PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF GLOBAL WARMING

In this paper, we examine the way public opinion responds to the prospect of global warming. In particular, we focus on the public's ''willingness to pay'' in order to prevent various hypothetical climate scenarios from transpiring. To this end, fractional factorial survey methods are employed with a sample of over 600 residents of Southern California. By and large, the public is able to understand and evaluate rather complicated hypothetical climate scenarios, but the public appreciates some features of climate far better than others. In this context, the contingent valuation estimates we provide, while promising, are clearly not ready of consideration by policy makers.