Lapas attēli
PDF
ePub

tical to prevent and what might be truly harmful. It is never above what could be harmful and always is established at a level which is practicable to achieve and which is measurable.

In summary, any realistic enforcement program for environmental quality must have its basis in the state of knowledge and capability to establish standards or criteria and must envision sufficient flexibility to accommodate to changes as improvements in knowledge, or alterations in situations occurring. It is evident that in order to avoid unrealistic programs for public expenditures as well as those in the private sector that there must be a high degree of communication between the various disciplines involved including those of law, political science and economics, as well as of ecology and environmental engineering and science. Of even more importance to any realistic program is the improvement of communications between the specialists and the public at large.

Question 2: You have mentioned the need for a national plan for the Federal departments and agencies for environmental pollution abatement. Would you discuss further how the systems approach could be used in this effort?

Answer: In developing a national plan for environmental pollution abatement, it is essential that the three principal problem areas, namely, water pollution, air pollution, and disposal of solid wastes be viewed as part of an integrated larger effort to provide for the utility of the Nation's environment and resources for the future as well as for the present. As has been widely recognized by the subcommittee, there would appear to be solutions to certain of the pollution problems which may not take into account the fact that they in turn create or intensify others. Burning of refuse or disposal of it into so-called sanitary land fills instead of grinding it up and disposing of it through the waterborne route is a case in point. In the first instance, burning may create an air pollution problem, which admittedly might be offset by proper wet scrubbing and disposal of the residue from the burning operation. The extra cost of collection and transporting of the solid wastes might well be offset by the recovery of the heat energy of the waste and its use for power production (which the Department of Navy is currently experimenting with). However, in the zeal to overcome the pollution problem, the fact may be overlooked by some that grinding of food wastes at the point of origin and that prompt disposition into the water carried systems eliminates a source of rodent and fly breeding with attendent hazards of transmission of intestinal diseases.

There is a tendency in evaluating the potential of systems engineering and systems analysis to look at "objects" rather than the basic concept. Admittedly some of the byproducts of modern space technology which have been incidental to our systems approach do have an application to the problems of environmental pollution abatement. Some of these have been cited in our prepared testimony. Another byproduct which well might be investigated is the use of nutrient rich sewage effluents for the production of protein rich algae which could be utilized for animal foods or possibly, with sufficient refinement, for human consumption.

Be that as it may, the fundamental requirement in the environmental pollution problem is the need for the efficient allocation of resources.

As is the case with national defense the public desire is for an effective program. At the same time there are public pressures to maintain fiscal responsibility. The very nature of the environmental pollution problem eliminates a price mechanism or competitive forces in the classic sense.

Whether one is undertaking a problem in military planning, in industrial production, or other forms of systems analysis, the principal elements involved are: definitions of an objective or objectives; the selection of alternatives and the detailed accumulation of information thereon; a study of the costs of resources required which can trace relationships between inputs and outputs, resources and objectives and last, but not least, the selection of a criterion as a test by which one alternative system may be chosen rather than another. As in the case with most systems analysis problems and as has been repeatedly stated in these presentations, the central problem for both the near and long term is the selection of appropriate criteria. The words of Hitch and McKean in their book, "The Economics of Defense in the Nuclear Age," in relation to military problems appear to be most appropriate with regard to systems engineering and systems analysis as related to the environmental pollution problem. In that work they said:

Whatever the particular problem, military or civilian, it is fairly obvious that in choosing among alternative means to our end, we need to scan the end themselves with a critical eye. New techniques or types of equipments may be extremely efficient in achieving certain aims, but these aims may be the wrong ones. Aims that are selected almost unconsciously or at least without sufficient critical thought***. While good intentions are sometimes reputed to be excellent paving materials, they do not pave the way to preferred action. In practical problems of military (or other) choice, there are always constraints which prevent us from simultaneously achieving all our objectives.

These exponents of the concepts of systems analysis further went on to say that while ideally we should choose a course of action which would maximize something like "the satisfaction of an individual” or "the well-being of a group" that such a prescription usually prescribes a little more than what is wanted as being "the best." They hypothesize that in practical problem solving, we have to look at an "approximate" criterion, as a practical substitute for the maximization of what we would ultimately like to have. Also there is a need for breaking down the problem into component pieces or subproblems which can be identified as components of the whole, but which are more readily susceptible to practical real time solutions. This is especially applicable to the environmental pollution question. An example of this approach was outlined by Harry Hanson while the Associate Chief for Environment Health, Office of the Bureau Chief, U.S. Public Health Service, in 1964. He suggested that these techniques could be used with smaller and simpler river basin basing systems. All of the existing hydrologic use and quality factors could be established as a framework for analysis. Such a system could then be challenged with hypothetical or predictable conditions of supply, demand, use, reuse, and quality requirements. Out of such an effort more precise environmental resource and environmental quality management programs could be developed. Similar applications to the larger problems of water use requirements, the relation between various pollution implication of solid waste procedures, could be

[ocr errors]

developed. Simple models also could be developed on a gross basis for regional, and even national planning and programing.

In making a critical examination of the alternatives, an assessment should be made of the cost (both in the sense of capital outlay and in the sense of adverse effect on resources if no action is taken) and the utility or benefits or gains associated with each of the alternatives.

Having defined broadly the problem and then addressed attention to concept and methodology, specific evaluation studies should be made on a geographical regional basis with attention directed first to those areas of known major problems. Obviously, since over 80 percent of the population is expected to be located in the 200 some odd standard metropolitan areas in the next few years, primary attention should be given to those Federal installations located in or adjacent to these centers of population.

It seems feasible to reduce some of the detailed planning of actual programs and control systems to the typical network analysis and programing documents used in the PERT system to establish appropriate reporting and control systems to measure progress toward the previously developed objectives. Inherent in this is the continued "roll forward" of the near-term plan, on an annual reprograming cycle. In applying the systems methodology and the techniques suggested above, it must be kept in mind that neither the plan nor its implementation is solely the province of the technical expert. Specialists in public administration, law, sociology, and economics must be involved and must participate with the professional environmental pollution abatement workers of the Federal departments in developing a truly Federal plan. Professor Morrisy Gonzey of the University of Colorado, in his paper, "Proposal for a Program of Research and Graduate Training in Environmental Economics," makes this point very well as follows:

Thus in the end, scientific analysis of the economic and social problems involved in maintaining and improving the quality of the natural environment becomes interdisciplinary. This view is of course inherent in the nature of systems analysis and program budgeting.

While there may be violent disagreement in some quarters regarding the results of the so-called systems analysis, and other efforts to integrate all of the multifacets of the pollution problem into a manageable form, the fact remains that some of the experience and expertise of resource management inherent in these approaches can be applied with suitable modification to the pollution abatement problem. While "experts" may disagree with the results, depending upon their specific orientation, the systems approach does produce analytical assistance upon which policy judgment can be based. There is a great need in the environmental pollution program as there is in those of defense and space for an assessment of alternatives, and of the effect thereon of what the economist terms "land, labor, and capital." The very pervasive nature of the questions concerning environmental quality and environmental pollution abatement make it vital that the requirements, constraints, and side effects on other national policies be examined in a systematic manner. In so doing, it must be recognized that the very nature of the problem, with many different governmental jurisdictions and varying public interest involved, indicates that there will result from such analysis a spectrum of program choices. The ultimate

decision as to which of the varying alternatives is selected rests in the public domain. It is here that the concept of "Federal leadership" is really put to the test. What is done in the Federal departments and agencies must submit to the test of practical results, economy of operation, and reasonable capital investment.

Question 3: How do you view the role of the professional specialist in providing a better state of knowledge on the part of the general public regarding the problems of environmental pollution abatement? Answer: The professional specialist has a moral or professional obligation to give the facts of a given situation as he sees them without attempting to color the views with his personal opinions, motivations, desires, political or religious convictions. The "information explosion" that is accompanying the speeding advance of science and technology and the rapidity of communication (particularly in the public media) presents a major challenge to the professional specialists in informing the public regarding environmental pollution. Many aspects of the question of environmental quality in reality (as has been indicated in our prepared testimony and in response to these additional continuation questions) involve subjective reactions rather than objective analysis. The importance of providing information in a readily understandable form for use by the general public becomes immediately apparent.

The professional specialist in environmental pollution must recognize that individuals (and individuals collectively in groups) undertake action when the satisfaction to be derived from that action outweighs the discomforts and sacrifices that he may have to undergo in order to arrive at that particular goal. This does not infer that people and populations behave in a rational manner. Population prejudices, habits, and just sheer inertia may prevent what appears to be a perfectly logical and necessary course from being undertaken. Expectations and apprehensions based on past experiences or on inadequate information, although unfounded, may prove to be a deciding determinate in individual and group responses. Accordingly, some single or possibly only two or three elements affecting a problem in the public domain may influence the overall decision. The situation may become even more acute when the problem is a complex one in which an ill-defined or only partially valid premise or set of conclusions is present in an authoritative sense. The problems of environmental pollution presents just such a set of conditions.

The professional specialist, to properly communicate with the general public, must have available to him adequate communication within his own discipline and must insure that such communication exists with the other disciplines who have a proper interest and involvement. Without such communications, the inevitable differences of opinion or narrow specifities of interest within the professional community can only emerge to further confuse the general public.

This problem of information dissemination and information retrieval is a major one. The Department of Defense-NASA Information Life Sciences, Space Research and Technology Exchange (ILSSE), now being incorporated into the Defense Documentation Center and the services available to the various Federal departments and agencies through the National Research Council, National Advisory Center on Toxicology, represent efforts to make available on a

rapid recall basis the vast amount of data being produced as part of our research, development, test, and evaluation programs. What is needed however, is something similar to the NASA "Aerospace Medicine and Biology Continuing Bibliography," aimed at the broad problem of human ecology and environmental pollution. This latter publication, compiled through the cooperative efforts of the Library of Congress, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, assembles within the cover of a single announcement groups of references that were formerly announced in separate journals to provide a convenient compilation for all scientists concerned with the problem. Development of such a program would provide for an improved state of knowledge within the various disciplines and for a better interchange of understanding of what is being done in the interest concerned.

Another major effort on the part of professional specialists to develop further general public awareness of the facts and problems of environmental pollution is that associated with professional society and intersociety actions. There are a great number of professional organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Biological Scientists, and many others, whose members are active in environmental pollution control. In addition to presenting testimony before congressional committees which some of these organizations have done in the past, a much more vigorous undertaking at the State and local level in presenting technical opinions and views before authorities concerned with legislative matters and in the development of statements for issuance in the general public press, as in form of reports of their committees, would serve a most useful purpose if the necessary care and restraint indicated above is exercised. Similarly the various professional and interprofessional groups can contribute a great deal to better understanding of the problems of pollution through working with the secondary schools in furnishing guest speakers, exhibits, and even instructional materials.

The professional specialist can assist greatly in better public understanding as he develops a better knowledge and appreciation of the techniques and principles of modern communications. Not all scientists are good speakers, nor are they endowed with ability to translate complex scientific and technical problems into readily understandable terms. However, an increasing awareness of the importance of the techniques utilized in television, radio, and other mass communication media including the traditional one of the public periodical and daily newspaper will assist in providing the general public with the necessary information upon which it can make the judgments at the polls and through their legislative representatives. The scientist and all other specialists in environmental pollution have the task of translating information to the public in readily understandable form. In so doing, the aim of providing a basis for judgment by those who must exercise some (the public up to through the legislative process) will be best served if the features of the scientific method described by Karl Pearson in the last decade of the 19th century are followed.

These are:

(a) Careful and accurate classification of facts and observations of their correlation and sequence;

68-240-66—vol. II—12

« iepriekšējāTurpināt »