Placebo Environmental Policies

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that placebo policies in environmental management are used by some government entities to mislead the government on its anti-environment agenda. The author cites specifically the Harris government in Ontario, which imposes policies that seem to be for the environment but are not, and the Saskatchewan Environmental Society, which has a more effective history depending on implementation. The paper relates that placebo policy has the effect of manipulating public opinion on the issue, reducing public input and participation in the process of making policy, and rolling back earlier environmental initiatives.

From the Paper:

"A number of placebo policies can be found in Ontario, such as the government's attempt at manipulating public opinion on the issue of urban smog. When a highly publicized smog patrol program was introduced, along with summer gasoline volatility limits to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 2 per cent, analysts found that overall VOC emissions were expected to rise by 10 per cent per decade as a result of other government policies that promote urban sprawl."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Krajnc, Anita. "How Harris Neo-Conservatism Led to Walkerton" Peace and Environment News (21 Oct 2000). http://www.perc.ca/PEN/2000-07-08/s-krajnc.html.
• Krajnc, Anita. "Whither Ontario's Environment? Neo-Conservatism and the Decline of the Environment Ministry." Canadian Public Policy 26(1)(2000), 111-127.
• Robinson, M. The Greening of British Party Politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.
• "Sustainability." University of Saskatchewan (2006). February 10, 2007. http://www.facilities.usask.ca/sustainability/sustainability_policy.php.

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• Research Paper # 94907 : "Environmental Policies In Canada"

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