Characterizing Layperson Perceptions of Global Climate Change Risks to Ecosystems. Jeffrey K. Lazo, Toby Bussa, Jason Kinnell, and Ann Fisher, Energy, Environmental, & Mineral Economics, 221 Walker, Penn. State Univ., University Park, PA 16802
This study discusses administration and analysis of a five part protocol eliciting perceptions and valuation of risk from climate change impacts on ecosystems. An open-ended protocol was administered in one-on-one interviews to subjects recruited using random digit dialing in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The protocol elicits layperson understanding of i) ecosystems, ii) GCC, iii) GCC impacts on ecosystems, iv) GCC ecosystem impacts in the Susquehanna River Basin (SRB) of Pennsylvania, and v) intertemporal valuation to prevent or reduce the risk of GCC ecosystem impacts. Content analysis, which transforms textual, qualitative data into quantitative data, is used to analyze these open-ended one-on-one interviews of 49 laypeople. Information from this project is used to design a contingent valuation survey of laypeople’s values for ecosystem changes occurring outside the SRB that affect recreational opportunities in the SRB.