ABSTRACT
There is a great deal more environmental negotiating taking place than most people realize. In formal negotiations, the parties involved have agreed to negotiate. They have acknowledged that the party or parties they are negotiating with are worthy opponents. There is the recognition in formal negotiations that all of the opposing sides have something of value to offer, that it is in everyone's interest to negotiate. Most environmental negotiations are informal negotiations. Although informal negotiations contain a great deal of foreplay, foreplay can be very serious business. The company and the people in the neighborhood attempt to influence each other during informal negotiations, but both sides usually deny that they are negotiating. Insults, distortions of the facts, concealment of the facts, and ridicule are common practices during informal negotiations. Accountability for words and deeds becomes a major factor in formal negotiations. In informal negotiation, neither side respects the other and neither side has agreed to negotiate.
