American Statistical Association (ASA) Section on Statistics and the Environment (ENVR) Last Modified: 2000-Feb-14 Send comments, corrections, additions to: ENVR Web Editor or ENVR Webmaster

March is an exciting month. In the environmental movement, it appears we are always busy in March trying to figure out what to say by April's annual Earth Day. I have the pleasure below of telling you a bit of what has happened in the environment and the interactions with our profession over the last thirty years since the first Earth Day.

I also hope that March will be a busy month for some of the students interested in environmental statistics. Because we were a bit behind in revising our notices, we have extended the deadline for the student award and travel competition to March 15th. So let the Ides of March be a lucky day for you, and submit an entry to our chair for this contest, Linda Young. Details can be found on the section web page: www.pnl.gov/statenvi/ . Remember this year for the first time, thanks to combined support from our section and the generous offer from the National Research Center for Statistics and the Environment at the University of Washington, the travel expenses of the victorious student to the annual meetings in Indianapolis will be covered in full in addition to the $100 prize. So this is a good year to enter that paper! We look forward to hearing a presentation of the award-winning paper this summer.

THIRTY YEARS SINCE EARTH DAY,
A personal view from Barry D. Nussbaum, Chair

Golly, it's been thirty years since the first Earth Day. I can tell you that this landmark will be duly observed by the Environmental Protection Agency, which employs, among others, me. So I will not preempt my own employer (see, I have learned something in 24 years in a bureaucracy!) who will provide plenty of information on progress since April , 1970. However, I will take this space to give some reflections and general qualitative views on what's happened in those thirty years, and especially what environmental statistics has done.

April 1970, the famous first Earth Day. It was an interesting event. A group of idealistic youngsters trying to convince the world that the environment was deteriorating and worth saving. Not that it was a surprise to anyone. After all, months earlier in December of 1969, President Nixon had signed legislation to start the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and by Earth Day, its doors were open for business. But there were other things still going on. The Vietnam War was still raging, and somehow environmental protection would need the jump start that Earth Day was providing. Also, environmental degradation was considered a business issue, with those bad guys with big factories, and huge smokestacks doing all the harm. Oh they did harm all right, but thirty years of effort has shown that there are many personal and very local issues that need attention and are the center of current work. Many of the "big" problems have been solved and now the emphasis has turned from national environmental concerns to those of two completely opposite extremes. We started with country-wide regulations and enforcement, and now are turning both to localized community based environmental protection, and simultaneously to global concerns such as global warming. This last one always intrigues me. In the last week, I have been stranded in a hotel in Baltimore since the airport had the audacity to close due to snow just as we arrived. And as I write this article, my wife is sitting in an aircraft awaiting de-icing at Washington before it goes to Boston. The only warming is the sweat in my brow as I worry about her.

And how did our section help out? Surprisingly, the Statistics and the Environment Section is only in its eleventh year. Started in 1990 by several visionaries who recognized the need for professional statistics in environmental work, it quickly rose to its current membership of 656. Included in those 656 are 70 fellows of the American Statistical Association. While fairly new, the breadth of the section has been in its wide reaching effects on the environment. Many thoughtful papers have been presented at ASA meetings and elsewhere that have shaped or strengthened environmental progress. Further, the consistent reliance on quantitative analysis and statistical inference in environmental regulation have been the backbone of many improvements in the land, water, and air. And yes, the litigation including statistical arguments is there also, and probably causing more sweat than global warming.

Oh, along the way I guess we had some help. In January, 1991, at a specialty ASA conference on the environment, one of the keynote speakers was a U.S. Senator who had an interest in global warming, and brought along some flipcharts demonstrating trends. His message was fairly simple. Do something now, since the trend appears obvious, and don't wait for the very last piece of evidence before taking action. He did pretty well for himself, and is currently the Vice President, and is seeking yet higher office. We were excited about his presence although we naturally held our breath hoping that a real U.S. Senator would show up without a last minute substitute. Not only did Senator Gore show up that day in New Orleans; he brought his own flipcharts, seemed quite knowledgeable and on point; and even attended a break-out session at the conference!

One of the most recent developments at EPA will be of tremendous interest for our profession. EPA's new Office of Environmental Information began in October, 1999. This is a large central office dedicated to the collection, dissemination, and analysis of environmental data and information. I view "information" as the 2000 analogy to 1967's "plastics". I should have paid attention then, and I certainly will pay attention now. You should do the same. Things have changed in those years for our profession and for its environment.