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Can States Make a Market for Environmental Goals?
Pages 243-280

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From page 243...
... 244 STATES' GOALS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT ........................................... 245 Comparative risk projects, 246 Environmental indicators, 247 Environmental goals and benchmarks: Minnesota's "milestones", 248 Seattle: Environmental goals at the community level, 253 STATE INITIATIVES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY .....................................................................................
From page 244...
... programs as they relate to environmental problems; and (4) a discussion of the relationships between environmental goals and goals for environmental S&T.
From page 245...
... tracking environmental "indicators" and publishing them in annual "state-of-the-environment" reports; and (c) setting measurable environmental goals and tracking progress toward them.
From page 246...
... People familiar with EPA's Unfinished Business and Reducing Risk4 projects may remember that the act of ranking environmental problems is problematic: the data are typically poor and participants must make difficult value judgments when comparing the seriousness of dissimilar risks, such as the effects of exposure to lead paint, the effects of exposure to ground-level ozone, and the potential effects of global climate change. EPA's original comparative risk projects were conducted largely by technical staff for internal consumption.
From page 247...
... Although the ideal remains elusive, so many states and municipalities are compiling collections of information they find important that the approach is gaining sophistication and credibility -- and possibly more credibility than it yet deserves. EPA has helped sponsor state efforts to establish environmental indicators; 25 states now have a formal environmental indicator project either in the planning stages or under way.5 Two states, Florida and Illinois, explicitly use their indicator data in policy and budget decisions.
From page 248...
... These measurable environmental goals are gaining popularity as tools to help guide state policy. The first table in the appendix titled "State Activities: Comparative Risk, Indicators, and Goals," based on a table compiled by the Florida Center for Public Management under cooperative agreement with EPA,8 shows which states have started or completed these initiatives.
From page 250...
... Milestone 65: Toxic chemicals released or transferred (millions of pounds per year) Milestone 66: Quantity of hazardous waste generated Milestone 67: Number of Superfund sites identified and cleaned up Goal: Minnesota's environment will support a rich diversity of plant and animal life.
From page 251...
... Soon after the publication of Minnesota Milestones, Governor Carlson and the state's Environmental Quality Board launched a new comprehensive planning process, the Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative, which, in March 1994, produced Redefining Progress: Working Toward a Sustainable Future.11 Although a product of state government, the project was essentially in the hands of teams of non-government stakeholders and the general public. The initiative drafted reports on each of seven sectors important to Minnesota's economy, including forestry, energy, settlement, and manufacturing.
From page 252...
... (The agency's strategic directions also include "environmentally sustainable economic development" -- an unusual statement in a state regulatory agency publication -- and "partnerships and intergovernmental coordination.") Unlike the Milestones and Redefining Progress reports, the agency's strategic plan faced an immediate test in the legislature, which through the budget process did in fact support the agency's proposals for short-term work, including a proposal to conduct a somewhat abbreviated comparative risk project.
From page 253...
... Government gets closest to home at the municipal level, and several cities have developed some experience with environmental goal-setting. Seattle: Environmental Goals at the Community Level Seattle has had one of the nation's strongest environmental planning programs over the last decade.
From page 254...
... STATE INITIATIVES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY "Green Business" Across town, as it were, states have been increasingly active in setting goals and policies for the cooperative development of environmental technologies and focused environmental research. As noted in Enabling the Future, solving the nation's long-term environmental problems will require a long-term effort to understand the problems and to develop appropriate technological tools to mitigate, eliminate, or solve them.
From page 255...
... The dual promise of economic prosperity and environmental gains has inspired states to add environmental S&T to their technology programs. The National Governors' Association published a useful report on the topic, Cultivating Green Businesses,14 in 1994, which prominently repeated estimates that by the year 2000 the global market for environmental technology would total between $300 billion and $400 billion.
From page 256...
... The foundation invites universities to compete for the funds to establish these centers. The foundation's former executive director, Graham Jones, said in an interview that he had tried to encourage applications for a center to focus on pollution prevention and environmental mitigation through innovative industrial chemical processes.
From page 257...
... .18 California maintains an astonishing array of science and technology programs, partnerships, and research centers, many of which relate to environmental protection. Of them, the most relevant to this discussion may be the California Environmental Technology Partnership (CETP)
From page 258...
... • Enhance the credibility, status and access to the marketplace of environmental technology companies through establishing strategic partnerships. • Increase California's share of the national and international markets for environmental technologies, products, and services by augmenting domestic marketing efforts and expanding export assistance services.
From page 259...
... The Pennsylvania Legislature responded with a statute that required municipalities to recycle glass, paper, and yard waste. The statute also dedicated part of a solid waste tipping fee to an "Environmental Technology Research and Development Fund," which would provide grants to stimulate the recycling industry through the development of new recycling processes and markets.
From page 260...
... The relative speed with which states have developed indicator programs, benchmarking systems, and environmental technology programs attests to the states' ability to build new systems quickly. Of course, the flip side of responsiveness is volatility: in innovation is instability.
From page 261...
... This insulation from detailed budget scrutiny ought to make it easier for technology programs to maintain a longer time horizon than a regulatory agency. Graham Jones of the New York Science and Technology Foundation noted the limits of that freedom.
From page 262...
... This is why the apparent division between environmental regulatory agencies and environmental technology programs may be a problem. Linking Goals, Regulation, and Action Regulations can create markets.
From page 263...
... Some see this shift as one reason for significant weakness in the environmental technology industry. One trade paper concluded a story called "Envirotech Firms Can't Sit on Green Laurels" with the assertion: Another nail in the coffin of environmental technology firms has been the spec ter of changing environmental regulations, which fuels insecurity in the indus try.
From page 264...
... "Information about Using Environmental Indicators in U.S. EPA/State Performance Partnerships," a report prepared by the State Environmental Goals and Indicators Project, a cooperative agreement between The Florida Center for Public Management at Florida State University and the US EPA's Regional and State Planning Division.
From page 265...
... 20. California Environmental Technology Partnership.
From page 266...
... • "Vermont Indicators: Waste," from Environment 1995: An Assessment of the Quality of Vermont's Environment, published by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Waterbury, Vermont, 1995. • "Chapter 6: Prairies," from The Changing Illinois Environment: Critical Trends, Summary Report of the Critical Trends Assessment Project, published by the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources and The Nature of Illinois Foundation, Springfield, Illinois, 1994.
From page 267...
... South Royalton, Vermont; and "Information about Using Environmental Indicators in U.S. EPA/State Performance Partnerships." The State Environmental Goals and Indicator Project.
From page 268...
... Source The identification of waterbodies that meet, partially meet, and do not meet designated uses is in the Florida Water Quality Assessment, prepared to meet the requirements of Section 305(b)
From page 269...
... Analysis of Indicator The number of river miles and square miles of lakes and estuaries that meet, are threatened, partially meet and do not meet designated uses is shown below for four two-year intervals corresponding to the periods covered by the Florida Water Quality Assessment. The 1986 data is not totally comparable with the 1988, 1990, and 1992 data.
From page 270...
... 270 LINKING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS Square miles of lakes meeting designated use 1000 Numbers of square miles 800 600 400 200 0 1986 1988 1990 1992 Year Sampled Square miles of estuaries meeting designated use 2,000 Numbers of square miles 1,500 1,000 500 0 1986 1988 1990 1992 Year Sampled Numbers of river miles (Thousands) Miles of rivers meeting designated use 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1986 1988 1990 1992 Year Sampled Meets Designated Use No Partial Threatened Yes
From page 271...
... While these changes have led to significant improvements in public health and environmental protection for Vermonters, solid and hazardous waste continues to be a serious problem facing the state. Recent increases in recycling and pollution prevention efforts by Vermont industries, governments, and citizens are promising responses to the state's waste problem.
From page 272...
... Cleanup is currently under way with an estimated cost of $20 million. The discovery of hazardous waste sites in Vermont has occurred steadily over the past 25 years.
From page 273...
... Included in this total number of hazardous waste sites are eight sites (including six closed community landfills) that are on the National Priorities List as Superfund sites.
From page 274...
... While the TRI data indicates that Vermont facilities are decreasing their release to the environment, it remains difficult to develop meaningful estimates of reductions in hazardous waste generation from toxics used and hazardous waste reduction plans submitted to date. The ANR is continuing its effort to encourage pollution prevention and to more accurately measure and monitor resulting toxics use and hazardous waste reduction.
From page 275...
... Challenges Waste generation can often be influenced by the decisions of individual consumers. To help reduce the volume and negative consequences of both solid and hazardous waste generation, Vermonters may consider the following: Practice Pollution Prevention.
From page 276...
... • Of the 253 prairie sites identified by the Illinois Natural Areas In ventory, four out of five are not protected as dedicated nature preserves.
From page 277...
... Total nitrogen deposition on Illinois soils through most of the 1980s ranged from 17 kilograms per hectare per year to less then ten in the Chicago area; nitrogen pollution from runoff and groundflow is locally even more concentrated Prairie Ecosystems Face than that from the air. Prairie Extirpation in Illinois, although Few Prairie Plants Do plants have been shown to vary in their ability to capitalize on • While 117 of the 497 plant species atmospheric carbon dioxide, considered endangered or threatened in another nutrient, which some Illinois as of 1993 occur in prairies, only experts expect to double dur- one occurs solely in prairies.
From page 278...
... Source: Ecological Resources, Illinois Natural History Survey, 1994.
From page 279...
... Of the 497 plant and animal species considered endangered or threatened in Illinois as of 1993, 117 occur in prairies. Because nearly all species found in prairie occur in other states, or in habitats other than prairies, there are few species endemic to the Illinois prairie ecosystem.
From page 280...
... 280 LINKING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TO ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS RANKING OF AIR ISSUESa NEED FOR CITY'S ABILITY RELATIVE FURTHER TO FURTHER OVERALL ISSUE RISKb ACTIONc INFLUENCEd PRIORITYe Transportation High High High 1 Sources Wood Burning High High High 2 Environmental High High High 3 Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Other Indoor Air Medium- High Medium 4 Pollution High Noise Pollution Low High High 4 Fugitive Dust Medium Medium High 4 Gas Stations Medium Low High 4 Industrial Point Medium- Medium Medium- 8 Sources High Low Centralia Power Medium Medium Low 8 Plant Yard Burning Low Low High 10 Other Non-point Low Medium- Medium- 10 Sources Low Low Nonionizing Not Not Not Not Electromagnetic Ranked Ranked Ranked Ranked Radiation SOURCE: "Rankings of Air Issues," from Environmental Risks in Seattle, A Comparative Assessment, published by the City of Seattle, Office for Long-range Planning, Seattle, Washington, October 1991.


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