Environmental Indicators and Sustainability

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Environmental Indicators and Sustainability

• Experiences from the United States
• Brian Lane
• Strategic Planner

The Rocky Mountain Region
International Symposium on Indicators of
Sustainable Development Taipei, Taiwan Dec. 1-2
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About the Rocky Mountain Region
Leading Environmental Pressures -Agriculture -Mi
ning -Growth and Development
A Few Facts About the Region - 6 States - 27
Indian Tribes - Dry Climate - Rocky Mountains -
Great Plains - Large of Land Government
Managed - Home of Many Natural
Treasures...Yellowstone National Park
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The Most Widely Used Indicator Framework
Pressure
State
Response

• Ambient conditions
• Body Burden Uptake
• Ecological Health
• Welfare

• Discharges
• Emissions

• Regulatory Response
• Actions by Regulated
• Community

Examples

• Pounds of toxics used
• Vehicle miles traveled
• Number of single use disposable goods purchased

• Air quality (ppm)
• Air quality
• Tons recycled, incinerated or landfilled

• Number of air permits
• Automobiles inspected
• Number of permitted landfills or incinerators

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Indicators of Environmental Pressures
Leading Sources of Pollution LAKES STREAMS
of threatened impaired miles
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Indicators ofAmbient Conditions
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Indicators of Agency Response
Hazardous Waste Site Cleanups
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Pros of the Pressure-State-Response Model

• Good framework for thinking about environmental
  causes
• Categorizes indicators in a common sense, easy to
  understand way
• Fits in well with the public policy process

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Cons of the P-S-R Model

• Some indicators dont fit in this model
• e.g., willingness to pay for environmentally safe
  products
• Model is one-dimensional the environment

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Where U.S. is Headed with Indicators

• Greater emphasis on results, on the environment
• linking to environmental results
• Shift from contraints (lack of data) to
  evaluation of success
• Shift to local and state decision-making and
  accountability
• Focus on managing and measuring in a place
• Focus on longer-term sustainable indicators
• Communicating with the Public

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What is a Sustainable Indicator?

• A measurable vision of a communitys future

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How to Make a Perfect Sustainable Indicator
Choose Something that the community cares deeply
about
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How to Make the Perfect Sustainable Indicator
Measure what you want to be
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Other considerations for selecting Sustainable
Indicators

• Relevant, understandable, and useable
• Long-term view (25-50 years)
• Show linkages
• Used

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Example of a Good Sustainable Indicator in Use

• The Bernie Fowler's "Sneaker Index

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Bernie Fowler has a Goal
GOAL Restore Bernie's sneaker visibility to
chest depth (57 to 63 inches). "Although this is
not a scientific measure, it puts restoring the
River on a human scale."
Source C. Bernard Fowler, 1992-1993 Chair of
the Chesapeake Bay Commission Kent Mountford,
U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay Program.
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Sustainable Indicators Have Linkages
Algae Growth
River Visibility Impaired
Underwater Seagrass Decline
Excess Nutrients
Oyster Population Decline
Fast Growth and Development
Decline in Oyster Fishing Industry/ Jobs
Other related social factors -health -education -
crime
Land Use Trends
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The Sneaker Index is Widely Known
11th Annual Patuxant River Wade, June 1998
Photograph Sneaker Index Score 35.5
inches Goal 57 to 63 inches
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Ways U.S. EPA is Pursuing Sustainable Indicators
and Practices

• Examples of Current Work
• Community-based environmental protection programs
  (Chesapeake Bay..)
• Real time monitoring in major cities
• EMPACT
• Research and Development
• Environmental Monitoring and Mapping
• Outreach and Education