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This paper examines the relationship between the early adoption of new technologies, the probability of firm survival, and environmental regulations through a case study of dry cleaners in the South Coast Basin of California (SC Basin). Most dry cleaners use machines that use the toxic chemical perchloroethylene (PERC) to clean garments. PERC vapors are emitted into the ambient air during the dry cleaning process and can cause cancer in people who live and work nearby. In 2002, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) required all dry cleaners in the region to purchase a costly alternative machine that used a non-toxic cleaning solvent by the year 2020. Using bivariate and multivariate analysis, we found that the timing of the early adoption of non-PERC machines among dry cleaners was optimal, ceteris paribus, and adopting early did not have a negative effect on the probability of surviving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive assessment was conducted of California's Used Oil Program, which was established in 1992 to reduce the illegal disposal, and promote the reuse, of used lubricating oil. This paper summarises selected key findings of the assessment and discusses them in the context of designing and implementing policy instruments for promoting environmentally responsible waste management. The approach known as 'community-based social marketing' is identified as a promising option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban national parks were designed in the 1970s to bring nature and recreational opportunities to socio-economically disadvantaged communities in the USA. Using the theoretical frame of environmental justice, this paper discusses findings of a recent survey of visitors to Los Angeles' Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area - the United States' largest urban national park. Findings show park visitors were predominantly white, affluent, and lived nearby. People of colour travelled further, were significantly less likely to be return visitors, and were less inclined to use the park for active recreation. Seemingly, this park fails to meet the needs of the disadvantaged urban communities for whom it was created, a problem that may also affect other parks in the United States and potentially parks in other countries. Park planners and managers can take practical steps to increase accessibility to this park for people of colour and low-income earners, and should monitor other parks for patterns of ethno-racially differentiated access and utilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation organizations rely increasingly on integrated planning approaches that explicitly address social and economic goals while pursuing ecological conservation. Moreover, the spatial and temporal scale at which these organizations operate is growing. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy, established as a new state agency by California legislation in 2004 to pursue social, economic and ecological sustainability across a 25 million acre region, exemplifies this large-scale, integrated approach. Therefore, the new agency faces a complex set of policy objectives that must be pursued across a widely varying geography of social, economic and ecological conditions. Using the Conservancy's fire management program area as an example, the paper illustrates how application of an analytic framework from complex adaptive systems theory can guide the Conservancy to deploy its resources more effectively than broader-scale application of a single, agency-wide strategy relying on a more static model. Therefore, the complex adaptive systems framework offers promise in strategic planning. The paper illustrates how the model's four-stage cycle can be applied at the sub-regional and programmatic level to identify opportunities for agency intervention that address varying local conditions. This approach is likely to increase the effectiveness of programs for agencies facing similar complexities and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes and evaluates the performance of the Regional Clean Air Center Incentives Market (RECLAIM) that started operating in Southern California in 1994. Background and history of RECLAIM; Measuring RECLAIM activity; Overall market activity of RECLAIM until February 26, 1996.