Logan City Curbside RecyclingProgram Phase IV Report

Recycling programs in Cache County have undergone several transformations over the past decade. This report concentrates on the most recent program implemented in 2006 and 2007 in selected communities throughout the county. Citizens’ behaviors and attitudes regarding recycling and the curbside program are described in the following

Designation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Impact on Trust

It’s a well-known, and often repeated, story in Utah. In September of 1996, without prior warning to most Utah residents, the Clinton Administration announced the creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) in southern Utah

Does \u27Free-Sampling\u27 Enhance the Value of Public Goods?

This study investigates whether a \u27free sampling\u27 marketing strategy induces an enduring WTP premium effect for public goods. Using data from a unique field experiment involving curbside recycling, we find that the premium effect associated with providing non-participating households a brief opportunity to participate in a curbside recycling program for free is relatively small and not enduring. It may therefore not be cost effective to offer a free-sampling participation incentive for this type (or similar types) of local public good(s)

Logan City CurbsideRecycling Program Phase III Results

This report summarizes the results of a series of survey research projects examining the attitudes and behaviors of Cache County residents regarding recycling programs in 2005. USU researchers were contacted by the Cache County Service District #1, through the Logan Environmental Department, to update information about household recycling attitudes and behaviors, and to present results to various audiences as part of the long-range county solid waste master planning process

Water-Conserving Landscapes: An Evaluation of Homeowner Preference

Landscape preferences were assessed for three identically designed Xeriscapes™, differing only in the plant material, under both well-watered and drought conditions. The classes of plant material included traditional (high water use), intermediate (moderate water use), and native/adapted plant species of the Intermountain West (low water use). Landscapes were subjected to a 5-week dry-down period. Under drought conditions, respondents preferred drought/adapted and intermediate landscapes to traditional landscapes. A focus on Xeriscape™ education, practices, and visual exposure may result in greater adoption of Xeriscape™ practices by homeowners and may also result in significant residential water savings

Water-conserving landscapes: an evaluation of homeowner preference

Landscape preferences were assessed for three identically designed Xeriscapes™, differing only in the plant material, under both well-watered and drought conditions. The classes of plant material included traditional (high water use), intermediate (moderate water use), and native/adapted plant species of the Intermountain West (low water use). Landscapes were subjected to a 5-week dry-down period. Under drought conditions, respondents preferred drought/adapted and intermediate landscapes to traditional landscapes. A focus on Xeriscape™ education, practices, and visual exposure may result in greater adoption of Xeriscape™ practices by homeowners and may also result in significant residential water savings

INRA Water Resource Management Research and EducationNeeds Assessment Project

The Water Resources Research Needs Assessment team received funding in summer 2006 from the Inland Northwest Research Alliance (INRA) Water Resources Steering Committee to conduct a structured needs assessment study. The study was motivated by the desire to allow future INRA research and educational programs to meet better the needs of water resources managers in the five state INRA region

Social targeting conservation subsidies in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

Achieving public conservation objectives often requires voluntary conservation on private land. However, some landowners are reluctant to participate in voluntary conservation programs, even when offered financial incentives. Heterogeneity in willingness to participate suggests that policymakers can improve conservation outcomes by strategically targeting subsidy program outreach, messaging, and design to landowners who are more likely to enroll, which we call "social targeting." This paper informs social targeting a subsidy to farmers to construct wetlands in the Western Lake Erie Basin in the United States. We use a discrete choice survey and a latent class model to identify preference heterogeneity and farmer attributes associated with willingness to construct wetlands. Willing respondents prefer larger projects, but fully subsidized construction is vital for participation. Simulation results highlight that even the most willing farmers are unlikely to install a wetland if construction is not fully subsidized. Policy practitioners should target outreach to younger farmers and larger farms. Outreach strategies should focus on private benefits from the wetland, such as aesthetic values and hunting opportunities, highlight farmer responsibility for Lake Erie water quality, and promote positive social norms surrounding wetland construction

The impact of parenthood on environmental attitudes and behaviour: a longitudinal investigation of the legacy hypothesis

Willingness to engage in sustainable actions may be limited by the psychological distance of climate change. In this study, we test the legacy hypothesis, which holds that having children leads parents to consider the legacy left to offspring in respect of environmental quality. Using the Understanding Society dataset, a longitudinal survey representative of the UK population (n = 18,176), we assess how having children may change people’s individual environmental attitudes and behaviour. Results indicate that having a new child is associated with a small decrease in the frequency of a few environmental behaviours. Only parents with already high environmental concern show a small increase in the desire to act more sustainably after the birth of their first child. Overall, the results do not provide evidence in support of the legacy hypothesis in terms of individual-level environmental attitudes and behaviours. We argue that the transition to parenthood is a time where concern is prioritised on the immediate wellbeing of the child and not on the future environmental threats