The addition of sulfur dioxide is a longstanding and common practice in the winemaking industry. Sulfur dioxide preserves wine, preventing oxidation and browning. However, in the U.S., wine labeled as organic cannot contain added sulfur dioxide. A petition put forth to the National Organic Standards Board for the allowance of added sulfur dioxide in organic wine was recently rejected. In France, added sulfur dioxide is allowed in organic wine, but not used in all organic wine. This variation in use allows the estimation of the value of added sulfur dioxide in French organic wine, which sheds light on the possible benefits of a policy change in the U.S. For red wines, the addition of sulfur dioxide reduces the suggested retail price of wines to be consumed immediately after purchase, but the effect becomes positive for wines that are intended to be cellared for at least one to three years before consumption. The effect for most white wines is neutral to positive. The magnitude of the effect for both red and white wines varies by eco-certification type.

Karst springs are scenic natural resources in karst areas of Florida, currently under threat from increasing groundwater withdrawal from the Floridan Aquifer and pollution resulting from a variety of sources. This paper estimates the current recreation benefits from visiting springs using the travel cost method and elicits residents’ willingness to contribute for springs restoration using the contingent valuation method. It further compares the performance of count data models correcting for endogenous stratification and truncation, and finds that the annual consumer surplus per person per trip is between $20 and $43, and the annual total recreational value for the four springs studied is about $25 million. Furthermore, visitors are willing to contribute $12 to $14 per person per trip for springs restoration without reducing trip demand.

The dramatic increase in the number of uncontrollable wildfires in the United States has become an important policy issue as they threaten valuable forests and human property. The derived stochastic dynamic model of this study is capable of determining optimal fuel treatment timing and level simultaneously and as a function of fire risk and fuel biomass dynamics. This study develops a stochastic dynamic model to evaluate the interaction of fuel treatment decisions for two adjacent landowners under various scenarios of misinformation about fire occurrence and spread. Findings indicate that a landowner tends to free ride on fuel treatment undertaken by his adjacent landowner. However, the study finds that the free riding potential of a landowner could be alleviated to some extent by having a neighboring landowner who is aware of fire spillover effects. In addition, the study reveals that the social cost resultant from free riding behavior is lower that the social cost associated with complete absence of fire externality awareness for both landowners. These findings imply that governments could introduce more effective educational programs to ensure that all landowners are fully aware of cross-parcel benefits of fuel treatment in order to align socially and privately optimal decisions, thus minimizing externality costs.

The United States has experienced an even longer and more intense wildfire season than normal in recent years, largely resulting from drought conditions and a buildup of flammable vegetation. The derived stochastic dynamic model in this study was utilized to evaluate the interaction of wildfire risk mitigation policies for two adjacent landowners under various scenarios of forest benefits while accounting for full awareness of fire externalities. This study also evaluated the effectiveness of cost-share programs and fuel stock regulation and investigated under which scenarios of forest management interests the implementation of these policies encourages risk mitigation behaviors and yields larger reductions in social costs. The findings revealed that social costs significantly reduced after the implementation of cost-share programs and fuel stock regulation. Market-oriented adjacent landowners were more responsive to policy instruments compared to other types of neighboring landowners, and their responsiveness was greater for fuel stock regulation policies than for cost-share programs. Policymakers may introduce extra financial incentives or more rigorous fuel stock regulations to induce nonmarket-oriented landowners to undertake increased fuel management activities.