EPA Releases ‘2008 Report On The Environment’

May 21, 2008

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The EPA has released its 2008 Report on the Environment, which the agency says uses scientific indicators to measure and report on overall progress toward protecting the environment and human health. The EPA 2008 ROE is an update of the draft ROE that was released in 2003.

Overall, there is a trend of general improvement in the environment, Peter Preuss, Ph.D., director of the National Center for Environmental Assessment in the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, said in a press briefing, according to Environmental Protection. Other aspects, such as drinking water, are stable. Some are getting worse. Preuss said that ambient air quality appears to be getting better overall, but there are still parts of the country that don’t meet the standard. He also said the report shows that asthma and greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise.

The ROE compiles, in one place, the most reliable indicators currently available to answer 23 questions that EPA believes are of critical importance to its mission and the nation’s environment. The indicators are supported by data gathered from federal and state agencies and non-governmental organizations.

The EPA 2008 ROE is not intended as a “report card.” There are both positive and negative trends contained in the report. The purpose of the EPA 2008 ROE is to create a reliable set of information that can be used for year-to-year comparisons as well as planning.

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