New Approaches on Energy and the Environment

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24

Treading Carefully With Environmental Information

by Thomas C. Beierle

Congress introduced information disclosure nearly two decades ago as a strategy for improving industrial environmental performance. Mr. President, I recommend that your administration reinvigorate environmental information disclosure as a policy tool. The effort could involve enhancing existing programs or creating an entirely new program. Your administration should evaluate whether a new disclosure program would help you achieve your top environmental goals. A new program might include, for example, a single point of entry for information on drinking-water contaminants or an integrated database on polluted coastal waters. The process by which a new or enhanced ...