ABSTRACT
The environment is a prime site of conflict between competing values and interests, and institutions and communities that articulate those values and interests. Part of the promise of cost-benefit analysis is that it offers a rational procedure for resolving those conflicts. In this chapter I show that this promise is illusory. To give focus to the discussion I want to start by considering a few typical examples of local environmental conflicts. My examples are drawn from conflicts that have arisen in North Wales.
