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Executive Summary
Pages 1-16

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From page 1... ... Rather, federal environmental research and policy are trying to cope with todays problems by using a system that was constructed when the problems perceived to be important were different. The purpose of this report, by the Committee on Environmental Research in the National Research Council's Commission on Life Sciences, is to suggest how the nation can organize its science and engineering resources and organize itself to address environmental problems of local, regional, national, and global scope. Read the entire page →
From page 2... ... These traits characterize the primary needs of an effective environmental research program. � There is no comprehensive national environmental research plan to coordinate the efforts of the more than 20 agencies involved in environmental programs. Read the entire page →
From page 3... ... The organizational changes are ways to incorporate all the cultural changes into a comprehensive system for effective environmental research and communication of the results to decision-makers. Read the entire page →
From page 4... ... For example, it refers to an agencies use of intramural research versus extramural research and to an agencies focus on mission-oriented research, rather than on research with potentially broader applications. With respect to a national environmental research program, it refers to the development of agency research programs with minimal reference to the cognate work in other agencies and with minimal consideration of the fit of the research in a coordinated national effort to address environmental problems. Read the entire page →
From page 5... ... The federal program will operate within the context of the entire national environmental research program, that must include the efforts of scientists, state and local governments, the public, and the private sector. It must ultimately be accountable to and responsive to the public. Read the entire page →
From page 6... ... The two ideas are complementary. LINKAGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND POLICY Among the most important roles of environmental research is creation of a foundation of sound information on which to base the policies that are necessary to protect, restore, and manage the nation's environmental resources. Read the entire page →
From page 7... ... PERFORMANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH Fundamental changes must be made in how environmental research Is conducted and used within the federal research enterprise. We recommend the following essential changes to strengthen the nation's environmental research: � Fundamental advances in understanding and in factual knowledge are needed if we are to grasp and to solve urgent environmental problems. Read the entire page →
From page 8... ... BALANCE As environmental research has evolved, substantial imbalance in emphasis has developed. Imbalance exists in the funding of disciplinary fields of research, in the distribution between intramural and extramural performance of research, and in the type of researc~disciplinary versus multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research-that is supported. Read the entire page →
From page 9... ... The National Biological Survey initiated by the Department of the Interior, if of appropriate scope, will assist in meeting this recommendation. ORGANIZING ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION AND MAKING IT AVAILABLE Information is the currency of a strong environmental research program that ~11 inform the best policies and practices for protecting, restoring, and managing the nation's resources. Read the entire page →
From page 10... ... ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES Implementation of the cultural changes is of paramount importance but will require organizational changes and innovations in how the nation's environmental program is managed. The committee has considered four frameworks ranging from relatively minor to major change for enhancing the organization of environmental research and for ensuring that the best science is used in forming decisions and policies. Read the entire page →
From page 11... ... Added, when essential, are new offices to perform functions absent in the current organization but required to implement the cultural changes that the committee has recommended. With refinements and strengthening in the individual federal agencies' programs and with additional efforts devoted to interagency coordination, improvements can be made in the nation's environmental research program to help it to meet the needs of the future. Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... The unique contribution of the National Science Foundation to basic research in a wide variety of environmental sciences is recognized, and its important role should be recognized by the provision of substantial additional funding for its programs in support of environmental research. FRAMEWORK D Framework D is a Department of the Environment. Read the entire page →
From page 13... ... With coordination overseen by the National Environmental Council as a major implementer of the National Environmental Plan, the department would take the lead in and be the natural home for support of training and facilities for environmental research, cooperation with the Department of the Interior for the development and management of a National Biological Survey, public information and education, management of the status and trends program, information collection and management, cooperative efforts with state and local environmental organizations, and cooperation with international environmental research organizations and development of U.S. positions for international agreements. Read the entire page →
From page 14... ... and the Department of the Interior, we believe that the nation's environmental research program will be enhanced vastly. FRAMEWORKS B AND C Framework B Read the entire page →
From page 15... ... Framework C is this committee's concept of a National Institute for Environmental Research that encompasses research programs of EPA, NOAA, USGS, and other agencies, rather than creating new and potentially duplicate programs. Again, after due consideration, the committee believes that the institute described in Framework C does not go far enough to solve all the problems in environmental research that we have described. Read the entire page →
From page 16... ... Although the committee has not addressed budgetary matters specifically, it believes that expenditures for environmental research should be increased for all agency programs. The cost-benefit relationships of making the changes that we recommend can be suggested but not quantified with precision. Read the entire page →

From page 1...

... Rather, federal environmental research and policy are trying to cope with todays problems by using a system that was constructed when the problems perceived to be important were different. The purpose of this report, by the Committee on Environmental Research in the National Research Council's Commission on Life Sciences, is to suggest how the nation can organize its science and engineering resources and organize itself to address environmental problems of local, regional, national, and global scope.

Executive Summary Pages 1-16

Executive Summary
Pages 1-16