China is advancing in its development of nuclear energy in order to satisfy its hunger for increased energy. Several legal instruments have been part of the historical change in the development of China’s open-information culture, including the Regulations on Open Government Information, the Measures on Open Environmental Information, and specific institutional arrangements on nuclear information disclosure. However, it might be difficult for the newly formulated nuclear safety information disclosure system to grant people real access to nuclear information. This is principally because of the lower rank of the new instruments in the legislative hierarchy, numerous exceptions for disclosure, legislative objectives that are more propagandistic than human-oriented, and, above all, the absence of a clear definition of the people’s right to know.

Environmental Practice 16: 127–137 (2014)

This article analyzes the decision-making processes used by government agencies when trying to decide whether to approve or reject projects that impact the environment. This article examines some of the real-life inputs into the decision, as well as the influences on the decision maker. For example, some academics suggest that decision makers are more influenced by the environmental impact assessment process itself than by the conclusions of the assessment. Three case studies are presented. I provide an overview of each project and the various influences on the respective decision maker. I demonstrate that decision makers tend to elevate social, cultural, and political concerns over the natural environment. I also demonstrate that each decision maker was influenced by a particular social, cultural, or political aspect unique to each situation. I recommend further research in the expanding use of analytical tools and models in environmental decision making. These tools may encourage the decision maker to give more consideration to the results of the environmental impact assessment versus other external influences.

Environmental Practice 16: 290–301 (2014)

The adverse impacts of climate change have become some of the most serious threats faced by humankind. China, the largest greenhouse gas emitter, has a huge impact on global climate change and thus has an inescapable responsibility to take necessary steps to mitigate it. In response to the gradual but increasingly serious adverse impact of climate change, the Chinese government has promulgated many laws, regulations, and policies to refine the specific areas of mitigating climate change in accordance with its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, which form the fundamental international legal framework for addressing these issues. Nevertheless, many gaps still exist in the legislation for climate change. Besides, weak implementation and enforceability of climate change laws are still big problems in China. Furthermore, the Chinese environmental nongovernmental organizations should be granted more powers in the field of mitigating climate change. Lastly, although China should take further responsibility for preventing global climate change, the objective of mitigating climate change will never be achieved without effective international cooperation in this field.

Environmental Practice 16: 205–229 (2014)

Climate change knowledge and risk perceptions were examined in farming communities in Southern Ethiopia. Based on multistage probability sampling, data were collected from 2,188 respondents. Most respondents (80%) were concerned about risk of climate change. Variables that predicted knowledge and risk perception for both men and women were frequency of listening to the radio, household size, agroclimatic zone, and educational status. Additionally, age, household wealth, and social institution membership were predictive for women, and frequency of newspaper reading was predictive for men. The high levels of risk perception suggest receptiveness to context-appropriate strategies to reduce potential long-term vulnerability.

Environmental Practice 16: 29–36 (2014)

For students of environmental science and studies, as well as students in sustainability programs, critical thinking about the economy–environment interdependence is a key learning objective and a foundational part of the undergraduate curriculum. There are many courses that could provide initial exposure to economic theory. However, not all are as adept at providing this combination of critical thinking, relevance to important global issues, and economy–environment interdependence. This article looks at neoclassical economics, environmental economics, and ecological economics and uses the literature to weigh which of these courses would be most well suited for an introductory economics course in environmental science and studies and sustainability undergraduate curriculum. Introductory courses in neoclassical economics have been criticized for avoiding controversy, failing to consider the moral dilemmas with economic theory and policy, and excluding ethics. Additionally, neoclassical economics treats the study of economy–environment interdependence as an optional extra rather than as one of the immutable foundations of the field. Environmental economics uses a variety of techniques to assign market values to externalities like ecosystem services, pollution, and natural resource depletion so that they can be incorporated into the market model. These techniques alone, however, do not provide a correct framework through which to view the interdependence between the economy and the environment. Ecological economics, while far from the current economic paradigm, allows for critical consideration of this interdependence.

Environmental Practice 16: 1–9 (2014)

In order to inform natural resource policy and land management decisions, landscape values mapping (LVM) is increasingly used to collect data about the meanings that people attach to places and the activities associated with those places. This type of mapping provides geographically referenced data on areas of high density of values or associated with different types of values. This article focuses on issues and challenges that commonly occur in LVM, drawing on lessons learned in the US Forest Service Olympic Peninsula Human Ecology Mapping Project. The discussion covers choosing a spatial scale for collecting data, creating the base map, developing data collection strategies, the use of ascribed versus assigned values, and the pros and cons of different mapping formats. Understanding the common issues and challenges in LVM will assist policy makers, land managers, and researchers in designing a LVM project that effectively balances project goals, time and budgetary constraints, and personnel resources in a way that ensures the most robust data and inclusive public participation.

Environmental Practice 16: 138–150 (2014)

The article offers an examination of recent efforts to streamline the NEPA process. Proposed streamlining methods are evaluated to answer whether streamlining initiatives would either improve NEPA or result in a cautionary tale of unintended consequences. Examples are given of commonly encountered sources of delay outside of NEPA that streamlining initiatives cannot address. The article concludes with a discussion of ways to reduce delay in NEPA review.

Environmental Practice 16: 302–308 (2014)

This article is an investigation of the different factors that potentially influence the career choices of Canadian female professionals working in water research and policy (WRP). This community was broadly defined as any Canadian engineers, technicians, biologists, planners, economists, scholars conducting physical and social research, public servants (e.g., national, provincial, municipal), and civil society activists who were self-identified as working on water-related issues. Participants’ essay responses were assessed by using an integrated comparative framework—drawing insights from economics, social network theory, environmental psychology, innovation, knowledge management, and pro-environmental behavior. Focus was placed on participants’ responses about what motivated their careers, how this motivation sustained their professional participation over time, and whether different experiences with people and/or nature influenced their contributions to Canadian WRP. The data analysis indicated that female professionals draw on their relationships and experiential knowledge to make career decisions, sustain their career progression, and direct their career contributions. The analysis suggested that both recruitment and retention within the water community could be improved by providing recognition of alternative knowledge opportunities, including opportunities to develop skill mastery over existing or new skills, and experiential knowledge in nature for children, and by facilitating mentorship relationships and social networks. By doing so, these interventions would help sustain the availability of diverse knowledge resources held by female professionals within Canadian WRP.

Environmental Practice 16: 37–51 (2014)

Design-build projects present unique challenges with respect to environmental documentation and regulatory compliance. This article highlights the use of reevaluations of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents to address these challenges, drawing on examples from the State Route (SR) 520 Bridge Replacement and High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Program (SR 520 Program), in Seattle, Washington. Reevaluations provide a tool with which project proponents can confirm the validity of existing NEPA documentation relatively quickly and efficiently. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) worked together to develop a reevaluation process that ensures the environmental documentation for the SR 520 Program keeps pace with the design. WSDOT learned valuable lessons through this process, including coordinating early, developing a transition plan, assigning an environmental coordinator, clarifying expectations, and tracking design developments. These recommendations could be useful in future design-build highway projects.

Environmental Practice 00: 1–7 (2014)

In the United States (US), interstate water compacts are used to ensure the equitable division of water resources. It is necessary to understand how interstate water compacts affect intrastate water management so that administrators of water resources can effectively manage state water resources and comply with the agreed-upon allocation schemes. Although interstate compacts are more prevalent in the western US, concerns surrounding changing climate conditions, as well as water scarcity issues, have increased disputes over the management of shared water resources throughout the US. Drawing upon a case study from Colorado, the question this article seeks to answer is, how effectively does Colorado implement compliance of interstate compacts? More specifically, this report assesses implementation at the local level of government: water divisions. Using a modified version of Denise Scheberle’s implementation model, this article examines how Colorado’s Water Division 2 ensures compliance by water users party to the Arkansas River Compact. This research provides useful lessons for both academics interested in implementation studies and practitioners who are responsible for managing state resources such as water effectively, equitably, and in line with state laws and regulations. Findings suggest that compact compliance is contingent upon the effective implementation of rules curtailing water use at the local level and includes water divisions having the capacity to communicate effectively with water users and other entities involved in the maintenance of compact compliance.

Environmental Practice 16: 151–161 (2014)

The smallest possible National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document is one that cannot be made more streamlined. A NEPA document could not be more streamlined than to present eight elements of essential information as outlined in this article. Neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement would include a distinct, separate no-action alternative. Instead, today’s situation would be extended to the same point in the future, for purposes of comparison, as are the action alternatives. NEPA documents for projects would not develop alternatives to the proposal. Instead, NEPA documents would only develop alternatives that accomplish the same thing as intended by the proposed alternative. An environmental assessment would have no alternatives except for mitigating actions not already included in the proposed action. NEPA documents would not include exhaustive lists of possible environmental and other social and cultural consequences. Instead, relevance would determine which of these aspects are analyzed and compared (though under current NEPA regulations it seems that relevance determinations should be included in NEPA documents). Ultimate streamlining uses plain language. It meets all minimum legal requirements. It takes the fewest pages and should take the least time. It is the least amount of work that can produce the desired outcome.

Environmental Practice 16: 309–315 (2014)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) clearly has a role to play in how projects with a federal nexus prepare for climate change. To help agencies improve their consideration of climate change, the Council on Environmental Quality in February 2010 released the NEPA draft guidance, which addresses both emissions and the effects of climate change on agency actions and the affected environment. We analyzed every available final environmental impact statement (154 total) released in July 2011–April 2012, and found that very few incorporated the climate adaptation elements of the 2010 draft guidance. Even the environmental impact statements with the most attention to climate change adaptation considered the effect of climate change with respect to only a limited number of the elements of the affected environment, failed to fully compare the various alternatives, or used short,qualitative statements rather than full analysis based on the best available science. We explore the possible reasons for this and present recommendations for overcoming these obstacles.

Environmental Practice 16: 52–76 (2014)

Programmatic analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) are broadly scoped for assessing the environmental impacts of federal actions across a span of conditions, such as facilities, geographic regions, or multiproject programs. Programmatic NEPA analysis can be an excellent decision-making tool that facilitates proactive and strategic considerations of environmental and other important criteria ahead of the need for site-specific or project-level action. Employing a programmatic approach can lead to more informed decision making and to streamlined processes for individual actions. This article showcases examples of effective programmatic NEPA analysis and explores the use of programmatic NEPA analysis as a tool for strategic analysis and decision making.

Environmental Practice 16: 316–322 (2014)

To comply with President Bill Clinton’s Executive Order 12898 addressing environmental justice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working for over two decades to develop consistent indices and screening tools to measure disproportionate impact and identify environmental justice communities. Its efforts have been complicated by methodological problems, divergent interpretations of policy, and concerns about the misuse of such screening tools. This review of recent scholarship and developments in EPA environmental justice policy proposes that instead of a single index of disproportionate impact associated with a single type of environmental justice community, regulatory agencies should aim to produce screening tools that incorporate multiple indices of impact and a diverse typology of environmental justice communities. It argues that adopting such an approach would not only better reflect the environmental justice movement’s emphasis on difference and diversity, but also produce more effective and acceptable screening tools that are less susceptible to misuse.

Environmental Practice 16: 77–86 (2014)

With the recent rise in merger and acquisition activities among polluting firms, a rigorous study of the complex relationship between environmental variables and merger incentives is very important. While there is a wide array of literature on incentives to merge, the following questions have not yet been satisfactorily resolved: Could environmental policies alter the incentive to acquire or merge with other firms in the industry? Could antitrust policies be improved to consider environmental externalities? Could huge mergers in polluting sectors possibly have a say in environmental policy making?

Environmental Practice 16: 162–163 (2014)

There is widespread belief, currently, that financial markets are well equipped, and should be given the responsibility, to deal with environmental management. In this context, the commodification of nature would appear to serve useful purposes. This article argues that, from the viewpoint of environmental practice, these perspectives do not make a lot of sense, in large part because nature follows rules that are entirely different than those of financial markets and because the limited knowledge that specialists have of many natural processes prevents meaningful monetization. I also point out that, fortunately, within economics, a subdiscipline known as ecological economics tends to advocate caution in this area and offers much-needed common sense amid overwhelming market rhetoric.

Environmental Practice 16: 1–3 (2014)

In the March 2014 issue of Environmental Practice, NAEP president Harold Draper lamented that “despite all that is being written in the scientific community, efforts to address the unfolding crisis are failing miserably.” He further points out the need to get businesses involved with their considerable leverage in society. The present essay suggests that the emerging discipline of ecological economics can serve as a bridge and a model giving common language to connect the scientific and business communities. Then the many and varied projects of the readers of Environmental Practice can be placed within the context of the economy. In this context, the business community can more easily appreciate and value just how important the environment and these projects are to the proper functioning of the economy. A particular point of emphasis will be on the efforts to rescue economics from the grip of maximizing return to shareholders and to make the case for the importance of physical place such as communities and bioregions, in the past referred to as the Commons.

Environmental Practice 16: 1–9 (2014)