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The Almanac of Environmental Trends covers seven major indicators of environmental progress including (1) Air Quality, (2) Energy, (3) Climate Change, (4) Water Quality, (5) Toxic Chemicals, (6) Forests and Land, and (7) Biodiversity. Examples of progress include:

• In general the U.S. has improved water use efficiency by about 30 percent over the last 30 years.
• Wetlands are now increasing in the U.S. after having declined for more than two centuries before the 1990s.
• Forestlands in the U.S. have been expanding rapidly over the last 30 years, and the global rate of deforestation appears to be steadily declining.
• The total amount of toxic chemicals used in American industry is steadily declining--a measure of resource efficiency.
• Virtually the entire nation has achieved clean air standards for four of the six main pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act.

Steven F. Hayward is the F. K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow at AEI.