Better Quality Environmental Indicators Urged

Legislators, government regulators, businesses, communities, and others are increasingly trying to use "environmental indicators" to influence and inform a wide range of planning, natural resource, and development decisions. However, a recent Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office) report (GAO-05-52) notes that much of the data and other information concerning trends, environmental impacts, economics, and other indicators are inconsistent and inadequate for this purpose. In particular, GAO notes that trends and other data are often gathered for purposes other than for use as environmental indicators. The office recommends that the White House Council on Environmental Quality and EPA lead efforts to develop better environmental indicator data sets and requirements for the use of indicators. The report is available at http://www.gao.gov.