The democratic process imposes an ongoing requirement on political practitioners to understand and keep track of the links between information, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. These relationships are critical across the full spectrum of national public policy. Whether the issue be immigration, finance, health, or social programs, a crucial part of the challenge facing governments today is to engage public support. An understanding of the ebb and flow of individual and collective attitudes vis a vis specific issues, and the mind-sets associated with various options, is crucial. Nowhere is this more dearly demonstrated than in environmental affairs. Social psychologists have defined …