same topic. It is hoped that any resulting con- 

 troversy or disagreement will help to illustrate 

 the present status of environmental science and, 

 indeed, to generate constructive and extensive 

 discussion among scientists. 



Specific attribution of papers and asso- 

 ciated illustrative material has been deliberately 

 avoided. The exigencies of the publishing sched- 

 ule have not permitted authors an opportunity to 

 review the edited product, and, where consistency 

 could be assured, material from two or more 

 papers have been combined; thus, while every 

 effort has been made to retain scientific accuracy 

 and individual style, authors should not be ex- 

 pected to bear individual responsibility for the 

 final version. Furthermore, in order to encourage 

 candid opinions, contributors were told from the 

 first that informality was sought and that indi- 

 vidual acknowledgments would not be made. 



"Patterns and perspectives" in environ- 

 mental science begin to emerge from a reading 

 of the various papers in this report. Several ques- 

 tions recur. How adequate are the experimental 

 data that comprise an essential underpinning for 

 scientific progress? To what extent does a satis- 



factory theoretical structure exist, as distinct from 

 a largely qualitative understanding? How mature 

 are attempts at mathematical modeling? How 

 adequate is the scientific basis for environmental 

 control? Has environmental science reached the 

 point where regulatory standards can be formu- 

 lated in terms of demonstrated benefits and 

 costs to society? What further scientific activity 

 is needed? What needs to be done? 



The National Science Board, in its third re- 

 port, sought the broad outlines of the answers to 

 such questions at this point in time. Its findings 

 and recommendations comprise the first volume 

 of the third report, a summary of which is 

 appended. It is hoped that the publication of 

 these papers — the raw material, so to speak — 

 will help to generate further discussion of the 

 topics covered and their implications for environ- 

 mental science as a whole, its organization and 

 staffing, its choice of priorities, its methods of 

 investigation, and the extent of established infor- 

 mation and theory that can serve as the founda- 

 tion of future progress. In this case, as in so 

 many others, discussion and controversy are an 

 important prelude to action. 



vm 



