There has been much polemic about affluence, consumption, and the global environment. For some observers, "consumption" is at the root of global environmental threats: wealthy individuals and societies use far too much of the earth's resource base and should scale back their appetites to preserve the environment for future generations and allow a decent life for the rest of the world. Other observers see affluence as the way to escape environmental threats: economic development increases public pressure for environmental protection and makes capital available for environmentally benign technologies. The arguments are fed by conflicting beliefs, values, hopes, and fears--but surprisingly little scientific analysis. This book demonstrates that the relationship of consumption to the environment needs careful analysis by environmental and social scientists and conveys some of the excitement of treating the issue scientifically. It poses the key empirical questions: Which kinds of consumption are environmentally significant? Which actors are responsible for that consumption? What forces cause or explain environmentally significant consumption? How can it be changed? The book presents studies that open up important issues for empirical study: Are there any signs of saturation in the demand for travel in wealthy countries? What is the relationship between environmental consumption and human well-being? To what extent do people in developing countries emulate American consumption styles? The book also suggests broad strategies that scientists and research sponsors can use to better inform future debates about the environment, development, and consumption.

Climate change can reasonably be expected to increase the frequency and intensity of a variety of potentially disruptive environmental events-slowly at first, but then more quickly. It is prudent to expect to be surprised by the way in which these events may cascade, or have far-reaching effects. During the coming decade, certain climate-related events will produce consequences that exceed the capacity of the affected societies or global systems to manage; these may have global security implications. Although focused on events outside the United States, Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis recommends a range of research and policy actions to create a whole-of-government approach to increasing understanding of complex and contingent connections between climate and security, and to inform choices about adapting to and reducing vulnerability to climate change. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Climate Change as a National Security Concern 2 Climate Change, Vulnerability, and National Security: A Conceptual Framework 3 Potentially Disruptive Climate Events 4 How Climate Events Can Lead to Social and Political Stresses 5 Climate Events and National Security Outcomes 6 Methods for Assessing National Security Threats References Appendix A: Committee Member and Staff Biographies Appendix B: Briefings Received by the Committee Appendix C: Method for Developing Figure 3-1 Appendix D: Statistical Methods for Assessing Probabilities of Extreme Events Appendix E: Foundations for Monitoring ClimateSecurity Connections

Decision Making for the Environment recommends new research efforts involving the non-economic social and behavioural sciences that could contribute to improved decisions affecting environmental quality. It also offers a strategy for making environmental research more decision relevant. It recommends decision science research to improve analytical tools and deliberative processes necessary for good environmental decision making, research to understand and evaluate the social institutions that shape human use of environmental resources, research to understand the influence of environmental considerations on business decisions, and research to understand and inform individuals' environmentally significant decisions. To increase decision relevance, governments need to employ a participatory approach that involves both the producers and users in guiding research. pressures on the environment, environmental states, and human responses and consequences; to evaluate environmental policies; to develop better ways to anticipate environmental futures; and to better assess the impacts of environmental policies and programmes on different segments of society. The book includes several papers that expand on the state of knowledge in the recommended areas.

The "tragedy of the commons" is a central concept in human ecology and the study of the environment. It has had tremendous value for stimulating research, but it only describes the reality of human-environment interactions in special situations. Research over the past thirty years has helped clarify how human motivations, rules governing access to resources, the structure of social organizations, and the resource systems themselves interact to determine whether or not the many dramas of the commons end happily. In this book, leaders in the field review the evidence from several disciplines and many lines of research and present a state-of-the-art assessment. They summarize lessons learned and identify the major challenges facing any system of governance for resource management. They also highlight the major challenges for the next decade: making knowledge development more systematic; understanding institutions dynamically; considering a broader range of resources (such as global and technological commons); and taking into account the effects of social and historical context. This book will be a valuable and accessible introduction to the field for students and a resource for advanced researchers. Table of Contents Front Matter 1 The Drama of the Commons Part I: Resource Users, Resource Systems, and Behavior in the Drama of the Commons 2 Common Resources and Institutional Sustainability 3 Unequal Irrigators: Heterogeneity and Commons Management in Large-Scale 4 Factors Influencing Cooperation in Commons Dilemmas: A Review of Experimental Psychological Research 5 Appropriating the Commons: A Theoretical Explanation Part II: Privatization and Its Limitations 6 The Tradable Permits Approach to Protecting the Commons: What Have We Learned? 7 Common Property, Regulatory Property, and Environmental Protection: Comparing Community-Based Management to Tradable Environmental Allowances Part III: Cross-Scale Linkages and Dynamic Interactions 8 Institutional Interplay: The Environmental Consequences of Cross-Scale Interactions 9 Cross-Scale Institutional Linkages: Perspectives from the Bottom Up Part IV: Emerging Issues 10 Scientific Uncertainty, Complex Systems, and the Design of Common-Pool Institutions 11 Emergence of Institutions for the Commons: Contexts, Situations, and Events 12 An Evolutionary Theory of Commons Management 13 Knowledge and Questions After 15 Years of Research About the Contributors Index

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, understanding the need for policy makers at the national level to entrain the behavioral and social sciences in addressing the challenges of global climate change, called on the National Research Council to organize two workshops to showcase some of the decision-relevant contributions that these sciences have already made and can advance with future efforts. The workshops focused on two broad areas: (1) mitigation (behavioral elements of a strategy to reduce the net future human influence on climate) and (2) adaptation (behavioral and social determinants of societal capacity to minimize the damage from climate changes that are not avoided). Facilitating Climate Change Responses documents the information presented in the workshop presentations and discussions. This material illustrates some of the ways the behavioral and social sciences can contribute to the new era of climate research. Table of Contents Front Matter Introduction Part I: Public Understanding and Mitigation of Climate Change 1 Public Understanding of Climate Change 2 The Potential for Limiting Climate Change Through Household Action 3 Public Acceptance of Energy Technologies 4 Organizational Change and the Greening of Business Part II: Adapting to Climate Change 5 Climate Change Adaptation: The State of the Science 6 Federal Climate Change Adaptation Planning 7 Place-Based Adaptation Cases 8 Adaptation and Natural Resource Management 9 Cross-Cutting Issues in Adaptation 10 Synthesis of Key Questions for the Workshop References Appendix A: December 2009 Workshop Agenda and List of Participants Appendix B: April 2010 Workshop Agenda and List of Participants Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Panel Members and Staff

This study recommends a definition of "decision support" that emphasizes communication rather than translation and a strategy by which the small NOAA Sectoral Applications Research program can advance decision support. The book emphasizes that seasonal climate forecasts provide fundamentally new kinds of information and that integrating this information into real-world decisions will require social innovations that are not easily accomplished. It recommends that the program invest in (a) research to identify and foster the innovations needed to make information about climate variability and change more usable in specific sectors, including research on the processes that influence success or failure in the creation of knowledge-action networks for making climate information; (b) workshops to identify, catalyze, and assess the potential of knowledge-action networks in particular resource areas or decision domains; and (c) pilot projects to create or enhance these networks for supporting decisions in climate-affected sectors. It recommends that evaluation of the program be addressed with a monitoring approach. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 Introduction: The Sectoral Applications Research Program 2 Climate Forecasts as Innovations and the Concept of Decision Support 3 Use-Inspired Science and Communication 4 Principles for Selecting Activities and Modes of Support 5 Evaluating SARP References Biographical Sketches of Panel Members and Staff

The end of the Cold War has changed the shape of organized violence in the world and the ways in which governments and others try to set its limits. Even the concept of international conflict is broadening to include ethnic conflicts and other kinds of violence within national borders that may affect international peace and security. What is not yet clear is whether or how these changes alter the way actors on the world scene should deal with conflict: Do the old methods still work? Are there new tools that could work better? How do old and new methods relate to each other? International Conflict Resolution After the Cold War critically examines evidence on the effectiveness of a dozen approaches to managing or resolving conflict in the world to develop insights for conflict resolution practitioners. It considers recent applications of familiar conflict management strategies, such as the use of threats of force, economic sanctions, and negotiation. It presents the first systematic assessments of the usefulness of some less familiar approaches to conflict resolution, including truth commissions, "engineered" electoral systems, autonomy arrangements, and regional organizations. It also opens up analysis of emerging issues, such as the dilemmas facing humanitarian organizations in complex emergencies. This book offers numerous practical insights and raises key questions for research on conflict resolution in a transforming world system. Table of Contents Front Matter Conflict Resolution in a Changing World Evaluating Interventions in History: The Case of International Conflict Resolution Defining Moment: The Threat and Use of Force in American Foreign Policy Since 1989 Economic Sanctions and Post-Cold War Conflicts: Challenges for Theory and Policy Spoiler Problems in Peace Processes Ripeness: The Hurting Stalemate and Beyond Interactive Conflict Resolution: A View for Policy Makers on Making and Building Peace Interactive Conflict Resolution: Issues in Theory, Methodology, and Evaluation Past Truths, Present Dangers: The Role of Official Truth Seeking in Conflict Resolution and Prevention New Challenges to Conflict Resolution: Humanitarian Nongovernmental Organizations in Complex Emergencies Electoral Systems and Conflict in Divided Societies Autonomy as a Strategy for Diffusing Conflict Language Conflict and Violence: The Straw that Strengthens the Camel's Back The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe: Its Contribution to Conflict Prevention and Resolution About the Authors

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 Contents Front Matter 1 Exploring New Tools for Environmental Protection 2 Changes in Pollution and the Implications for Policy 3 Marketing Household Energy Conservation: The Message and the Reality 4 Knowledge, Information, and Household Recycling: Examining the Knowledge-Deficit Model of Behavior Change 5 Promoting "Green" Consumer Behavior with Eco-Labels 6 The Public Health Perspective for Communicating Environmental Issues 7 Understanding Individual and Social Characteristics in the Promotion of Household Disaster Preparedness 8 Lessons from Analogous Public Education Campaigns 9 Perspectives on Environmental Education in the United States 10 A Model of Community-Based Environmental Education 11 Community Environmental Policy Capacity and Effective Environmental Protection 12 Changing Behavior in Households and Communities: What Have We Learned? 13 Government-Sponsored Voluntary Programs for Firms: An Initial Survey 14 Industry Codes of Practice: Emergence and Evolution 15 Harnessing the "Power of Information": Environmental Right to Know as a Driver of Sound Environmental Policy 16 Challenges in Evaluating Voluntary Environmental Programs 17 Assessing the Credibility of Voluntary Codes: A Theoretical Framework 18 Factors in Firms and Industries Affecting the Outcomes of Voluntary Measures 19 The Policy Context for Flexible, Negotiated, and Voluntary Measures 20 Understanding Voluntary Measures 21 New Tools for Environmental Protection: What We Know and Need to Know ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Understanding Risk addresses a central dilemma of risk decisionmaking in a democracy: detailed scientific and technical information is essential for making decisions, but the people who make and live with those decisions are not scientists. The key task of risk characterization is to provide needed and appropriate information to decisionmakers and the public. This important new volume illustrates that making risks understandable to the public involves much more than translating scientific knowledge. The volume also draws conclusions about what society should expect from risk characterization and offers clear guidelines and principles for informing the wide variety of risk decisions that face our increasingly technological society. Frames fundamental questions about what risk characterization means. Reviews traditional definitions and explores new conceptual and practical approaches. Explores how risk characterization should inform decisionmakers and the public. Looks at risk characterization in the context of the entire decisionmaking process. Understanding Risk discusses how risk characterization has fallen short in many recent controversial decisions. Throughout the text, examples and case studies?such as planning for the long-term ecological health of the Everglades or deciding on the operation of a waste incinerator?bring key concepts to life. Understanding Risk will be important to anyone involved in risk issues: federal, state, and local policymakers and regulators; risk managers; scientists; industrialists; researchers; and concerned individuals. Table of Contents FRONT MATTER SUMMARY 1 THE IDEA OF RISK CHARACTERIZATION 2 JUDGMENT IN THE RISK DECISION PROCESS 3 DELIBERATION 4 ANALYSIS 5 INTEGRATING ANALYSIS AND DELIBERATION 6 IMPLEMENTING THE NEW APPROACH 7 PRINCIPLES FOR RISK CHARACTERIZATION A SIX CASES IN RISK ANALYSES AND CHARACTERIZATION B COMMON APPROACHES TO DELIBERATION AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION C BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES GLOSSARY REFERENCES INDEX

Natural gas in deep shale formations, which can be developed by hydraulic fracturing and associated technologies (often collectively referred to as "fracking") is dramatically increasing production of natural gas in the United States, where significant gas deposits exist in formations that underlie many states. Major deposits of shale gas exist in many other countries as well. Proponents of shale gas development point to several kinds of benefits, for instance, to local economies and to national "energy independence". Shale gas development has also brought increasing expression of concerns about risks, including to human health, environmental quality, non-energy economic activities in shale regions, and community cohesion. Some of these potential risks are beginning to receive careful evaluation; others are not. Although the risks have not yet been fully characterized or all of them carefully analyzed, governments at all levels are making policy decisions, some of them hard to reverse, about shale gas development and/or how to manage the risks. Risks and Risk Governance in Shale Gas Development is the summary of two workshops convened in May and August 2013 by the National Research Council's Board on Environmental Change and Society to consider and assess claims about the levels and types of risk posed by shale gas development and about the adequacy of existing governance procedures. Participants from engineering, natural, and social scientific communities examined the range of risks and of social and decision-making issues in risk characterization and governance related to gas shale development. Central themes included risk governance in the context of (a) risks that emerge as shale gas development expands, and (b) incomplete or declining regulatory capacity in an era of budgetary stringency. This report summarizes the presentations on risk issues raised in the first workshop, the risk management and governance concepts presented at the second workshop, and the discussions at both workshops. Table of Contents Front Matter Introduction Workshop 1: Risks of Unconventional Shale Gas Development Workshop 2: Governance of Risks of Shale Gas Development References

We often decide what to believe and what to question on the basis of a simple rule of thumb like believe the trustworthy source or trust the expert. Sometimes, however, reliable and well-informed sources support both sides of the controversy. Whom are we to trust? How can we make a decision on the issue at hand? The second edition of Evaluating Social Science Research provides methods for thinking critically about claims of factual knowledge and drawing appropriate conclusions.
The authors have added new sections to the book to reflect the new developments in the field since the appearance of the first edition sixteen years ago. Included is an expanded discussion of observational method that addresses the issues of validity that are now more clearly understood. There is an explicit discussion of quasi-experimental research design, including an added distinction between equivalent-group and nonequivalent-group experiments. New explanations of the logic of multiple regression analysis, casual modeling, and meta-analysis have been provided as well.
The new edition, while recognizing the limits of each research method, retains its emphasis on the importance of observations that may be repeated and checked by other researchers. It treats the reader as a key actor who can advance knowledge by cross-checking observations and interpretations.

A Strategy for Assessing Science offers strategic advice on the perennial issue of assessing rates of progress in different scientific fields. It considers available knowledge about how science makes progress and examines a range of decision-making strategies for addressing key science policy concerns. These include avoiding undue conservatism that may arise from the influence of established disciplines; achieving rational, high-quality, accountable, and transparent decision processes; and establishing an appropriate balance of influence between scientific communities and agency science managers. A Strategy for Assessing Science identifies principles for setting priorities and specific recommendations for the context of behavioral and social research on aging. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 The Purpose of the Study 2 The NIA Behavioral and Social Science Research Program 3 The Stakes in Research Assessment 4 Progress in Science 5 Methods of Assessing Science 6 Conclusions and Recommendations References Appendix: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff

Precise, accurate spatial information linked to social and behavioral data is revolutionizing social science by opening new questions for investigation and improving understanding of human behavior in its environmental context. At the same time, precise spatial data make it more likely that individuals can be identified, breaching the promise of confidentiality made when the data were collected. Because norms of science and government agencies favor open access to all scientific data, the tension between the benefits of open access and the risks associated with potential breach of confidentiality pose significant challenges to researchers, research sponsors, scientific institutions, and data archivists. Putting People on the Map finds that several technical approaches for making data available while limiting risk have potential, but none is adequate on its own or in combination. This book offers recommendations for education, training, research, and practice to researchers, professional societies, federal agencies, institutional review boards, and data stewards. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 Linked Social-Spatial Data: Promises and Challenges 2 Legal, Ethical, and Statistical Issues in Protecting Confidentiality 3 Meeting the Challenges 4 The Tradeoff: Confidentiality Versus Access References Appendix A: Privacy for Research Data Appendix B: Ethical Issues Related to Linked Social-Spatial Data Biographical Sketches for Panel Members and Staff