Controlling Pollution by Individuals and Other Dispersed Sources

摘要

Because many of the factors that make it difficult to control pollution by individuals also apply to small businesses and farms, Prof. Daniel Farber argues that individuals and owner-operated businesses should be considered as part of the same universe of dispersed sources. Effectively dealing with such dispersed sources will involve many techniques, some of which avoid the need to rely on motivational mechanisms. Nevertheless, the motivations of such "mini-polluters " must be explored, and lessons from the corporate world are quite instructive in this regard. Pressure from outsiders seems to play an important role in motivating environmentally friendly corporate behavior. Thus, Professor Farber recommends putting similar pressure on mini-polluters by increasing the availability of critical information to surrounding communities. Alternatively, the problem of controlling mini-polluters could be "outsourced" to large firms experienced with influencing consumer behavior.