New Tools for Environmental Protection

Many people believe that environmental regulation has passed a point of diminishing returns: the quick fixes have been achieved and the main sources of pollution are shifting from large "point sources" to more diffuse sources that are more difficult and expensive to regulate. The political climate has also changed in the United States since the 1970s in ways that provide impetus to seek alternatives to regulation.This book examines the potential of some of these "new tools" that emphasize education, information, and voluntary measures. Contributors summarize what we know about the effectiveness of these tools, both individually and in combination with regulatory and economic policy instruments. They also extract practical lessons from this knowledge and consider what is needed to make these tools more effective.The book will be of interest to environmental policy practitioners and to researchers and students concerned with applying social and behavioral sciences knowledge to improve environmental quality.Table of ContentsFront Matter1 Exploring New Tools for Environmental Protection2 Changes in Pollution and the Implications for Policy3 Marketing Household Energy Conservation: The Message and the Reality4 Knowledge, Information, and Household Recycling: Examining the Knowledge-Deficit Model of Behavior Change5 Promoting "Green" Consumer Behavior with Eco-Labels6 The Public Health Perspective for Communicating Environmental Issues7 Understanding Individual and Social Characteristics in the Promotion of Household Disaster Preparedness8 Lessons from Analogous Public Education Campaigns9 Perspectives on Environmental Education in the United States10 A Model of Community-Based Environmental Education11 Community Environmental Policy Capacity and Effective Environmental Protection12 Changing Behavior in Households and Communities: What Have We Learned?13 Government-Sponsored Voluntary Programs for Firms: An Initial Survey14 Industry Codes of Practice: Emergence and Evolution15 Harnessing the "Power of Information": Environmental Right to Know as a Driver of Sound Environmental Policy16 Challenges in Evaluating Voluntary Environmental Programs17 Assessing the Credibility of Voluntary Codes: A Theoretical Framework18 Factors in Firms and Industries Affecting the Outcomes of Voluntary Measures19 The Policy Context for Flexible, Negotiated, and Voluntary Measures20 Understanding Voluntary Measures21 New Tools for Environmental Protection: What We Know and Need to KnowABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS