AEI Press/Pacific Research Institute Publication Date: April 2005 Paperback ISBN: 0936488948

 The full text of this book is available here as an Adobe Acrobat PDF.

Americans have reason to be optimistic about the nation's environmental progress and its future health, according to the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, released by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). This tenth anniversary edition of the Index reveals that environmental quality continues to improve in many key areas, including air pollution, mercury emissions, wetlands, and forestlands.

The trends mirror the feeling among Americans that the overall state of the environment is improving. According to an April 2005 PRI Harris Interactive poll, 56 percent of respondents revealed they are optimistic about the state of the environment and future progress on environmental quality.

"The findings of this year's Index may surprise many environmental activists," said Dr. Steven F. Hayward, senior fellow at PRI, F. K. Weyerhaeuser fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and author of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. "The environment is perhaps the most successful public policy story of the last 30 years and the good news is getting noticed by the public."

Among the environmental quality improvements highlighted in the Index are the following:

Air Pollution has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded. Virtually the entire nation has achieved clean air standards for four of the six "criteria" pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and lead). In addition, air quality in the 10 largest metropolitan areas--five of which are in California--has improved by more than 53 percent since 1980.

Despite widely held beliefs, there continues to be very little correlation between regional air pollution rates and asthma rates. In fact, while air pollution rates have consistently declined, asthma rates have increased. In the United States, asthma rates in children under the age of five rose more than 160 percent between 1980 and 1994--a period when air pollution rates fell from 25 to 80 percent.

Mercury Emissions have declined by 45 percent during the 1990s, most of which is due to the phase-out of municipal and medical waste incineration. As a result, consumers can feel comfortable consuming fish, such as salmon and trout. Recent concerns about the safety of fish due to high mercury levels have abated thanks to guidance published in 2004 by the EPA which emphasized that "for most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern."

Forestland in the eastern half of the United States is increasing at a rate of one million acres a year.

Wetlands continue to multiply, with a growth of 26,000 acres a year.

Car Emissions, one of the largest contributors to air pollution, will be reduced by more than 80 percent over the next 25 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. According to an April PRI Harris Interactive poll, 74 percent of respondents revealed their belief that cars are less polluting now than they were 25 years ago.

"Opinion is now becoming an accurate reflection of reality," said Dr. Hayward. "We're gratified that the Index, now in its tenth edition, has helped contribute to this turnaround."

Toxic Releases have declined since 1988, a sign of increasing efficiency and the "de-materialization" of our economy.

Global Warming's "hockey-stick" graph, believed to be one of the leading indicators of global warming, is now being called "rubbish." Scientists have shown that the graph's underlying equation would generate the same result for any series of random numbers.

"In the 1990s most Americans believed environmental quality was declining," said Dr. Hayward. "But now, with a decade of compiled research in the Index, we've found that it is nearly impossible to paint a grim, doom-and-gloom picture anymore. The facts speak for themselves, and the facts are hugely encouraging."