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Cities in the USA engage in action on climate change, even as the federal government remains resistant to comprehensive climate policy. While experts generally agree that local level adaptation and mitigation policies are critical to avoiding the worst climate impacts, the degree to which cities communicate climate change issues to their constituents has yet to be fully explored. In this article, we evaluate how US cities communicate climate change-related issues, problems, and policies. We use a computer-assisted approach to evaluate climate change efforts by cities by examining the full text of press releases of 82 large cities in the USA. We first identify who discusses climate change, finding that many large cities in the USA address climate change in their public communication. Second, we examine the content of these discussions. Many cities discuss weather-related concerns in conjunction with broad collaborative efforts to address global warming, while city-based policy discussions focus more on energy and transportation efforts. Third, we evaluate the local factors associated with these discussions. We find that the city’s climate vulnerability is particularly influential in shaping the level and timing of climatic communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking and borrowing emission allowances provide temporal flexibility in cap-and-trade systems, which can enhance the economic efficiency of environmental policy while adhering to the same cumulative emission budget. This paper investigates the role of temporal ('when') flexibility from emission banking provisions under an economy-wide cap-and-trade policy in the USA. The current literature on meeting deep decarbonization targets almost exclusively assumes unlimited banking, which may bias policy recommendations and have important consequences for R&D prioritization and model development. Numerical experiments using the energy-economic model US Regional Energy, GHG, and Economy (US-REGEN) indicate that assumptions about banking materially impact cost and emission pathways in meeting long-term targets like 80% reductions by 2050 relative to 2005 levels. Given the stringency of long-run targets and convexity of marginal abatement costs, the cost-minimizing time path for mitigation with banking suggests that 2025 abatement should exceed the pledged level under the Paris Agreement (42% instead of 26-28%) to reduce future costs. Total policy costs are approximately 30% higher when banking is excluded; however, political economy barriers and uncertainty may limit the use of banking provisions despite their appeal on economic efficiency grounds. Banking on policy implementation with unlimited temporal flexibility may distort insights about the pace, extent, and economic impacts of future energy transitions associated with long-term abatement targets, especially for more stringent climate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There seems to be a widespread perception in the United States that labor union members are indifferent or even hostile to environmental protection efforts. Previous work on the nature of the relationship between labor unions and environmentalists, mostly drawn from case studies and interviews with union leaders, has not reached consistent conclusions. To provide a realistic examination of the relationship, we apply an empirical analysis to investigate attitudes of individual union members toward the stringency of environmental policies. Using the General Social Survey, we examine grass-root union members' preferences for public environmental spending options. Contrary to prevailing perceptions of conflict, we find a positive association between union membership and the choosing to increase environmental spending. Further, investigating the environmental attitude of union members in heavily regulated industries, we do not find evidence to support the argument that these laborers tend to be unfavorable toward environment. Our results also suggest that the level of regulation an industry is facing does not appear to have a statistically significant effect on respondent's choice of environmental spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change presents a challenge to land management agencies tasked with managing landscapes to protect natural resources and provide key goods and services in the face of ecological change, complexity, and uncertainty. Land management agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, have developed multi-faceted strategies that utilize concepts like resilience and ecological integrity to guide adaptation. To address an extant research need, we conducted a qualitative case study, consisting of interviews with Forest Service staff in the Rocky Mountain Region, to explore how local federal land managers approach adaptation. Our goals were to understand what impacts managers are finding salient, perceptions of current agency strategies, and aspects of policy and practice that support effective adaptation planning. Interview participants anticipate impacts to disturbance regimes, wildlife species, and human uses. Participants intend to draw on agency policies, like its climate change scorecard and its land management planning regulations. However, the participants note that ambiguous concepts, uncertainty, and institutional variables make adaptation planning challenging in practice. A major theme apparent in the interviews was the use of partnerships with a range of other entities to address climate change. Ambiguity associated with concepts like resilience and ecological integrity allow them to function as boundary concepts; however, this ambiguity makes it challenging for managers to operationalize these concepts. These findings revealed that climate change adaptation is leading to and revealing the need for broader governance change. Moving forward, it will be crucial to adjust current governance structures to support long-term partnerships adept at translating scientific knowledge into actions and implementing complex boundary concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central concern in policy studies is understanding how multiple, contending groups in society interact, deliberate, and forge agreements over policy issues. Often, public discourse turns from engagement into impasse, as in the fractured politics of climate policy in the USA. Existing theories are unclear about how such an 'adversarial turn' develops. We theorize that an important aspect of the adversarial turn is the evolution of a group's narrative into what can be understood as an ideology, the formation of which is observable through certain textual-linguistic properties. Analysis 'of' these narrative properties elucidates the role of narrative in fostering (1) coalescence around a group ideology, and (2) group isolation and isolation of ideological coalitions from others' influence. By examining a climate skeptical narrative, we demonstrate how to analyze ideological properties of narrative, and illustrate the role of ideological narratives in galvanizing and, subsequently, isolating groups in society. We end the piece with a reflection on further issues suggested by the narrative analysis, such as the possibility that climate skepticism is founded upon a more 'genetic' meta-narrative that has roots in social issues far removed from climate, which means efforts at better communicating climate change science may not suffice to support action on climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Locating terrestrial sources and sinks of carbon (C) will be critical to developing strategies that contribute to the climate change mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement. Here we present spatially resolved estimates of net C change across United States (US) forest lands between 2006 and 2010 and attribute them to natural and anthropogenic processes. Results: Forests in the conterminous US sequestered −460 ± 48 Tg C year, while C losses from disturbance averaged 191 ± 10 Tg C year. Combining estimates of net C losses and gains results in net carbon change of −269 ± 49 Tg C year. New forests gained −8 ± 1 Tg C year, while deforestation resulted in losses of 6 ± 1 Tg C year. Forest land remaining forest land lost 185 ± 10 Tg C year to various disturbances; these losses were compensated by net carbon gains of −452 ± 48 Tg C year. C loss in the southern US was highest (105 ± 6 Tg C year) with the highest fractional contributions from harvest (92%) and wind (5%). C loss in the western US (44 ± 3 Tg C year) was due predominantly to harvest (66%), fire (15%), and insect damage (13%). The northern US had the lowest C loss (41 ± 2 Tg C year) with the most significant proportional contributions from harvest (86%), insect damage (9%), and conversion (3%). Taken together, these disturbances reduced the estimated potential C sink of US forests by 42%. Conclusion: The framework presented here allows for the integration of ground and space observations to more fully inform US forest C policy and monitoring efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the implications for the US National Climate Assessment (NCA) of diversifying information needs to support climate change risk management. It describes how the Third US National Climate Assessment (NCA3) evolved to begin to narrow the gap between information from climate and impact scientists and 'intermediaries' (individuals who have expertise in climate science, communication, and decision-support processes)-who are sometimes collectively described as 'producers' in this article-and the decision-making needs of a wide range of 'users' (individuals involved in advising or making a wide range of policy and management decisions). One step in the evolution of the NCA3 included adding a chapter to assess decision-support tools and systems being used in climate-related decisions. Another involved efforts to improve characterization of the level of confidence of NCA3 authors in their findings to help decision-makers and their advisors differentiate well-established and more preliminary conclusions. This paper lays out an argument for increasing the role of the NCA in assessing decision-support systems in the Fourth Assessment (NCA4) and the Sustained Assessment. It also briefly reviews approaches and potential next steps related to characterizing uncertainty and communicating confidence intended to improve application of assessment findings by decision-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The leaders and authors of the Third US National Climate Assessment (NCA3) developed new modes of engaging academia, the private sector, government agencies and civil society to support their needs for usable, rigorous, and timely information and better connect science and decision-making. A strategic vision for assessment activities into the future was built during the NCA3 process, including recommendations on how to establish a sustained assessment process that would integrate evolving scientific understanding into decision making to manage the risks of climate change over time. This vision includes a collaborative assessment process that involves partnerships across a diverse and widely distributed set of non-governmental and governmental entities. The new approach to assessments would produce timely, scientifically sound climate information products and processes, rather than focusing on the production of single quadrennial synthesis reports. If properly implemented, a sustained assessment would be more efficient and cost-effective, avoiding the painful and time-consuming process of beginning the assessment process anew every 4 years. This ongoing assessment would also encourage scientific and social innovations and explore new insights and opportunities, building the capacity to advance the development and delivery of climate information to meet societal requirements and benefit from scientific opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Well-targeted scientific assessments can support a range of decision-making processes, and contribute meaningfully to a variety of climate response strategies. This paper focuses on opportunities for climate assessments to be used more effectively to enhance adaptive capacity, particularly drawing from experiences with the third US National Climate Assessment (NCA3). We discuss the evolution of thinking about adaptation as a process and the importance of societal values, as well as the role of assessments in this evolution. We provide a rationale for prioritizing future assessment activities, with an expectation of moving beyond the concept of climate adaptation as an explicit and separable activity from 'normal' planning and implementation in the future. Starting with the values and resources that need to be protected or developed by communities rather than starting with an analysis of changes in climate drivers can provide opportunities for reframing climate issues in ways that are likely to result in more positive outcomes. A critical part of successful risk management is monitoring and evaluating the systems of interest to decision-makers and the effectiveness of interventions following integration of climate considerations into ongoing strategic planning activities and implementation. Increasingly this will require consideration of path dependency and coincident events. We argue that climate adaptation is a transitional process that bridges the gap between historically time-tested ways of doing business and the kinds of decision processes that may be required in the future, and that scientific assessments will be increasingly central to these transitions in decision processes over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Third US National Climate Assessment (NCA3) was produced by experts in response to the US Global Change Research Act of 1990. Based on lessons learned from previous domestic and international assessments, the NCA3 was designed to speak to a broad public and inform the concerns of policy- and decision-makers at different scales. The NCA3 was also intended to be the first step in an ongoing assessment process that would build the nation's capacity to respond to climate change. This concluding paper draws larger lessons from the insights gained throughout the assessment process that are of significance to future US and international assessment designers. We bring attention to process and products delivered, communication and engagement efforts, and how they contributed to the sustained assessment. Based on areas where expectations were exceeded or not fully met, we address four common tensions that all assessment designers must confront and manage: between (1) core assessment ingredients (knowledge base, institutional set-up, principled process, and the people involved), (2) national scope and subnational adaptive management information needs, (3) scope, complexity, and manageability, and (4) deliberate evaluation and ongoing learning approaches. Managing these tensions, amidst the social and political contexts in which assessments are conducted, is critical to ensure that assessments are feasible and productive, while its outcomes are perceived as credible, salient, and legitimate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the development of the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment, an indicators system was recommended as a foundational product to support a sustained assessment process (Buizer et al. ). The development of this system, which we call the National Climate Indicators System (NCIS), has been an important early product of a sustained assessment process. In this paper, we describe the scoping and development of recommendations and prototypes for the NCIS, with the expectation that the process and lessons learned will be useful to others developing suites of indicators. Key factors of initial success are detailed, as well as a robust vision and decision criteria for future development; we also provide suggestions for voluntary support of the broader scientific community, and for funding priorities, including a research team to coordinate and prototype the indicators, system, and process. Moving forward, sufficient coordination and scientific expertise to implement and maintain the NCIS, as well as creation of a structure for scientific input from the broader community, will be crucial to its success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessments that are designed to be credible and useful in the eyes of potential users must rigorously evaluate the state of knowledge but also address the practical considerations-politics, economics, institutions, and procedures-that affect real-world decision processes. The Third US National Climate Assessment (NCA3) authors integrated a vast array of sources of scientific information to understand what natural, physical and social systems are most at risk from climate change. They were challenged to explore some of the potentially substantial sources of risk that occur at the intersections of social, economic, biological, and physical systems. In addition, they worked to build bridges to other ways of knowing and other sources of knowledge, including intuitive, traditional, cultural, and spiritual knowledge. For the NCA3, inclusion of a broad array of people with on-the-ground experience in various communities, sectors and regions helped in identifying issues of practical importance. The NCA3 was more than a climate assessment; it was also an experiment in testing theories of coproduction of knowledge. A deliberate focus on the assessment process as well as the products yielded important outcomes. For example, encouraging partnerships and engagement with existing networks increased learning and made the idea of a sustained assessment more realistic. The commitment to building an assessment focused on mutual learning, transparency, and engagement contributed to the credibility and legitimacy of the product, and the saliency of its contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Climate Assessment's ability to support decision-making partly relies on engaging stakeholders throughout the assessment process. The guiding vision for the Third National Climate Assessment (NCA3) was for an inclusive, broad-based, and sustained process attentive to both the conduct of assessments and communication of findings. Such a process promotes dialogue between scientific experts, stakeholders, and decision-makers about what is important in a particular region or sector, the potential impacts of climate change, and possible responses. We sought to create actionable research and assessment products widely perceived as credible, salient, and legitimate. The process also sought to build capacity to conduct sustained assessments and use climate change information in decision-making processes. Here we describe how we pursued this stakeholder engagement vision during the planning, development, and release of NCA3. Through repeated opportunities for stakeholder. input, we ensured process transparency and inclusiveness in the framing of assessment and built human capital. We also increased connectivity among stakeholder organizations. By cultivating a network of collaborators who connected the NCA to other networks, the NCA3 engagement process laid the groundwork for a sustained assessment - which is envisaged to transition the traditional quadrennial assessment approach into a more dynamic and adaptive assessment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public discourse on climate change often refers to possible bias among climate scientists as a rationale for limited climate policy action by the United States. Part of this discussion is the association of scientists with environmental interest groups and whether such affiliations facilitate the perception that climate scientists lack objectivity. While surveys suggest that some climate scientists disapprove of affiliations with interest groups, recent research indicates that climate scientists are quite likely to be involved with environmental organizations. This paper compares the affiliations of scientists and the general public to discern whether scientists are uniquely likely to affiliate with interest groups or they simply share characteristics common to the public who also affiliate with these organizations. Our findings suggest that climate scientists are no more likely to donate money, but are less likely to sign a petition or attend a demonstration, when controlling for other factors. These results strengthen our understanding of the affiliations between scientists and interest groups and hold implications for the accuracy of popular perceptions of climate scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As sea level rises, coastal communities will face increased risks of flooding, storm surge, and inundation. In some areas, structural protective measures will be built, and for some properties, accommodation to sea level rise may be possible. For other areas, however, some form of retreat will be either preferred on economic or sociopolitical grounds or required given fiscal constraints. This paper considers how society can proactively manage shoreline retreat in those locations where it is deemed the preferable policy. A three-part strategy is proposed: (1) reduce new development in the highest-risk areas; (2) adopt policies that allow for expected and orderly removal or modification of development as inundation occurs; and (3) take advantage of disasters to implement managed retreat approaches. Specific policies are recommended and the challenges of institutional change discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US climate movement has failed to create the political support needed to pass significant climate policy. It is time to reassess climate advocacy. To develop a strategy for philanthropy to strengthen climate engagement, I interviewed over 40 climate advocates,more than a dozen representatives from the foundation community, and a dozen academics. My assessment led me to conclude that climate advocates have focused too narrowly on specific policy goals and insufficiently on influencing the larger political landscape. I suggest four ways to improve climate advocacy: 1) Increase focus on medium and longer-term goals; 2) Start with people and not carbon; 3) Focus more on values and less on science; and 4) Evaluate what works and share what we learn. To accomplish these strategies, social scientists and advocates must work together to build a culture of learning. Meanwhile, philanthropy must empower experimentation and incentivize knowledge sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public opinion in the United States about human-caused climate change has varied over the past 20 years, despite an increasing consensus about the issue in the expert community. Attitudes about climate change have been attributed to a number of factors including personal values, political ideology, the media environment and personal experience. Recent studies have found evidence that the temperature can influence one's opinion about climate change and willingness to change behaviour and/or support climate policy. Although there is some evidence that individual cool or warm years have influenced large-scale opinion about climate change, the extent to which temperature can explain the past variability in public opinion and public discourse about climate change at the national level is not known. Here we isolate the relationship between opinion about climate change and temperature at the national scale, using data from opinion polls, a discourse analysis of opinion articles from five major daily newspapers, and a national air temperature database. The fraction of respondents to national polls who express 'belief in' or 'worry about' climate change is found to be significantly correlated to U.S. mean temperature anomalies over the previous 3-12 months. In addition, the fraction of editorial and opinion articles which 'agree' with the expert consensus on climate change is also found to be significantly correlated to U.S. mean temperature anomalies at seasonal and annual scales. These results suggest that a fraction of the past variance in American views about climate change could potentially be explained by climate variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, only a limited number of studies have examined the impact of ambient pollutant policy on respiratory morbidities. This accountability study examined the effect of a regional pollution control policy, namely, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) nitrogen oxides (NOx) Budget Trading Program (NBP), on respiratory health in New York State (NYS). Time-series analysis using generalized additive models was applied to assess changes in daily hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in NYS after the implementation of the NBP policy. Respiratory end points in the summers during the baseline period (1997-2000) were compared with those during the post-intervention period (2004-2006). Stratified analyses were also conducted to examine whether health impacts of the NBP differed by socio-demographic, regional, or clinical characteristics. Following the implementation of EPA's NBP policy, there were significant reductions in mean ozone levels (−2% to −9%) throughout NYS. After adjusting for time-varying variables, PM2.5 concentration, and meteorological factors, significant post-intervention declines in respiratory admissions were observed in the Central (−10.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): −14.18, −6.01), Lower Hudson (−11.05, 95% CI: −16.54, −5.19), and New York City Metro regions (−5.71, 95% CI: −7.39, −4.00), consistent with wind trajectory patterns. Stratified analyses suggest that admissions for asthma, chronic airway obstruction, among those 5-17 years old, self-payers, Medicaid-covered, and rural residents declined the most post-NBP. This study suggests that the NOx control policy may have had a positive impact on both air pollution levels statewide and respiratory health in some NYS regions. However, the effect varied by disease subgroups, region, and socio-demographic characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking into account the fact of global economic integration, this paper improves the RICE model and the MRICES model, and establishes a new integrated assessment model MRICES-2012, which takes Ramsey utility as the standard of fairness. Based on the model, schemes which meet the global emission mitigation targets as well as the interests of developing countries are simulated to assess the international fairness of emission reduction. Therefore, a new feasible scheme is proposed, which can not only reach the Copenhagen Consensus but also ensure interests of every country. Specifically speaking, the US and Japan cut emissions 80% and 70% respectively by 2050 relative to the 1990 level; the EU and other developed countries cut 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 level; high human development countries cut 50% by 2050 relative to 1990 level; all above-mentioned countries start emission reduction from 2020 and keep emission on 2050 level by 2100; China begins emission reduction from 2030 and cuts emission 15% by 2050 and 25% by 2100 relative to 2005 level; medium human development countries keep emission on 2020 level by 2100; low human development countries do not take part in reduction on emission intensity and global emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of environmental technologies and its diffusion across countries are of key importance for international environmental policy. This paper considers technologies in the area of glass-melting furnaces and glass burners, which are major contributors of NO emissions. Using patents as an indicator of innovations and patent citations as a proxy for knowledge flows, the inducement of new environmental and non-environmental technologies and their diffusion within and across countries, patent applicant types and patent firm types are analyzed in relation to NO-related environmental policy. We find that most environmental patents originate from the USA and Germany and are filed by a broad range of firms. Most knowledge flows take place within countries. Regarding cross-country flows, most environmental knowledge diffuses from US patents, which is likely to be a result of early strict environmental legislation in some areas of the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The State of California is developing and implementing a new generation of environmental policies to transition to a low-carbon economy and energy system in order to reduce the risks of future damages from global climate change. At the same time, it is increasingly clear that climate change impacts are already occurring and that further effects cannot be completely avoided. Thus, anticipating and planning for emerging and potential future climate change impacts in California must complement the state's greenhouse gas mitigation efforts. These impacts will depend substantially on the future evolution of the state's social structure and economy. To support impact studies, this report describes socioeconomic storylines and key scenario elements for California that are broadly consistent with the global 'A2' and 'B1' storylines in the 2000 Special Report on Emissions Scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including qualitative socioeconomic context as well as quantitative projections of key variables such as population, urbanization patterns, economic growth, and electricity prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Forest Service's responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act entail a wide range of activities including scoping, scientific analysis, social and economic analysis, managing public input and involvement, media relations, regulatory analysis, and litigation. These myriad duties raise several important organizational and management questions. First, is the U.S. Forest Service capable of discharging these widely varying tasks with high levels of effectiveness and efficiency? To what extent should these activities be outsourced to private contractors or other providers? For those responsibilities retained in-house, what organizational structure best supports their effective and efficient execution? To address these questions, this article draws on concepts from new institutional economics and insights from the privatization and strategic organizational design literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1970s, new forms of public scrutiny were applied to the research methods of field biologists in the United States, particularly those studying endangered species and marine mammals. This paper shows how such scrutiny affected researchers' choice of research methods through an analysis of a key moment in a decade-long controversy over the conservation of bowhead whales. In 1978, researchers at the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory received funding from the Bureau of Land Management to radio-tag bowhead whales. Although this promising but still largely untested technique might have answered one of the central scientific questions in the controversy, it ultimately went unused. Technical considerations played a role in the decision not to use the technique, but the most important factor was scientists' concerns about potential backlash from Iñupiat whalers and animal protectionists. The same forces that had made marine mammalogists more influential than ever and that had put into their hands the resources necessary to develop more effective research techniques also placed serious constraints on where, when, and how they could do their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a federal system of government, powers are shared by the national and sub-national units in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. However, the process of policy implementation may differ on the basis of allocation of power and the nature of the system. Canada and the United States of America adopted federal systems of government, and faced similar pressures for implementing policies on environmental issues. Yet, the degree of success and outcome appear to be different due to variations in the strength of the respective federalist systems. An analysis of the various aspects of the federal system in the two countries reveals noticeable differences in institutional configurations, relationship between national and sub-national units, and variances in intra-institutional relations. All these have contributed to a divergence in the past, but there is an emerging trend of convergence as both the Canadian and American governments are gradually moving away from their existing patterns of policy implementation toward a new approach involving private-sector initiatives and self-enforcement with strong inclinations toward voluntarization, corporatization and marketization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses what U.S. president Barack Obama could do to rejuvenate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Topics include commentary from six leading individuals regarding the changes including former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman, president of the United Nations Foundation in Washington, D.C., Timothy E. Wirth, and co-director of the Harvard Sussex Program on chemical and biological weapons, Matthew Meselson.

The lack of significant efforts at the national level to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the United States has provided the impetus for a number of state programs. This article assesses the efficiency of these programs in making real progress in GHG reductions. It also explores the effect of state programs on the eventual adoption of a strong national GHG mitigation policy. While state programs are likely to demonstrate the viability of new mitigation approaches, they are also likely to create a set of expectations and precedents that will make a strong and coherent national policy more difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a research agenda for studying six basic questions about the impacts of alternate international invasive species control mechanisms on economic agents in a nation such as the USA. The six questions are as follows. First, when can one justify a trade ban as an effective regulatory policy? Second, what are the properties of control rules that vary by port of entry and whether a shipment is viewed as a routine or as a first-time entry? Third, when should a port manager in the USA use information about the dollar value of the products being transported by ships from two exporting firms and the expected time it takes to inspect ships from these two firms to grant preferential treatment to one or the other firm? Fourth, what are some reasonable measures of the trade related risk from invasive species? Fifth, how useful is strategic trade policy as an invasive species management tool? Finally, when analyzing a biological invasion, is it more appropriate to focus on the likelihood of this event or, instead, on the magnitude of the event? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial presents the proposition for global climate control measures similar to the paradigm of the United States' "Manhattan Project." The author overviews the various challenges inherent in present governmental policies regarding environmental controls and suggests a drastic, high-intensity research project to produce a distinct technological solution to the problem of the fuel-energy crisis rather than allowing the slower systems of gradual economic regulation to continue unsuccessfully.

Forests of the United States and Russia can play a positive role in reducing the extent of global warming caused by greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. To determine the extent of carbon sequestration, physical, ecological, economic, and social issues need to be considered, including different forest management objectives across major forest ownership groups. Private timberlands in the U.S. Pacific Northwest are relatively young, well stocked, and sequestering carbon at relatively high rates. Forests in northwestern Russia are generally less productive than those in the Northwestern U.S. but cover extensive areas. A large increase in carbon storage per hectare in live tree biomass is projected on National Forest timberlands in the U.S. Pacific Northwest for all selected scenarios, with an increase of between 157--175 Mg by 2050 and a near doubling of 1970s levels. On private timberlands in the Pacific Northwest, average carbon in live tree biomass per hectare has been declining historically but began to level off near 65 Mg in 2000; projected levels by 2050 are roughly what they were in 1970 at approximately 80 Mg. In the St. Petersburg region, average carbon stores were similar to those on private lands in the Pacific Northwest: 57 Mg per hectare in 2000 and ranging from 40 to 64 Mg by 2050. Although the projected futures reflect a broad range of policy options, larger differences in projected carbon stores result from the starting conditions determined by ownership, regional environmental conditions, and past changes in forest management. However, an important change of forest management objective, such as the end of all timber harvest on National Forests in the Pacific Northwest or complete elimination of mature timber in the St. Petersburg region, can lead to substantial change in carbon stores over the next 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the initiation of various activities to address the use of genomics information by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA has released an interim policy position which offers guidance concerning the application of genomics information in assessing the risks of environmental contaminants under the different regulatory programs enforced by the agency. A genomics white paper was employed by the agency which outlines the implications of genomics.

The article reports on the continuous inventory collection of radioactive waste products in nuclear power industry involving its radiation risk to future generations in the U.S. The administration of the permanent respiratory for radioactive waste products has been encountering delayed in technical difficulties and political controversy. The federal Environmental Protection Agency announces the revision of proposed standards including the ten years radioactive waste storage and the period of ten thousand years into the future. The storage facility includes overlying vegetation as its physical characteristics and integrity.

This paper explores the paradox that while Americans generally identify themselves as environmentalists, they show little willingness to voluntarily restrain their behavior or to support specific fiscal policies that would result in increased levels of environmental protection. I explore the role of values in the explanation of this paradox, and discuss some of the difficulties involved in studying values and their role in human behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of studies examining racial and socioeconomic disparities in the geographic distribution of environmental hazards and locally unwanted land uses has grown considerably over the past decade. Most studies have found statistically significant racial and socioeconomic disparities associated with hazardous sites. However there is considerable variation in the magnitude of racial and socioeconomic disparities found; indeed, some studies have found none. Uncertainties also exist about the underlying causes of the disparities. Many of these uncertainties can be attributed to the failure of the most widely used method for assessing environmental disparities to adequately account for proximity between the hazard under investigation and nearby residential populations. In this article, we identify the reasons for and consequences of this failure and demonstrate ways of overcoming these shortcomings by using alternate, distance-based methods. Through the application of such methods, we show how assessments about the magnitude and causes of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of hazardous sites are changed. In addition to research on environmental inequality, we discuss how distance-based methods can be usefully applied to other areas of demographic research that explore the effects of neighborhood context on a range of social outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a macro-level theory of framing to explain the intractable or ‘icked’ nature of environmental policy. Using conflict in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) as a case study, we review how proposed solutions – technical, scientific, and economic – and cultural issues often lead to inadequate policy solutions. We then propose that interest groups, the media, and elected officials do not act solely as linkage mechanisms, but, rather, as policy marketers who market public opinion to citizens. The macro-level trends of a marketing culture in tandem with the rise of consumerism are explored in the context of GYA politics. Finally, we describe how our proposed macro-level theory of framing points to a rich research agenda for empirically testing questions about issue framing, policy marketers, and public opinion formation in environmental policy conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the intersection between environmental hazards and community demographics have concluded that environmental inequality is prevalent in communities across the United States. While these studies offer persuasive indicators of environmental inequality, we still have little understanding of the social forces involved in the production of these unequal outcomes. Drawing on a case study of a community of color facing illegal dumping, I propose an environmental justice framework to explain the social dynamics that produced this outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the public in US policy making has shifted substantially during the past several decades. This shift is particularly evident in environmental policy, where collaboration among multiple stakeholders is on the rise. Much of the literature on collaborative environmental management emphasizes the need for widespread community involvement, especially from private citizens. Many proponents of collaboration have argued that broad inclusion can lead to better environmental solutions while also establishing legitimacy, building social capital, and overcoming conflicts. Yet such broad inclusion may be costly in terms of time, energy, and resources, and it may not yield the desired results. Thus, a key question is how the breadth of public involvement is linked to collaborative group accomplishments. This study, using watershed groups in Ohio, demonstrates several links between group membership and results. Groups with a broader array of participants tend to excel in watershed plan creation, identifying/prioritizing issues, and group development and maintenance. In addition, groups comprised of a relatively balanced mix of governmental and non-governmental participants are more likely to list planning/research and group development and maintenance results than are groups comprised primarily of non-governmental participants. In contrast, groups with a narrower membership and groups that are composed primarily of non-governmental participants may focus more on pressuring government for policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the localism in environmental policy by revisiting the case of the U.S. Division of Grazing. History of balancing local and national interests in U.S. politics; Problems with applying capture theory to the Taylor Grazing Act (TGA); Impact of TGA on grazing control in the U.S.; Controversy over Joseph Livingston's grazing in Colorado; Implications of the Livingston case to the Division of Grazing's struggle with localism.

Over the last two decades in the United States, mainstream environmental organizations have reduced, rather than increased, democratic participation by citizens in environmental problem-solving. The environmental justice movement, on the other hand, has served to enlarge the constituency of the environmental movement by incorporating poorer communities and oppressed people of color into environmental decision making process; build community capacity by developing campaigns and projects that address the common links between various social and environmental problems; and facilitate community empowerment by emphasizing grassroots organizing over advocacy. This paper outlines the different components in the environmental justice movement. It is our contention that if researchers and policymakers continue to conceive of the ecological crisis as a collection of unrelated problems, then it is possible that some combination of regulations, incentives, and technical innovations can keep pollution and resource destruction at “tolerable” levels for more affluent socioeconomic populations. However, poor working class communities and people of color which lack the political–economic resources to defend themselves will continue to suffer the worst abuses. However, if the interdependency of issues is emphasized as advocated by the environmental justice movement, then a transformative environmental politics can be invented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines environmental conflicts with strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) reputations in the United States. Environmental policy; Reputation building by firms; Proposals to ban SLAPPs.

Discusses the concept of environmental justice as a political and social movement that emerged in the 1980s in the U.S. Goal of environmental justice; Components of the concern over environmental inequity; Examples of environmental justice cases; Evolution of the definition of environmental justice.

Explores how to design public policy mechanisms to stimulate rather than impede pollution-preventing technological innovation. Role of the government in technological innovation for a minimal waste society; Design criteria for policy for `green' technological innovation; Assessment of the United States environmental policy as a stimulus for `green' innovation.

Examines the feasibility of implementing a regulatory budget using costs estimates of amendments to the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act in the United States. Benefits of implementing a regulatory budget; Factors impeding an accurate estimation of the costs of regulation; Compliance costs of the clean-air and safe-drinking-water laws.

Analyzes data on environmental quality differentials in the United States states. Pollution and waste management as two factors formed by the many physical measures of the environment; Budget allocations for the environment; Measures of structure and environmental policy characteristics; Intertwining of social structure, policy and pollution.

Provides information on the nine fallacies of floods in United States. Discussion on flood frequencies; Availability of flood forecasts; Implications of data on flood casualties.

This article discusses regional planning in the United States and the negative attitude of citizens regarding the practice. Vermont combines New England's strongest banking climate and strictest regional land-use planning. It is the only New England state that has not suffered a savings-and-loan collapse, and it has the region's most demanding statewide environmental regulations. Vermont's experience marks a fascinating turn in America's generations-long ambivalence toward regional land-use planning. Let us define regional planning as the regulation of land development projects that is conducted by governments above the municipal and county levels. Regional planning has traditionally foundered on the plain fact that many Americans truly loathe modem, centralized, regulatory government. In no area is the contradiction as apparent as in regional land-use planning. Regional planning in the United States has provably increased each year for at least the last two decades and it is likely to expand in coming years. This activity has been genuinely embraced at federal and state levels. And yet, it is hated anyway. The time has come to rework this complex tangle of attitudes and bring them more in line with reality, in the Vermont manner.

Analyzes policies on waste management and pollution prevention in the U.S. Historically the federal government's reaction to waste management has led to rigid and narrowly defined command-and-control laws and prescriptive end-of-the-pipe regulations. This approach seems to have reached a point of diminishing returns. Compliance costs have soared as polluting firms are being forced to abate smaller and smaller amounts of emissions; thus, the incremental benefits purchased with additional spending are small compared to past gains. As defined in the 1990 Pollution Prevention Act, pollution prevention--also referred to as waste minimization--involves reducing the volume or toxicity of waste prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. In other words, prevention means abating the generation of pollutants in the first place by changes in production processes such as modifying equipment or technology, reformulating or redesigning products, or substituting less toxic raw materials.

This article deals with role of market processes in the regulation of policies to solve environmental problems in the U.S. as of 1991. In a span of twenty years after giving the federal government a monopoly for the regulation of environmental use, feudal lords took control on the use of environmental assets. The serfs are seldom allowed to own and trade freely simple rights to environmental use. An example of market penetration can be seen in a situation where an air quality control authority establishes a tax return for all polluters in a region where citizens desire higher air quality. The tax return is based on a materials based concept. This scenario is another level of market penetration in search for better solutions to environmental control.

Discusses the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) need to focus on population growth in solving environmental problems in the Los Angeles Basin in California. Suit filed by environmental groups against the EPA to force it to produce a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for California; Group Against Smog Pollution (GASP); Control of population growth from illegal immigration.

Editorial. Comments on the environmental policy of the United States. Political backlash caused by public antagonism toward property regulation; Definition of `carrying capacity'; Alleged evils of `domestic consumption'; Implications of losses in biodiversity; High fertility rates as ultimate environmental threat; Electorate's call for an immigration `moratorium.'

Comments on the remarks of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chief Carol Browner on population and environmental issues and policies. Council on Environmental Quality's role; Immigration Act; Clean Air Act.