On the complexity of cusped non-hyperbolicity

We show that the problem of showing that a cusped 3-manifold M is not hyperbolic is in NP, assuming S3-RECOGNITION is in coNP. To this end, we show that IRREDUCIBLE TOROIDAL RECOGNITION lies in NP. Along the way we unconditionally recover SATELLITE KNOT RECOGNITION lying in NP. This was previously known only assuming the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis. Our key contribution is to certify closed essential normal surfaces as essential in polynomial time in compact orientable irreducible ∂-irreducible triangulations. Our work is made possible by recent work of Lackenby showing several basic decision problems in 3-manifold topology are in NP or coNP.Mathematic

Contingent Valuation Methodology in the Natural Resource Damage Regulatory Process: Choice Theory and the Embedding Phenomenon

In their most recent article on the use of Contingent Valuation Methodology ( CVM ) in the natural resource damages assessment ( NRDA ) process, the authors take issue with the CVM components of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u27s ( NOAA ) proposed NRDA rules. In particular, the authors argue that NOAA\u27s proposed NRDA process does not comport with basic tenets of choice theory and that the CVM safeguards created by NOAA are not adequate to address the inherent, and perhaps irreconcilable, flaws in CVM assessments. To illustrate their arguments, the authors examine and criticize NOAA\u27s treatment and general disregard of the embedding phenomenon. The author\u27s argue that the existence of the embedding phenomenon in CVM valuations demonstrates the inappropriateness of CVM as a regulatory tool in the NRDA process

The Use of Contingent Valuation Methodology in Natural Resource Damage Assessments: Legal Fact and Economic Fiction.

The creation of comprehensive statutory schemes for protection of the environment has required the legal system to focus on the definition problems associated with environmental goods and with the physical, tmeporal, and aesthetic considerations related to such goods. Clearly, the events of the twentieth century have taught us that individual physical components of the natural environment, such as streams, forests, wildlife, and biota, do not exist in isolation. Instead, these components are part of the interrelated environmental systems that may, in turn, impact other environmental systems. Likewise, damage to one or more of the components of a system can result in a loss to humans of these environmental goods or the Uses provided by the system