Law

Thus we are trying to understand how the mode of conduct that is prescribed by our controlling authority relates to the application of information science, engineering and technology to the explanation and solution of environmental problems. We will begin by glancing at a selected list of "environmental laws" beginning in 1964.

• 1964--Wilderness Act
• 1965--Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
• 1967--Air Quality Act
• 1968--Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
• 1969--National Environmental Policy Act
• 1970--Environmental Quality Improvement Act
• 1972--Black Lung Benefits Act
• 1972--Coastal Zone Management Act
• 1972--Marine Mammal Protection Act
• 1972--Marine Protection Research and Sanctuaries Act
• 1972--Noise Control Act
• 1972--Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act
• 1973--Endangered Species Act
• 1973--Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act
• 1974--Safe Drinking Water Act
• 1974--Federal Non-Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act
• 1974--Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act
• 1974--Deepwater Port Act
• 1974--Energy Reorganization Act
• 1975--Hazardous Material Transportation Act
• 1976--Federal Land Policy and Management Act
• 1976--Toxic Substances Control Act
• 1976--Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
• 1977--Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
• 1977--Clean Air Act
• 1977--Clean Water Act
• 1977--Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act
• 1978--Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
• 1978--Port and Tanker Safety Act
• 1978--Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act
• 1978--Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
• 1978--Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act
• 1980--Asbestos School Hazard Detection and Control Act
• 1980--Acid Precipitation Act
• 1980--Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships
• 1980--Automobile Fuel Efficiency Act
• 1980--Biomass Energy and Alcohol Act
• 1980--Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act
• 1980--Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Research Development & Demonstration Act
• 1980--Solid Waste Disposal Act
• 1980--Superfund Act
• 1980--Wood Residue Utilization Act
• 1982--Nuclear Waste Policy Act
• 1986--Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
• 1987---Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
• 1987--Water Pollution Prevention and Control
• 1990--Oil Pollution Act
• 1990--Pollution Prevention Act

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  A quick glance at this list shows many similarities to the development of environmental information. The 1970 Environmental Quality Act exemplifies the US's desire to improve the environment qualitatively. Unfortunately, this approach was unmanageable and the laws switched to more quantitative limits that could be measured. The division of the environment into the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act was an attempt to make regulating the environment manageable. Today, there is an attempt to end the partitioning of the environment with more comprehensive laws that combine different media like water and air. The Pollution Prevention Act is an example.

  I believe that this same trend occurred in environmental information. The information began qualitatively, but as our capacity to measure changes in the environment expanded with the help of earth science fields and ecology, the information was increasingly divided and quantified. Now there is an attempt to understand these changes at a global level rather than a regional or air, soil, water level.

  I believe that a beneficial relationship exists between new laws and environmental information. In an attempt to comply with environmental laws massive amounts of environmental information, like emissions data, are collected. This information is then processed into a higher grade of knowledge with the help of computer science. Computer models process data and present it in a more comprehensive and understandable format. As a result, we gain a better understanding of the problems that the original laws were trying to solve. Thus, new and better laws can replace the original ones.

  However, if new laws are not able to change environmentally damaging behavior, other forces might step in. Economics is one such force. For example, a company may find that reducing their polluting emissions saves the company money by reducing wasted resources.

  Databases of knowledge now exist to help apply information science, engineering and technology to explain and solve environmental problems (for examples of these databases see information science). Similarly, databases exist to aid in the solving of legal problems involving the environment. The WESTLAW Electronic Research Guide is an example.

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  Compiled by

  Keith Cunningham kc3@cec.wustl.edu Last updated 10/26/94.