Environmental Quality 1984:The Fifteenth Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality

Abstract

Section 201 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires that the president transmit an annual environmental quality report to the US Congress. This year's report by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has more than 700 pages of fine print with appendixes. It is comprehensive in the sense that it not only concerns itself with environmental quality (air, water, hazardous chemicals) and natural resources (land, fish, wildlife, water, energy, minerals), but also deals with current issues in the area (environmental science, international environmental problems, national environmental policy). In addition, there are special reports on risk assessment, risk management, and the public benefits of private conservation. The text is buttressed by three appendixes, one an extensive statistical compendium. Since it is the single most comprehensive statement on the condition of the environment, the report commands more than the usual amount of attention and deserves to be taken seriously. While it provides valuable information on the state of the environment, the interpretation of the data and discussions of environmental policy are sometimes enlightening, often disturbing, and at times misleading. This paper the problems associated with this report.