民眾對於推廣寺廟減香與以功代金可減少空污污染認知之探討-以鳳山區某寺廟為例=The public’s perception of air pollution reduction achieved through incense reduction and replacement of joss paper burning rituals with donation—In the case of a temple in Fongshan District
The practice of Buddhism and Taoism in Taiwan involves a key folk practice: burning joss paper. When joss paper is burned in a joss paper burning drum or in open air without appropriate ventilation and temperature, imperfect combustion may result. As a consequence, a large amount of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, odor, and dust may be created, causing severe short-term local air pollution in the neighboring areas. The air pollution that results from burning joss paper is less obvious in agrarian areas with low population density. However, in metropolitan areas, where population densities are high and air quality is already impaired, the smoky, dusty exhaust has a direct negative effect on residents. Yet, because the custom of burning joss paper is common and has a long history, establishing a policy to restrict or reduce the amount of joss paper burned requires an assessment of people’s willingness to comply with such policy. Therefore, this study investigated whether people could appreciate the benefits of reducing the amount of incense they burn and donating the money not spent on joss money to charity. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect information regarding people’s understanding of this alternative. The research participants of this study were people near a temple in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung City. Simple random sampling was conducted. A total of 320 valid questionnaires were retrieved. Statistical analyses, namely an independent sample t test, chi-square test, one-way analysis of variance, and cross analysis, were employed in a data analysis. This study yielded the following results. (1) A total of 44% and 37% of participants understood or somewhat understood that burning incense or joss paper would create air pollution, respectively; thus, a total of 81% of participants expressed some understanding. Similarly, 42.2% of participants somewhat understood that burning incense or joss paper may create carcinogens such as toluene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, and formaldehyde and that being exposed to these substances for a long period of time can cause severe harm to the human body. However, only 33.4% of people understood that during the peak period in which worship using incense occurs (such as the birthday of gods and goddesses, the Ghost Festival, and Chinese New Year), compared with normal days, the average concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 were 4-5 times higher in the temple than outside it. (2) A total of 46.6% of participants agreed and 45.9% of participants somewhat agreed that after the Kaohsiung City government initiated the practice of collecting joss paper to burn it together and the policy of donating the money saved by not burning joss paper to charity, people’s living environment air quality substantially improved. Thus,
