t o which t h e y c a n s a t i s f y t h e demands a n d may l e a d t o a modi- f i c a t i o n o f t h e d e m a n d s - - i l l u s t r a t e d by t h e a r r o w l e a d i n g b a c k t o t h e demand box.
New T e c h n o l o g i e s , P r o d u c t i o n , and Consumption
Each o f t h e s e c t o r s may r e q u i r e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f new t e c h n o l o g i e s t o m e e t t h e demands p l a c e d upon i t . T h e s e n e e d s a r e communicated t o t h e d e v e l o p e r s o f t e c h n o l o g y - - t h e n e x t box c l o c k w i s e - - a s shown by t h e a r r o w s t o t h a t box. Depending upon t h e c a p a b i l i t i e s o f t h e t e c h n o l o g y d e v e l o p e r s , t h e t e c h n o l o g y demands may have t o b e m o d i f i e d - - a p r o c e s s i n d i c a t e d by t h e a r r o w s l e a d i n g b a c k t o t h e s e c t o r s . T h e s e m o d i f i c a t i o n s may b e f u r t h e r r e l a y e d b a c k t o t h e o r i g i n a l node o f s o c i a l demand.
When t h e t e c h n o l o g i e s h a v e b e e n made a v a i l a b l e t o t h e t h r e e s e c t o r s , t h e y a r e a d o p t e d by i n d i v i d u a l p r o d u c t i v e u n i t s . T h i s p r o c e s s i s i n d i c a t e d by t h e s o l i d l i n e s drawn downward and c l o c k w i s e t o t h e s e c t o r s - - h e r e r e p r e s e n t e d a s p r o d u c e r s . The o u t p u t of t h e s e c t o r s g o e s - - f o l l o w i n g t h e s o l i d a r r o w t o t h e l e f t - - t o f i n a l c o n s u m p t i o n o f goods a n d s e r v i c e s . Here a g a i n t h e d i s t i n c t i o n o f i n p u t - o u t p u t economics i s made:
c o n s u m p t i o n f o r t h e s a k e o f s u b s e q u e n t p r o d u c t i o n t a k e s p l a c e w i t h i n t h e t h r e e p r o d u c i n g s e c t o r s ; c o n s u m p t i o n a s a n e n d i n
i t s e l f o c c u r s a t i t s own s e p a r a t e node.
E n v i r o n m e n t a l E f f e c t s
The p r o c e s s e s o f p r o d u c t i o n and c o n s u m p t i o n i n a d v e r t e n t l y
c r e a t e p o l l u t i o n a s t h e b y - p r o d u c t s o f t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s a r e a b s o r b e d by t h e common environment. The p o l l u t i n g p r o c e s s i s p o r t r a y e d by t h e s o l i d a r r o w s from t h e p r o d u c i n g s e c t o r s and f i n a l consumption t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . The d i s t i n c t i o n i s made between p r o d u c t i o n - r e l a t e d p o l l u t i o n and t h a t d e r i v e d from consumption. The former would i n c l u d e a u t o m o t i v e a i r p o l l u - t i o n c a u s e d by c a r s b r i n g i n g w o r k e r s t o t h e f a c t o r y ; t h e l a t t e r would c o v e r t h e e x h a u s t s o f c a r t r a v e l f o r r e c r e a t i o n .
The common environment--or "commons"--is t h e r e c e p t a c l e of a l l t h e p o l l u t a n t e f f e c t s r e s u l t i n g from human o r n a t u r a l p r o c e s s e s . I n s i d e o f t h i s node o c c u r a l l t h e s y n e r g i s t i c r e a c t i o n s o f v a r i o u s p o l l u t a n t s . The s y s t e m s o f n a t u r e , shown t o t h e l e f t of t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , must a d a p t t o t h e i r surroundings--however a l t e r e d by human p r o c e s s e s . Because e c o l o g i c a l s y s t e m s a l s o e f f e c t t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , a t t i m e s d e t r i m e n t a l l y , t h i s e f f e c t i s i n d i c a t e d by t h e arrow back t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . 5
A d a p t a t i o n
From t h e impairment o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , a d e g r e e of adap- t a t i o n by t h e human s y s t e m e n s u e s . The s e c t o r s p r o d u c i n g and consuming a d j u s t t o i m p e r f e c t s u r r o u n d i n g s . The a d j u s t m e n t i s i l l u s t r a t e d by d o t t e d l i n e s l e a d i n g backward t o t h e s e nodes.
An example o f a c t i v i t y a l t e r a t i o n i n d i c a t e d by t h e s e l i n e s would b e t h e i n c r e a s e d u s e of p e s t i c i d e s t o compensate f o r
growing immunity o f i n s e c t p o p u l a t i o n s . From h e r e , f u r t h e r a d a p t a t i o n s may o c c u r . The a l t e r e d modes o f p r o d u c t i o n and consumption may l e a d backward t o demand t e c h n o l o g i e s b e t t e r s u i t e d t o o p e r a t i n g o r l i v i n g w i t h i n a p o l l u t e d environment --a p r o c e s s a l s o i n d i c a t e d by a d o t t e d arrow. Thus new f i l - t r a t i o n t e c h n o l o g i e s may be s o u g h t by i n d u s t r y f o r t h e i n t a k e of p o l l u t e d w a t e r s and demand may b e g e n e r a t e d f o r home a i r - c o n d i t i o n i n g p r o c e s s e s t h a t w i l l e l i m i n a t e v a r i o u s t o x i c com- pounds and p a r t i c u l a t e s . N e i t h e r o f t h e s e a d a p t a t i o n s i s de- s i g n e d t o improve t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , b u t b o t h e n a b l e more com- f o r t a b l e and e f f i c i e n t s u b s i s t e n c e w i t h i n i t .
The t h i r d i m p o r t a n t mode o f a d a p t a t i o n i s t h r o u g h t h e e f f e c t o f t h e environment on t h e demands of s o c i e t y a t t h e i n i t i a l node. T h e r e may, f o r example, b e a s h i f t from o u t - d o o r t o i n d o o r a c t i v i t y . The d o t t e d l i n e i n d i c a t i n g t h i s e f f e c t c l o s e s t h e l o o p of t h e s y s t e m . Again t h i s a d a p t a t i o n d o e s n o t a l t e r a c t i v i t i e s t o enhance t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , b u t i n s t e a d s e e k s t o improve t h e e x i s t e n c e o f t h e component micro- economic p a r t s . Each o f t h e myriad m i n u t e sub-systems of t h e t h r e e economic s e c t o r s and o f t h e demanding s o c i e t y makes i t s own i s o l a t e d a d j u s t m e n t s t o t h e i m p a i r e d e n v i r o n m e n t . The n e t e f f e c t o f t h e s e a d a p t a t i o n s may have n e t d i s b e n e f i t t o t h e s y s t e m . Thus, t h e r e a c t i o n s t o u r b a n a i r p o l l u t i o n may b e i n c r e a s e d demand f o r a i r - c o n d i t i o n i n g o r be l o n g e r commuting t o work t o l i v e o u t s i d e t h e smog. These a d a p t i v e p r o c e s s e s
themselves may lead to so much more pollution as to leave society worse off than if no adaptations had been made. 6
The Flaw
The glaring defect of this system is the familiar one of economic externality effects or system sub-optimization.
Each of the millions of systems components maximizes over its own desires and processes. But, because one's own environ- mental damage is a minor cost to oneself, each pays minimal
attention to the harm he does his environment. The body of those injured by environmental damage is so large and diffuse that no reaction is possible within the system limned above.
Even when governments perceive the problem, the difficulties in identifying the injured, in measuring the harm done them, and in organizing remedial action are enormous.
The remaining sections of this paper shall take the sys- tem we have just described as the conceptual basis for pre- scribing remedies to the environmental crisis. Our problem will be to investigate modifications in this system which will rectify the basic problem of neglected externalities by the sub-systems. We will seek the most efficient and rewarding ways to bolster the system through governmental intervention.
In so doing, we will remember the processes described above.
Governmental intervention that fights the natural activities of the system--which are powered by motives of self-interest --becomes thereby less feasible. Favored will be those actions
which take advantage of the underlying mechanisms and incen- tives of,the system and those which complement the system by explicit compensation for its weaknesses.
Handles
From the Technological Viewpoint
Cursory reflection upon the environmental problem reveals three primary ways in which the pollutant by-products of
technological processes or their effects may be curtailed:
1. by reducing the magnitude of polluting activities;
2. by modifying the activities so that they pollute less; and
3. by better distributing pollutant emissions so that they cause less harm.
We have argued that the pollutant saturation of increasingly larger geographical systems renders the third alternative less feasible now for many forms of discharge than it has been in the past. Once the technological processes are completed, three additional strategies for mitigating their pollutant effects are available:
1. treatment of pollutants in transit to parts of the environment;
2. treatment of polluted environmental systems;
and
3. adaptation to an impaired environment.
T o g e t h e r t h e s e s i x methods p r o v i d e o u r b a s i c r e p e r t o r y f o r a c t i o n t o improve l i f e w i t h i n t h e e n v i r o n m e n t .
W i t h i n t h e S o c i a l and Economic System
An e x a m i n a t i o n of F i g u r e 1 i n d i c a t e s many nodes a t which v a r i o u s c o m b i n a t i o n s o f t h e s i x b a s i c p o l i c y m e a s u r e s may b e a p p l i e d . A t o u r o r i g i n a l node, governments may t a k e a c t i o n s t o r e d u c e f i n a l s o c i a l demand. A t t h e n e x t node c l o c k w i s e , r e - s t r i c t i o n s may be p l a c e d upon t h e economic a r r a n g e m e n t s e f f e c - t e d t o meet t h e demand. The t e c h n o l o g y development node o f f e r s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r g o v e r n m e n t a l c o n s t r a i n t s , f o r d i r e c t a c t i o n v i a r e s e a r c h i n government l a b o r a t o r i e s , and f o r m a n i p u l a t i n g t h e i n c e n t i v e s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e t e c h n o l o g y d e v e l o p e r s . When t h e t e c h n o l o g i e s a r e implemented, a w i d e r a n g e o f p o l i c y mea- s u r e s c a n g u i d e t h e mode o f t h e i r i n s t a l l a t i o n , and t h e i r management i n u s e . S i m i l a r l y , t h e m a g n i t u d e , t i m i n g , and l o - c a t i o n o f consumption may b e improved a t t h e n e x t node t o t h e l e f t . Along t h e l i n e s r u n n i n g from t h e nodes o f consumption and p r o d u c t i o n , w a s t e s may b e t r e a t e d o n t h e way t o t h e i r p r i m a r y p o i n t o f d e c o m p o s i t i o n o r a b s o r p t i o n . T h i s i s m a i n l y p o s s i b l e i n f l o w i n g w a t e r . R e d u c t i o n o f p o l l u t i o n i n t h e en- v i r o n m e n t i t s e l f i s p o s s i b l e and w i l l b e d e a l t w i t h a t g r e a t e r l e n g t h below. N a t u r a l s y s t e m s may b e m o b i l i z e d t o improve t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a n d , f i n a l l y , governments may s p u r t h e p r o c e s s e s o f a d a p t a t i o n .
A P a r t i a l I n v e n t o r y
To go i n t o g r e a t e r d e t a i l a b o u t t h e s p e c i f i c p o l i c y t o o l s a v a i l a b l e a t e a c h node would, f o r t h i s p a p e r , b e e x c e s s i v e . A s many t o o l s a r e a p p l i c a b l e a t s e v e r a l n o d e s , we s i m p l y l i s t h e r e modes of governmental a c t i o n t h a t c a n b e t a k e n t o improve t h e e n v i r o n m e n t , grouped under f i v e b r o a d h e a d i n g s :
1. D i r e c t a c t i o n : management o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l s y s t e m s ; g u i d a n c e o f t h e s y s t e m s r u n by t h e government, s u c h a s t h e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n network, t o minimize t h e harm done t h e e n v i r o n m e n t ; performance o f r e s e a r c h and development a c t i v i t i e s ; p r e p a r a t i o n f o r r e m e d i a l a c t i o n i n t h e e v e n t o f e m e r g e n c i e s ; i n i t i a t i o n and s u p p o r t o f i n s t i t u t i o n s s u c h a s m e d i c a l c l i n i c s and swimming p o o l s e n a b l i n g b e t t e r a d a p t a t i o n t o a n i m - p a i r e d e n v i r o n m e n t ;
2 . Compellence of a c t i o n : u s e of f o r m a l i n j u n c t i o n s , p r o h i b i t i o n s , e n j o i n d e r s , and r a t i o n i n g p r o c e d u r e s ; 3 . M a n i p u l a t i o n of i n c e n t i v e s t r u c t u r e s : i m p l e m e n t a t i o n
o f t a x e s , s u b s i d i e s , p r i c e s u p p o r t s , f i n e s , and bo- n u s e s t o r e d i r e c t t h e a c t i o n s of p r o d u c e r s , consumers, and d e v e l o p e r s o f t e c h n o l o g y ;
4 . C r e a t i o n of new o r g a n i z a t i o n a l forms: e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a m a r k e t f o r p o l l u t i o n r i g h t s ; a d o p t i o n of new j u d i c i a l p r o c e d u r e s e n a b l i n g e a s i e r l i t i g a t i o n a g a i n s t d e s p o l i a t i o n of t h e e n v i r o n m e n t ; s u b s i d i z a t i o n , a s i n
providing low cost legal counsel for citizens ag- grieved on behalf of the environment; creation of formal arrangements to enable polluting parties to coordinate and time their discharge to reduce envi- ronmental damage; and
5. Public education: to explain the consequences of acts against the environment; perhaps to campaign for a modification in individual tastes and preference structures; to request voluntary abatement of speci- fic activities.
The list is necessarily incomplete but nevertheless indicates the range of policy option available to the society firmly intent upon improving its environment.
Recommendation 8: The direction of research and development for the amelioration of the environ- ment should be influenced by consideration of the social processes through which the advances sought will effect their benefits.
Technoloqical breakthroucrhs whose implementation is in- feasible have doubtful value. Just as the reorganization of economic and government processes to protect the environment should be guided by available technoloqy, so research activities should preferentially seek out areas where the receptivity
and needs of existing social systems enhance their potential value. The remainder of this paper will discuss more speci- fic means by which this may be achieved.
Incentives
Their Effects upon Policy Options
The individual components of the conceptual system we have described--the demanders, producers, researchers, and consumers--are guided by the dictates of self-interest. This motivating principle must be heeded as a government seeks the node in the process at which its intervention would be most effective. There are many well-intended actions which would achieve no practical result because the individual micro- economic units are not motivated to respond to them. An example would be promoting the development of less polluting technologies either through direct action or by subsidizing such research in existing laboratories. If such actions alone are taken, no practical impact will occur since none of the producing or consuming units will have reason to adopt the techniques developed.' Our model of the social system thus indicates that sponsorship of activities to develop less polluting techniques should be accompanied by measures to motivate implementation.
On the other hand, it may be possible to take advantage of the self-interest mechanisms and to intervene at one node
with consequences that improve the entire system. The stan- dard economic example of such an action is imposition of a pollution tax at the points where environmental discharges are released by producers and consumers. The amount of the tax per discharge should equal the amount of harm done the entire society by the discharge.' The polluting units will then be motivated to reduce their activities to the point at which the gain they obtain at the margin from the process creating the pollution equals the tax. They will also:
1) make improvements in their own implementation of machinery to reduce their emissions and to distribute them better;
2) demand less polluting technologies from the developers;
and 3) raise their own prices to reflect the tax imposed upon them which will in turn induce a decrease in the social demand for goods and services that entail environmental damage.
But this elegant solution of economics founders upon two practical problems: 1) that the tax will fall more heavily upon some than upon others and will therefore be resisted;
and 2 ) that the information required to set the tax equal
to marginal social harm--the optimum level--may be difficult or impossible to obtain. We shall consider both of these problems in sections below.
Incentives for Adaptation
The process of adaptation to a damaged environment illus- brates both the policy insights available through the con-
sideration of incentive structures and the pitfalls that lurk when they are considered in isolation. Purely on grounds of incentive, there is no reason for a government to intervene here. The self-interest of producers, consumers, and sufferers alike will lead them to what is for each individually the op- timal level of adaptation. Their demands for adaptive tech- nologies will moreover be transmitted to the developers of technology.
But we cannot absolutely dismiss the rationale for govern- mental activity here. Public education may be required to disseminate information on specific environmental hazards and on recommended ways to reduce them. Research and development traditionally require significant capital investments as well as the will to innovate. If either lacks in existing social units, governmental initiative may be required. Advances in knowledge that are not subject to patent rights or to market exchange may not be pursued by private firms. An example of this is the search for optimal behavior patterns in an im- paired environment. Governmental action may therefore be required. Finally, governmental measures restraining adaptive processes may be needed if the processes themselves contribute significantly to impairing the environment.
Recommendation 9: Research and development efforts should be guided with recognition given to the in- centives impell ing individuals.
This is corollary to Recommendation 8. Our talents and energies should, ceteris paribus, be directed toward projects for which incentives exist to disseminate the results and toward areas which private developers of tech- nology have not had motivation to investigate. Policy analysts would do well to explore further the possibilities for innovative manipulation of the incentive structure for the betterment of the environment.
Equity
A Political Model
In the system we have displayed so far, the explicit role of the government as rectifier of environmental wrong has not been delineated. We now modify Figure 1 to illustrate better the mechanisms of governmental intervention, its
causes and consequences. In Figure 2, the producing and
consuming sectors and the developers of technology are coalesced into one node, that of operating systems. Ecological systems are here assumed part of the environment. The identical arrows of interaction are assumed except that the distinction is no longer maintained between primary and adaptive processes.
When the environment becomes less pleasant to inhabit, it gives rise to public response which in turn may effect governmental action. This chain of events is shown by the
Public Response
Legend opponents to planned governmental actions
----a
Acts of opposition to proposed actionFigure 2
The System of Government Intervention in the Environment
a r r o w s l e a d i n g downward from t h e e n v i r o n m e n t t o t h e two nodes below. P u b l i c r e s p o n s e may t a k e s u c h forms a s d e m o n s t r a t i o n s , l i t e r a t u r e d i s t r i b u t i o n campaigns, and c o n s t i t u e n t p r e s s u r e upon e l e c t e d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . Governmental a c t i o n encompasses a l l t h e m e a s u r e s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e p r e c e d i n g s e c t i o n . A s we h a v e s e e n , i t may b e a p p l i e d a t any of t h e t h r e e t o p nodes and i s i n d i c a t e d by t h e s o l i d a r r o w s l e a d i n g from g o v e r n m e n t a l a c t i o n t o t h e s e nodes.
Any p o t e n t i a l c o r r e c t i v e a c t i o n t a k e n by t h e government w i l l i n e v i t a b l y b e n e f i t and harm c e r t a i n segments o f t h e popu- l a t i o n more o r l e s s t h a n o t h e r s . We h a v e a c c o r d i n g l y d i s t i n - g u i s h e d i n F i g u r e 2 between t h e l o s e r s from t h e a c t i o n s and t h o s e who e i t h e r g a i n from o r a r e i n d i f f e r e n t t o them. The p r o s p e c t i v e l o s e r s i n e a c h o f t h e t h r e e nodes a t t h e t o p a r e i n d i c a t e d a s s h a d e d p o r t i o n s o f t h e nodes. These a r e a s may r e p r e s e n t e l e m e n t s i n t h e s o c i a l demand who d o n o t want
t o g i v e u p l a r g e c a r s , o r f a c t o r i e s t h a t f e a r t h e e x p e n s e o f t e c h n o l o g y m o d i f i c a t i o n s , o r r e s i d e n t s of a g e o g r a p h i c a l a r e a where a new m e t r o p o l i t a n a i r p o r t i s p l a n n e d . Not u n n a t u r a l l y
t h e y o p p o s e p l a n n e d a c t i o n s t h a t w i l l l e a v e them worse o f f t h a n b e f o r e and t h e i r o p p o s i t i o n i s i n d i c a t e d by d o t t e d a r r o w s aimed b a c k t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t a l s e a t o f a c t i o n . L e s s o f t e n t h e o p p o s i t i o n may b e d i r e c t e d toward n u l l i f y i n g t h e p u b l i c o u t c r y . l1 When t h e o f f ended p a r t i e s a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y organ- i z e d and p o w e r f u l , t h e y may b l o c k t h e p r o p o s e d a c t i o n , o r modify i t , o r p o s t p o n e it i n d e f i n i t e l y . T h i s s y s t e m s mechanism
s h o u l d b e borne i n mind a s s t r a t e g i e s f o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l pro- t e c t i o n a r e s e l e c t e d . 12
Recommendation 10: Research and development s h o u l d heed t h e p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t i e s t h a t may impede t h e
implementation of t h e i r r e s u l t s . T h i s a g a i n f o l l o w s from t h e e i g h t h recommendation. T h i s e x p l i c i t l y i m p l i e s t h a t more a t t e n t i o n need b e g i v e n t o r e s e a r c h e f f o r t s t o produce l e s s e x p e n s i v e a n t i - p o l l u t i o n t e c h n i q u e s , t o e n a b l e b e t t e r management of t h e environment, and t o g u i d e p r e p a r a t i o n f o r e n v i r o n - m e n t a l c a t a s t r o p h e s .
T e c h n o l o g i c a l b r e a k t h r o u g h s c e r t a i n t o be b l o c k e d by p o w e r f u l p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s a r e d i m i n i s h e d i n v a l u e .
Research advances t h a t can a c h i e v e b e n e f i c i a l s o c i a l impact w i t h o u t e x c i t i n g s t r o n g o p p o s i t i o n s h o u l d , c e t e r i s p a r i b u s , be p r e f e r r e d . I t may be w i s e a s s p e c i f i c p r o j e c t s a r e b e i n g pursued t o c a r r y o u t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y a campaign t o e d u c a t e t h e p u b l i c a b o u t forthcorning t e c h n o l o g i e s . T h i s may i n c r e a s e p u b l i c demand f o r t h e i r a d o p t i o n and r e d u c e p o t e n t i a l o p p o s i t i o n . P o l i c y a n a l y s t s s h o u l d i n v e s t i g a t e ways t o i n t r o d u c e e n v i r o n m e n t a l measures w i t h i n j u r y t o a s few p e o p l e a s p o s s i b l e and w i t h minimal i n j u r y t o t h o s e who a r e h u r t . T h i s may r e q u i r e t h e working o u t o f c h e a t - p r o o f schemes f o r cornpensating t h e l o s e r s .
Low-Cost Technologies
An important step in mitigating the injury to polluters required to adopt new technologies would be to reduce the cost of the technologies. This may be accomplished by sub- sidizing the adoption of the techniques or by sponsoring research to obtain less expensive versions of the technology.
For political reasons, more support should perhaps be given to research designed to reduce the costs of anti-pollution technologies than would be justified on strictly economic grounds.
Environmental Management
A strategic approach to the environmental problem ex- plicitly favored by consideration of political mechanisms is that of managing polluted systems. The advantage is that direct action of this type requires few individuals in the society to modify their behavior.13 An additional gain is that it enables broad-gauge access to the pollutant system instead of the fractionated approach required when attention is paid to point source polluters. This enables consolidation of effort and avoidance of the cumbersome informational
problems involved in monitoring many point discharges. The area of environmental management offers the opportunity for the innovative development of many new technologies with high likelihood of immediate and valuable implementation. 14
Emergency Preparation
One direct action in environmental management meriting special attention is preparation for emergencies. In every governmental system the rare catastrophic event plays what
often seems a disproportionate role in inducing system change. 15 In the environmental area this is perhaps the more appropriate because much of the danger in our alterations of ecological
systems inheres in such occurences--in the chances we run that the rare drought will enable the polluted river to become especially toxic or that the rare windless spell will make our air pollution lethal. A less dramatic risk is that con- tinual abuse of the environment may lead to unstable behavior by ecological systems or to their dislodgement into less favorable equilibria. The organizational problems involved in coping with environmental emergencies are of such magni- tude that only governmental authority has the potential to take effective remedial action.
The range of policies that may be adopted to reduce the severity of environmental emergencies is broad. Direct action against the polluted system may be possible through such
measures as the neutralization of acids or the use of deter- gents to emulsify spilled oil. l6 1n instances of extreme air polluticn, modification of the weather to blow away or to precipitate out toxic pollutants becomes an attractive policy.
When environmental catastrophes appear imminent, immediate
prophylactic action--as in restricting transportation, or ener- gy use, or untreated sewage releases--may be advisable. In times of high environmental health hazards, special medical units might be activated to treat the ailments that can be expected to arise. After a disaster has seriously injured an ecological system, the adoption of special policies designed to speed the return to the status quo ante--such as the impor- tation of certain plant and animal species--may be beneficial.
All of these potential areas of activity merit further exploration. For environmental engineers this is a vast do- main for important technological advances. Governments need to know what measures are available to deal with specific crisis situations, how the measures should be implemented, what the complete range of consequences to be expected from their application is, and what the attendant uncertainties are. 17
All of the governmental options require precise informa- tion on the extent and characteristics of the impending or actual catastrophe. Although this same information is needed by individuals who wish to avoid hazardous activities in a dangerous environment, only the government is placed to gather, evaluate, and disseminate it efficiently. More research is necessary to find less expensive and more efficient ways to learn when to warn against strenuous outdoor activity or eat- ing shellfish as well as when drastic precautionary measures
are called for. The following section will give more atten- tion to the informational problems of the governmental au- thor ity committed to protecting the environment.
Standards
Information Flows and the Concept of Standards
We have so far mentioned only fleetingly the informational problems required to maintain environmental quality in an
efficient way. In Figure 2, we presented simplistically the mechanism through which governments are impelled to act. That
diagram ignored, however, the informational problems to be surmounted if the actions taken are to be wise. For explicit consideration of the informational transfers required for competent environmental management, we display one such system of flows in Figure 3.
The top three nodes in this diagram are our familiar social system abstracted from Figure 1 and here drawn linearly for representational convenience. The system processes are unchanged. The effect of environmental damage is shown in the next lower node as environmental injury--whether to humans, to other life, or to earth systems interpreted more broadly.
The sense of injury is in turn transmitted to the government which may or may not take action. We have in this chart recast in terms of their underlying rationale the actions the government may take. We suppose the measures adopted by the
Governmental
Institutional Possibilities for Management
Legend
A Transmission of control actions _m Transmission of monitored information
hvestmcnt of resposibility _u Assimilation of understanding
Figure
3
lnf orma tion Network for Environmental Management
government to have the objectives of achieving or maintaining certain levels of environmental quality. Whichever of the options mentioned above is adopted--whether it be taxation, direct action, or injunctions--should be linked in the mind of the government with the goal it is expected to attain.
Such goal levels we shall henceforth refer to as "standards."
Even less direct actions, such as the facilitation of litiga- tion by environmental plaintiffs, require established notions of adequate environmental quality--standards--to serve as judicial guidelines.
Setting and Maintaining Standards
The establishment of standards is an involved and intricate matter. It may be done poorly on merely a sense of environmental aggrievement. Or it may be based upon out- moded toxicological arquments reasoning through simplistic statistical analysis. To achieve a rational, functional, and consistent set of standards requires that they be set with comprehension of:
1. the governmental structure--its processes, power groups, and impediments;
2. the social systems polluting the environment;
3 . the institutional possibilities for managing the
environment--these depending in turn upon existing technologies; as well as
4. the nature, extent, and causal process of environmen- tal injury.
T h i s f o u r f o l d dependence i s shown by a r r o w s marked "u" from e a c h of t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g nodes t o t h e node a t which t h e s t a n d a r d s a r e e s t a b l i s h e d .
Once a s e t o f s t a n d a r d s h a s been e s t a b l i s h e d , t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r e n f o r c i n g them i s d e l e g a t e d t o a f u n c t i o n a l agency.
T h i s a s s i g n m e n t i s i n d i c a t e d by a n a r r o w marked " r " . The d e p a r t m e n t s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r m a i n t a i n i n g e n v i r o n m e n t a l q u a l i t y a s p r e s c r i b e d i n t h e s t a n d a r d s r e q u i r e c o n t i n u a l , p e r i o d i c m o n i t o r i n g of t h e s y s t e m s p r o d u c i n g p o l l u t i o n and of t h e en- v i r o n m e n t . T h i s o n g o i n g i n f o r m a t i o n need i s f u l f i l l e d by t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n of m o n i t o r e d i n f o r m a t i o n and i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h e d i a g r a m by a r r o w s marked "m". T h i s d a t a i s t h e n i n t e r - p r e t e d i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e e s t a b l i s h e d s t a n d a r d s and i s u s e d a s t h e b a s i s f o r i s s u i n g day-to-day c o n t r o l i n s t r u c t i o n s t o t h e p o l l u t i n g s y s t e m . F i g u r e 3 d e p i c t s t h e s e by t h e a r r o w l a b e l l e d " c " which r e p r e s e n t s s u c h a c t i o n s a s c h a n g i n g t h e t a x on t h e u s e o f h i g h - s u l f u r c o a l , r e g u l a t i n g t h e d i s c h a r g e of u n t r e a t e d sewage, s h u t t i n g down c e r t a i n f a c t o r i e s , and w a r n i n g c h i l d r e n a g a i n s t o u t d o o r p l a y . A f t e r e x p e r i e n c e h a s been g a i n e d i n t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of s t a n d a r d s , it s h o u l d b e r e f l e c t e d i n t h e i r m o d i f i c a t i o n o r i n t h e a d o p t i o n o f new s t a n d a r d s . T h i s p r o c e s s i s i l l u s t r a t e d by an a r r o w marked
" u " l e a d i n g from t h e node managing t h e s t a n d a r d s t o t h e node e n a c t i n g them.
Recommendation 11: The network of information flows serving both short-term and long-term de- cision processes merits close scrutiny as we lay plans to protect our environment and as we se- lect the targets for our research and development efforts.
The Information Gaps
The system we have diagrammed is an idealized one. Much of the understanding and factual knowledge required to operate it optimally is not presently available. Policy-setters
often lack sufficient time to assimilate the knowledge that we do have. Both technical and analytic experts can, however, do much to improve the information flows so that the social system works better. They should redirect their own inquiries to obtain information of highest priority to the system and, as we argued in Recommendation 7, they should learn how better to communicate their findings and insights to citizens and public officials. Research into technical and organizational means of improving the feedback from social systems and the
environment to the enactors of the standards is especially
environment to the enactors of the standards is especially