What makes a good environmental indicator? It should provide a direct measure of pollution and of environmental degradation or improvement, experts say. It should be tracked over time in order to determine whether there is an improving or deteriorating trend. Good indicators should measure pollution, not consumption, although the two are commonly confused.
When these techniques are employed they show that contrary to public opinion there are many reasons to be optimistic about the progress that has been made at improving our environment since the first Earth Day in 1970. Following are some examples:
The index of environmental indicators for Canada, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and South Korea shows that fears about increasing environmental degradation in these countries are unfounded. Environmental quality is getting better, not worse. While there are still some serious environmental problems that need to be addressed, overall environmental quality continues to improve.
Source: Laura Jones, Liv Fredrickson and Tracy Wates, Environmental Indicators (5th Edition), Critical Issues Bulletin, The Fraser Institute, April 2002.
For more information: http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/
For more on Canada http://www.ncpa.org/pi/internat/intdex9.html
For more on Environmental Regulatory Reform http://www.ncpa.org/iss/env
FMF Policy Bulletin\1 October 2002
