The report tries to document statistics about natural resources that are scattered among several federal agencies, including the EPA and the Department of Interior.



A report released on September 24, 2002 by the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. The report tries to document, in one place, the sort of statistics about natural resources that are scattered among several federal agencies, including the EPA and the Department of Interior.

The study offers 103 indicators but complete and accurate data are available for only 56 of them. The Heinz Center plans to update the report every five years. The purpose of the report is to raise the factual basis of the debate over environmental issues.

The federal government spends over $600 million each year gathering environmental data that is not comprehensive. Billions of dollars are spent on pollution control and cleanup. The reported figure for 1994 was $120 billion.

The report can be read at www.heinzctr.org/ecosystems/ or purchased from Cambridge University Press for about $25.