NEW TOOLS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - EDUCATION, INFORMATION AND VOLUNTARY MEASURES

Examines the potential of some of these 'new tools' that emphasize education, information, and voluntary measures. Of interest to environmental policy practitioners and to researchers and students concerned with applying social and behavioral sciences knowledge to improve environmental quality. 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.