Richard N. L. Andrews

Theory and methods of environmental values research

Abstract Environmental value claims have become major issues in recent public decisions, particularly in such cases as large-scale construction projects, natural resource management plans, and even scientific and technological research and development programs. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the investigation of environmental value claims, and reviews the methods currently available, or under development, that might be used for that purpose.

Environmental Policy in the Czech and Slovak Republic

Environmental policy in any government includes not only laws and regulations that are specifically enacted to protect the environment, but the totality of government actions that in fact shape its environmental conditions. In the Czech and Slovak Republics these policies are now in a period of fundamental change, both in their own right and as a consequence of the country’s larger economic and political transition. Some of these changes may cause improvements in environmental quality; others may allow continuation of old problems in the guise of a new ideology; still others may even create new environmental problems. The purpose of this assessment is to describe the pattern of environmental policy that is now developing in the Czech and Slovak Republics, and to provide tentative answers to two questions: first, how effectively are these policies dealing with both past and current environmental problems? And second, to what extent are environmental protection considerations being woven into the new structures of economic and political decision-making — market exchange, privatization of property, and democratization and decentralization of governance — that are now fundamentally reshaping these countries’ futures?

Third-Party Information Providers and Innovative Environmental Technology Adoption

This article explores the role of third-party information providers in assisting regulated facilities with environmental compliance technology choices. A key contribution is the finding that regulated facilities that rely more heavily on environmental consultants than in-house information sources choose conventional compliance options more frequently than facilities relying primarily on in-house information. Consultants also perceive environmental regulatory barriers to technology change as being significantly higher than regulated facilities do. Whereas consultants are primarily concerned with environmental regulatory barriers to technology adoption, facilities are primarily concerned with financial barriers. The findings suggest that the biases of consultants and their importance in shaping technology choice decisions should be considered in designing policies to promote environmental technology adoption.

Three Fronts of Federal Environmental Policy

Abstract Federal environmental policies, as expressed in legislation and agency action, are discussed in terms of three principal dimensions: control of pollution, or “residuals”; evaluation and coordination of federal program impacts on environmental quality; and planning and controlling uses of environmental resources. Particular attention is paid to the gradual incorporation into policy of new concepts concerning causes of environmental problems, new perceptions of what constitutes a “quality” environment, and new methods of environmental management. Current needs include operational criteria for residuals management and environmental resource planning; more flexible tools for neutralizing economic incentives to pollute; policy oriented technology assessment; and increased citizen access to planning processes during generation of and selection among alternatives.

MEASUREMENT ERROR STUDY PROCEDURE FEATURING VARIABLE SAMPLE SIZES

Most measurement error study procedures assess the repeatability and reproducibility of the gauges used to measure the quality of a process or product. Numerous procedures for conducting these measurement error studies have been proposed. The problem wi..

Will benefit-cost Analysis Reform Regulations?

Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is currently being urged as one means to reform the regulatory practices of US. federal agencies, particularly of those agencies that regulate to protect health, safety, and environmental quality. For instance, Murray Weidenbaum, now chairman of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisors, has recently called for broader use of benefit-cost analysis on government regulatory proposals, for legislatively mandated “economic impact statements,” and for modification or elimination of regulations whose costs appear to exceed their benefits (1). President Reagan himself issued orders in February 1981 requiring, first, that every executive branch agency prepare a “regulatory impact analysis” identifying the potential costs and benefits of any proposed rule that could lead to “major increases” in consumer prices or industry costs and describing lower-cost alternatives. Second, the order requires that all major new rules already proposed be postponed until such analyses are completed, unless a statutory or court-imposed deadline or emergency exists. Third, agencies must identify for review and possible change or rescission any existing rules that do not follow the least costly approach. Fourth, the Officeof Management and Budget (OMB) is authorized to designate regulations as ‘.major,” if the agencies do not, and to require the agencies to consider additional evidence and information in making their decisions (2). It is not yet clear how much such analysis will contribute to meeting its advocates’ objectives or how much it might contribute to or detract from the purposes of the regulations. It seems most likely that while the broader requirement of BCA may ameliorate problems that concern some regulatory reformers, it will not solve others that are arguably more fundamental and it could even exacerbate them. The implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) over the past decade provides useful lessons on this point.

Coping with Scientific and Technological Uncertainty: Federal Policy Analysis for Nonroutine Decisions

In the last 20 years, faced with an increasing number of decisions about complex scientific and technological issues, government has created new units and staff positions for “policy analysts.” These analysts are frequently assumed to be trained in microeconomics, organization theory and quantitative decision analysis. In fact, a majority of them are often scientists and engineers who have been thrust into the role of policy analysts; few find quantitative decision analysis procedures helpful. In the face of scientific uncertainty and short timeframes, these analysts use rich and interactive methods to search and analyze information. However, there is an absorption of uncertainty and a narrowing in the richness of communication channels as information makes its way up the hierarchy.

Environmental change and public health: An agenda for the future

The trends described earlier present basic challenges for the public health agenda and for the broader public policy agenda of the next half century. Rhetoric notwithstanding, however, they are not addressed as important considerations in most major public policy decisions today. Nor are they often accorded such priority even in the research or professional practice of public health and environmental protection themselves. To respond to them will, therefore, require deliberate redirection of attention, effort, and resources, beth within the public health and environmental professions and by broader political and economic institutions.