Building a Foundation for Sound Environmental Decisions (1997) / Chapter Skim
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1 Environmental Challenges
1 Environmental Challenges
Pages 5-12
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From page 5... ...
When the public has perceived an environmental or public health threat as posing a serious risk, widespread concern has often led to the passage of legislation designed to reduce that threat. Examples of such legislation include the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as Superfund)
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From page 6... ...
Acid deposition in the northeastern United States increased substantially over the same time period in which EPA regulations reduced powerplant emissions of particles larger than 2mm by 78% (EPA, 1996~. Although the removal of larger particulates from atmospheric emissions resulted in substantially clearer urban air, the bulk of those particulates were alkaline and tended to neutralize the acidic sulfur oxides.
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From page 7... ...
~ B~ 7 Due to past industrial practices, significant amounts of persistent, toxic compounds are buried in sediments at the bottom of Lake Erie. The mussels consume and recirculate these contaminated sediments, re-introducing them into the rest of the food chain.
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From page 9... ...
Indeed, the very nature of what are recognized as "environmental" problems is changing. Recently recognized problems such as global climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, the loss of biological diversity, long-range transport of pollutants in air or water, global pressures on ocean resources, including fish, and regional water scarcity are broader, more complex environmental problems than those that received major attention several decades ago.
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From page 10... ...
EPA's research program has been expected to support the immense and widely varied array of regulatory and enforcement activities within the agency, providing the scientific and technological bases for decisions. Not surprisingly, the problem-by-problem approach to environmental protection has also influenced the nature of environmental research at EPA.
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From page 11... ...
(A more detailed discussion of the appropriate role for, and limitations of, risk assessment is presented in Chapters 2 and 3.) ORD's strategic plan also sets a goal of working with others to identify, characterize, and resolve "emerging" environmental issues.
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From page 12... ...
This final report is based on collection of information related to environmental research programs and deliberations, including four committee meetings, over a period of approximately nine months. SCOPE OF THIS REPORT This report includes a broad overview of current and emerging environmental issues, as compiled from a review of two dozen recent reports on environmental research augmented by committee input.
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