Puget Sound region. It tracks 28 residential-scale practices that can affect water quality and aquatic habitat. The index is based on a survey conducted every two years among a statistical sample of the region’s 4.5 million residents. It asks about specific, measurable, repetitive behaviors, that are driven by personal choice. The Sound Behavior Index distills the region’s environmental performance into a single regional score, which can be tracked across time. The index can be broken down to the county level, providing more meaningful local measures. It can also be used to track each component behavior. Until now, there have been no uniform behavior change measures in the region, no regional measures, and no consistent local measures aside from one county. The Sound Behavior Index fills those gaps by measuring long-term shifts in behaviors and practices across the Puget Sound region.
Session Title
Session S-01H: Social and Ecological Indicators
Conference Track
Social Science Plus
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
30-4-2014 10:30 AM
End Date
30-4-2014 12:00 PM
Location
Room 607
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Shore protection--Washington (State)--Puget Sound--Citizen participation; Coastal zone management--Washington (State)--Puget Sound--Citizen participation; Restoration ecology--Washington (State)--Puget Sound--Citizen participation
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Puget Sound (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
The Sound Behavior Index: Tracking Long Term Environmental Behavior Change
Room 607
With growing numbers of programs devoted to environmental behavior change, there is a corresponding need for measures of behavior change at a variety of scales. This presentation describes the “Sound Behavior Index”, an ongoing behavior change measure developed for the Puget Sound region. It tracks 28 residential-scale practices that can affect water quality and aquatic habitat. The index is based on a survey conducted every two years among a statistical sample of the region’s 4.5 million residents. It asks about specific, measurable, repetitive behaviors, that are driven by personal choice. The Sound Behavior Index distills the region’s environmental performance into a single regional score, which can be tracked across time. The index can be broken down to the county level, providing more meaningful local measures. It can also be used to track each component behavior. Until now, there have been no uniform behavior change measures in the region, no regional measures, and no consistent local measures aside from one county. The Sound Behavior Index fills those gaps by measuring long-term shifts in behaviors and practices across the Puget Sound region.
