Knowledge about the state of the environment still is not what it ought to be, but what facts there are now are more accessible. Anyone interested in the environment can turn with profit and pleasure to Environmental Trends, published by the President's Council on Environmental Quality at the end of last year.
A handsome volume of charts and maps in many colors, Trends is strikingly designed and amplified by a succinct, well-written text. Its 346 pages cover the full range of environmental concerns, from basic facts about population and land to the environmental consequences of energy use and toxic substances. One might ask for another chapter—one presenting the results of public opinion surveys on public attitudes toward environmental issues—but that is a small quibble, given the great breadth of what is offered.
If the data were better, the book would be better—an old story. Unfortunately, the limits of what is known about the environment are readily apparent. Gaps are noticeable and many charts are not as up-to-date as they ought to be.
The book can be scanned in a sitting, but it is not likely to be read closely from cover to cover. It essentially is a reference work that will appeal to browsers as well as to those seeking evidence to support or refute various assertions. Sources of the data are painstakingly presented, frequently with considerable explanatory material. Still, a good deal is taken for granted. It is advisable to keep a dictionary nearby, unless you are confident of the definition of chaparral, say, or of taiga.
A positive sampling
Among the signs of progress in protecting and improving the quality of the environment are charts showing the following:
- The number of acres dedicated by the federal government to wilderness preservation increased from 9 million to 19 million acres during the 1964 to 1979 period. Twenty-five river segments were designated as wild, scenic, and recreational rivers.
- Levels of coliform bacteria declined from 1967 to 1976 in a number of large rivers (especially in the Willamette and Red), although they rose in the Missouri and Susquehanna and remain high in the Mississippi.
- Emissions of sulfur dioxide and total suspended particulates from stationary sources such as power plants and factories declined, in part because of pollution control devices.
- In monitored areas, the concentrations of carbon monoxide declined 35 percent from 1972 to 1978. Sulfur dioxide and total suspended particulates also declined. Photochemical smog dropped in California, but increased in some other areas where it had not previously been a problem.
- Nearly 90 percent of the major industrial sources of air pollution were in compliance with federal and state standards in 1979.
Figure 1. Whale catch 1920-1978
On the other hand . . .
Illustrative of continuing problems are the following items:
- About 10 percent of all industrial waste potentially is hazardous to human beings or other living organisms; 60 percent of this material comes from seven industries, the most important of which are metals and organic chemicals.
- Consumers generate about as much waste as industry (150 million tons in 1978, or about 3.7 pounds per person per day). Only about 8 percent of this waste is recycled (primarily paper and paperboard, and an increasing number of aluminum cans).
- The biggest polluters of fresh water in 1977—measured by six important pollutants—are municipal sewage plants. Close behind are power plants, the organic chemical industry, agricultural feedlots, and pulp and papermills.
- Most freshwater lakes are under stress. The rate of eutrophication caused by excessive loads of nutrients and sediment is accelerating. The number of lakes showing signs of increased acidification is also increasing, especially in the Northeast.
- Acid drainage from mines in Appalachia and the Ohio River basin has polluted some 10,500 miles of streams.
Tidbits
Odds-and-ends information include such items as the following:
- The Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina attract twice as many visitors as any other on the list of the ten most popular national parks. Yellowstone is in ninth place, the Grand Canyon seventh.
- Nearly 90 percent of workers commuted to their jobs by auto in 1977; only 5 percent used public transportation. More than one-third commuted ten miles or more to work.
- Two-thirds of insecticides are applied from aircraft; 25 to 50 percent of this amount reaches the plants, and only about 1 percent reaches an insect.
- There is a 13-percent chance that a hurricane will hit Key West in a given year and a 2-percent chance it will be a great hurricane. On the average, about six hurricanes form each year in the South Atlantic, and two hit the U.S. Coast between Texas and Maine.
The larger question
Environmental Trends, despite some faults, represents substantial progress over its predecessor volume, Environmental Statistics 1978, also published by CEQ, which was limited to tabular presentations only. Unfortunately, Trends is likely to be a one-shot government effort rather than the first in a series: plans for future CEQ editions died with cutbacks in the federal budget. However, the project director has joined the staff of the Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit Washington research organization, and will carry on the work under private auspices.
Meanwhile, the underlying need for a more systematic and extensive collection of environmental data remains as great as ever. Although the immediate prospects are even bleaker than they were a year ago, the issues raised in last year's issue of Highlights ("The Environmental Data Dilemma") deserve high priority on any agenda for environmental improvement.
Author Herbert C. Morton is a senior fellow in RFFs Quality of the Environment Division.
A version of this article appeared in print in the March 1982 issue of Resources magazine.
