A Public Choice Approach to Transboundary Acid Deposition

This paper applies public choice theory to the problem of transboundary-transported air pollution. Conventional theoretical wisdom dealing with external diseconomies is insufficient for problems of this nature. The process of issue linkage is suggested for a mutually advantageous agreement in the presence of otherwise highly skewed benefits

Willingness to Pay for Biodiesel in Diesel Engines: A Stochastic Double Bounded Contingent Valuation Survey

The double bounded dichotomous choice format has been proven to improve efficiency in contingent valuation models. However, this format has been criticized due to lack of behavioral and statistical consistencies between the first and the second responses. In this study a split sampling methodology was used to determine whether allowing respondents to express uncertainty in the follow-up question would alleviate such inconsistencies. Results indicate that allowing respondents to express uncertainty in the follow-up question was effective at reducing both types of inconsistencies while efficiency gain is maintained.Biodiesel, diesel, environmental benefits, contingent valuation, willingness to pay, double bounded model, and statistical and behavioral inconsistencies, Demand and Price Analysis, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, I18, L91, Q42, Q51, Q53,

Reconnecting with nature for sustainability

Calls for humanity to ‘reconnect to nature’ have grown increasingly louder from both scholars and civil society. Yet, there is relatively little coherence about what reconnecting to nature means, why it should happen and how it can be achieved. We present a conceptual framework to organise existing literature and direct future research on human–nature connections. Five types of connections to nature are identified: material, experiential, cognitive, emotional, and philosophical. These various types have been presented as causes, consequences, or treatments of social and environmental problems. From this conceptual base, we discuss how reconnecting people with nature can function as a treatment for the global environmental crisis. Adopting a social–ecological systems perspective, we draw upon the emerging concept of ‘leverage points’—places in complex systems to intervene to generate change—and explore examples of how actions to reconnect people with nature can help transform society towards sustainability

Environmental Education After Sustainability : Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

In this article, I discuss the challenge posed to environmental education (EE; and education for sustainable development) by the thinkers who see the situation of the world as so severe that ‘sustainability’ is an outdated concept. My approach is interdisciplinary and I discuss especially the connections between EE and eco-psychology. Based on psychological research, I argue that the wide-scale unconscious anxiety, which people experience, should be taken very seriously in EE. My discussion thus contributes in a new kind of way to a long-standing key issue in EE, the gap between people’s values and the perceived action. Scholars of eco-anxiety have argued that instead of not caring, many people in fact care too much, and have to resort to psychological defenses of denial and disavowal. Thus, the question in EE is not anymore whether EE should deal with anxiety, for anxiety is already there. The prevailing attitude in EE writing is right in emphasizing positive matters and empowerment, but the relation between hope and optimism must be carefully thought about and a certain sense of tragedy must be included. Therefore, my article participates in the discussion about the role of ‘fear appeals’ in EE. My discussion is directed to anyone who wants to understand the reasons for inaction and the ways in which these may be overcome.Peer reviewe

Willingness to Pay for Biodiesel in Diesel Engines: A Stochastic Double Bounded Contingent Valuation Survey

The double bounded dichotomous choice format has been proven to improve efficiency in contingent valuation models. However, this format has been criticized due to lack of behavioral and statistical consistencies between the first and the second responses. In this study a split sampling methodology was used to determine whether allowing respondents to express uncertainty in the follow-up question would alleviate such inconsistencies. Results indicate that allowing respondents to express uncertainty in the follow-up question was effective at reducing both types of inconsistencies while efficiency gain is maintained