Environmental indicators attempt to describe the actual environmental conditions and present scientifically-based information on environmental trends and their significance. Environmental indicators look at the effects of human activities on the environment as well as the implications of those actions for human health, quality of life and the integrity of ecosystems.
The Catalog of Environmental Indicators represents a comprehensive list of over 1,000 indicators drawn from available state and federal sources that states and other interested environmental indicator practitioners can use in the development of their individual indicator systems.
In the Catalog of Data Sources, there are 32 databases and data sources reviewed and included in the most appropriate sections of the document.
SINS is the presentation of a group of recommended indicators for use by state agencies in developing their own indicator systems for a comprehensive list of national environmental issues of concern to states.
The fourth and last of this series, Directory of Environmental Indicator Practitioners, is a compilation of 2000 federal, state, local nonprofit and international environmental practitioners and organizations.
The purpose of the Catalogs are to:
The list of indicators is representative of both what has been done and what has been proposed for use.
There is inherent duplication in listing indicators that have been used. Some of the indicators presented overlap with others, while others will have slight differences in their wording or what is ultimately being measured. Most are derived from the same or similar databases.
The indicators have been broken down into smaller groups where possible, in order to better display them. The document source is included with each indicator. The document source is identified by a code in parenthesis which usually includes an identifier of the document title and the year presented or published; for example, CB95 stands for Chesapeake Bay, 1995. Where the information was available or determined to be necessary, a source and a description are also included.
Each set of indicators are analyzed along the following guidelines:
In most instances, the indicators are recommended to be used for a minimum of three years. The reason is that one year of data represents a snapshot, a single point in time, or a beginning. Two years of data can give us an idea of the conditions, but does not provide us with a discernible trend. A minimum of three years of data not only allows us to see the status and condition of the environment, but also trends in the conditions. The trend can then be extrapolated into the future to analyze what future conditions would be according to the data supporting the indicator.
An annotated listing of contacts and address for the published sources used in the Catalog of Environmental Indicators are provided in Appendix B of the document. Sources for the Catalog are:
(Cat95) Catalog of Indicators, 1995 Draft.
(CB95)
State of the Chesapeake Bay 1995, Chesapeake Bay Program, 1995.
(CCS95) Candidates for Core Set of Environmental Indicators for State
Reporting, unpublished document, Environmental Information Division,
Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, April 1995.
(DIIR95) Draft Interim 1995 Indicators Report, Environmental
Results Branch, Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, April 1995.
(EPA92) Strategies, Goals, & Environmental Results, Draft for
Discussion, Office of Strategic Planning and Environmental Data,
Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, May 1992.
(LCI95) List of Common Indicators, discussion draft
for USEPA Region 9, June 20, 1995.
(NE95) The State of the New England Environment,
1970-1995, U.S. EPA Region 1, June 1995.
(OPPE95) Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation,
Preliminary List of Performance Measures, For Discussion Only, March 27, 1995.
(ORCA95) ORCA Indicator Project, Materials for
Developing Environmental Indicators, ORCA Indicator Team, NOAA, February 1995.
(OW95) National Indicators for Water, Draft Report for
Discussion, Office of Water, June 16, 1995.
(PEGA 7/95) Proposed Environmental Goals for
America with Milestones for the Year 2005, Draft for
Government Agencies’ Review, Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation, July 1995.
(POPM95) Program Office Performance Measures, Discussion
Draft, Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation, Proposed July 25, 1995.
(CA95)
Environmental Indicators Report, California
Environmental Protection Agency, April 1995.
(CO95) Environmental Indicators State/EPA Agreement
Mid-Year Meeting Report, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, June 6, 1995.
(CT95) State of Connecticut, Goals and
Benchmarks for the Year 2000 and Beyond, The Connecticut Progress Council, January 1995.
(CT94) Environmental Quality in Connecticut,
The 1994 Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality, 1994.
(FL94)
Strategic Assessment of Florida’s
Environment, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, November 1994.
(IL94)
The Changing Illinois Environment: Critical
Trends, Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources, 1994.
(KY94)
The State of Kentucky’s Environment:
1994 Status Report, The Kentucky Environmental Quality
Commission, February 1995.
(KY92) The State of Kentucky’s Environment:
A Report of Progress and Problems, The Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission, 1992.
(MA95)
Massachusetts Environment:
The State of Our Common Wealth, Executive Office of
Environmental Affairs, April 1995.
(ME94)
A Place in Time...Maine’s
Environment 1994, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, 1994.
(MN95)
Tracking our Progress in
Protecting Minnesota’s Environment, Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency, January 1995.
(MN93) Preserving Minnesota’s Environment
for 25 Years, 1967-1992, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, January 1993.
(MN92)
Minnesota Milestones: A Report Card for
the Future, Minnesota Planning Agency, December 1992.
(NC95) North Carolina Environmental Indicators,
Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Draft, June 1995.
(OH95)
Ohio State of the Environment Report,
Ohio Comparative Risk Project, December 1995.
(OK92) State of Oklahoma Environmental Subcabinet
State Environmental Assessment, A Report to the Governor, Environment 1992.
(OR94)
Oregon Benchmarks, Oregon Progress Board, December 1994.
(OR92) Oregon Benchmarks, Oregon Progress Board, December 1992.
(TN96)
Tennessee’s Environment: 25 Years of Progress,
Department of Environment and Conservation, published April 1995.
(TN94)
State of the Environment: Preview, Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation, September 1994.
(VT96)
Environment 1996, The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 1996.
(VT95)
Environment 1995, The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, April 1995.
(VT94) Environment 1994, The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, January 1994.
(WA95)
Washington’s Environmental Health 1995, A Summary of
Environmental Indicators, Washington Department of Ecology, April 1995.
(WI95)
Wisconsin’s Environment 1970-1995, Wisconsin Department
of Natural Resources, April 1995.
Databases reviewed in the Catalog of Data Sources with their corresponding sections are:
AIR
WATER
WASTE
ECOSYSTEM
USE AND MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL ECONOMIC RESOURCES
PESTICIDES
Information presented in reviews of the databases includes:
In some cases, limitations of the data supporting the indicator are included.
Daniel Parker
Florida Center for Public Management
118 N. Woodward Avenue
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4025
Tel: (850) 921-5714
Fax: (850) 487-4169
Email: dparker@garnet.acns.fsu.edu