Assignment #3

13. Yes, public managers and environmental planners should engage the public even if the issue is complex or the public's knowledge is limited. Public participation is essential to developing environmental policy, especially local environmental policy. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to make sure presentations are not overloaded with scientific jargon that will prohibit the public from understanding the impact of the proposed program. I believe that public hearings or meetings would be very effective, in that they would allow the public to ask questions about terms, processes, or effects they do not understand. Utilizing a public information officers is another way to get information to the public. If the PIO is adequately informed the information should be easily relayed to the public.

14. Contingent valuation could be used in fining business or firms that contaminate groundwater or dump toxic electronic waste. Both of these scenarios destroy natural resources and have a direct affect on human life. I believe that estimating a true willingness-to-pay, or close to it, would be easy. Issues that directly affect humans are easier to use contingent valuation. The respondents answer are probably more likely to be accurate than if they are asked about willingness-to-pay for a nonuse value.

15. Contingent valuation would not be as useful in estimating nonuse values, such as saving the polar ice caps from melting and global warming (in a generic sense). I'm not sure that there would be an accurate true willingness-to-pay estimate.