ENST20001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Environmental Policy, Nimby, Food Industry
24 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
LECTURE 5: ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN
Social Acceptance of Environmental Policy & Practice
• Aim: explore psychological factors that shape concern about environmental policy and management
• Key messages: reasons for support and opposition are complex, they are shaped by a range of factors,
and values underpin these reasons
Social Acceptability
• A favourable or unfavourable evaluation of policy, practices or management
• The result of a judgemental process in which individuals:
o Compare perceived reality with known alternatives
o Decide whether real condition is superior to most favourable condition
• Most commonly gauged through community engagement processes
o Letters to gov't ministers, submissions in response to draft policy
• Increasing use of social analysis to systemically observe social acceptability
Common Everyday Explanation
• Stick in the mud theory - people don't like change, regardless of merit
• Ugly but good theory - role of aesthetics, don't like the way policy looks
o Wind turbines (Wolsink 2007): visual impact was dominant factor in support, but type of landscape
important - more acceptable in industrial areas, less acceptable in natural areas, offshore
• Yet also healthy impacts
o Same experience in forest management, yet values and beliefs about impacts more significant
• Kerfuffle theory - people will get used to it, after initial fuss
o Underlying premise: people will change their mind once they get used to it
o Not as simple as this theory which states people support, then oppose when close to them, then
come to accept again
• NIMBY - overall people support change, but opposite it when in close proximity to them
o Premise: people have positive attitude towards environmental actions, but oppose it for selfish
reasons once they actually confront it
o Evidence is mixed, cannot use this theory on its own
• Lack of facts - people don't have all the facts
Water Futures Initiative - Recycled Water in Toowoomba
• Large town which faced critical water supply - using surface water from dams
• 2005 critical water shortage: introduced Water Futures Initiative, included an advanced water treatment
plant to use recycled water
• Environmentally feasible: reused a waste product, didn’t involve building more dams
• Funding provided from fed govt - economically feasible
• Referendum held, 62% of voters opposed, major social campaigns
Arguments
For
• Recycled water used by communities around the world
• Food industry not at risk as water exceeds guidelines
• Produces water as safe as current drinking water
Against
• Concerns about image
• Concerns of effect on local businesses, tourism, families
• Resident health concerns - didn't trust the science
Document Summary
Social acceptability: a favourable or unfavourable evaluation of policy, practices or management. The result of a judgemental process in which individuals: compare perceived reality with known alternatives, decide whether real condition is superior to most favourable condition, most commonly gauged through community engagement processes. Letters to gov"t ministers, submissions in response to draft policy. Increasing use of social analysis to systemically observe social acceptability. Lack of facts - people don"t have all the facts. Water futures initiative - recycled water in toowoomba. Funding provided from fed govt - economically feasible. For: recycled water used by communities around the world, produces water as safe as current drinking water. Food industry not at risk as water exceeds guidelines. Against: concerns about image, concerns of effect on local businesses, tourism, families, resident health concerns - didn"t trust the science. Australian carbon policy: australian government clean energy legislative package.
