Environmental problems that could be conducive to the contingent valuation model would be any situation where local environmental issues are being considered. The collection of individual willingness to pay for the preservation of that good would be directly related to the issue at hand. There needs to be a relationship between the situation and the individual for them to have a “willingness to pay”. An example of the use of the CV model to develop the existence value would be the Grand Canyon, although Arizonian’s are not the only ones to value this natural resource, it would be plausible to develop a willingness to pay to ensure the preservation for the Grand Canyon for centuries to come.
The first environmental problem that would not be conducive to the CV model that comes to mind is global warming. I think the problem is too wide spread to provide individual assessment of existence valuation or a willingness to pay. Although I believe that a lot of individuals would agree that global warming is “bad” but would not agree to trade in their cars, or household items to reduce their carbon footprint. Another example of an environmental problem that would not be conducive to the contingent valuation model would be anything potentially controversial. If a particular situation is controversial in the ideas of the public and the media, I do not believe that any information gained from the CV model would provide any reliable analysis that would be usable.
