Information Disclosure and Environmental Decision Making

信息公开与环境决策

• 批准号: 0306492
• 负责人: Michael Kraft
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-04-15 至 2007-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0306492&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Information; Disclosure; Environmental; Decision; Making

This project examines how the collection and disclosure of information about toxic chemical releases in the United States affects local communities and businesses. Environmental information disclosure has been strongly supported by citizens and policymakers. It is also increasingly considered to be an important supplement to environmental regulation. Yet how well such information is communicated to citizens and the effects that it has remain unclear, as does the best way to design such programs to help ensure that they will be effective. Focusing on the federal Toxics Release Inventory managed by the U.S. EPA, this research seeks to improve understanding of how such information reaches citizens, local government officials, and industry representatives; what effects it has; and how it changes the way environmental decisions are made. The study will compare information disclosure and decision making within communities across the country to improve knowledge about the factors that contribute most to development of innovative strategies to reduce pollution and improve public health. Specifically, we seek to learn why some companies do more to reduce pollution than others and why some communities encourage such pollution reduction more than others.Methods to be used in the study include a comprehensive quantitative analysis of national data from the Toxics Release Inventory and the risks that such releases pose to public health. Other technical, demographic, and economic information about local communities and businesses will be analyzed as well. Such data will come from the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies; surveys of industry representatives, public officials, and citizens in a sample of three dozen communities from around the nation; analysis of media coverage of local pollution information; and interviews with industry representatives, public officials, and citizens in ten communities to be studied in depth. Such knowledge has important implications for the design and implementation of a new generation of environmental policies that can be more flexible, community-oriented, and effective than conventional approaches to regulation. In particular, it can help to maximize the potential of using information disclosure to reach national goals for environmental protection and public health.This award emerged from a FY2002 competition, "Decision Making and Valuation for Environmental Policy," sponsored by NSF and the US Environmental Protection Agency.

该项目研究了美国有毒化学品释放信息的收集和披露如何影响当地社区和企业。环境信息公开得到了公民和政策制定者的大力支持。它也越来越被认为是环境监管的重要补充。然而，这些信息向公民传达的效果如何以及其产生的影响仍不清楚，设计此类计划以帮助确保其有效的最佳方法也不清楚。这项研究以美国环保署管理的联邦有毒物质排放清单为重点，旨在加深对公民、地方政府官员和行业代表如何获取此类信息的了解；它有什么影响；以及它如何改变环境决策的方式。该研究将比较全国各地社区内的信息披露和决策，以提高对最有助于制定减少污染和改善公共卫生的创新战略的因素的了解。具体来说，我们试图了解为什么一些公司比其他公司在减少污染方面做得更多，以及为什么一些社区比其他社区更鼓励这种污染减少。研究中使用的方法包括对有毒物质排放清单中的国家数据以及此类排放对公众健康造成的风险进行全面的定量分析。有关当地社区和企业的其他技术、人口和经济信息也将被分析。此类数据将来自美国人口普查局和其他联邦机构；对来自全国各地三打社区的行业代表、公职人员和公民进行的调查；媒体对当地污染信息的报道分析；并采访了十个社区的行业代表、公职人员和公民进行深入研究。这些知识对于新一代环境政策的设计和实施具有重要意义，这些政策比传统的监管方法更加灵活、面向社区和有效。特别是，它可以帮助最大限度地发挥信息披露的潜力，以实现环境保护和公共卫生的国家目标。该奖项是由 NSF 和美国环境保护署主办的 2002 财年“环境政策决策和评估”竞赛产生的。