205 



lo8 ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 



outlays of capital and resources. Some environmentalists believe that a re- 

 structuring of the global economy will be necessary to respond to these chal- 

 lenges.'' But a redistribution of existing resources will be itisufRcient 

 without major increases in knowledge. This is why the U.S. role in environ- 

 mental R&D is critically important, and why it is necessary to improve the 

 way the federal government does environmental R&D. 



The recommendations made in this repon can help the federal gov- 

 ernment improve its R&D programs; they will also enable the nation to 

 apply the resulting information cfiFcaively to the urgent environmental prob- 

 lems the world faces. 



SUPPORTING AGENCY MISSIONS 



If adopted, our recommendations would strengthen the contributions of 

 environmental R&D to the missions of federal departments and agencies. 

 For example, the consolidation of laboratories and the establishment of new 

 research centers would make EPA more eflective; the expansion of training 

 programs at NIEHS would enhance NIH's role in environmental health; 

 bcncr planning and coordination of research, as well as changes in the Park 

 Service and the Bureau of Land Management, would help the Department 

 of the Interior protect our public lands and waterways; the changes we have 

 recommended at the Department of Agriculture would help that agency 

 fulfill its missions, because agricultural productivity and environmental quality 

 go hand in hand. Our recommendarions would also help the Department 

 of Defense shift away from its Cold War preoccuparion with the Soviet threat 

 to a broader definirion of security, and help the Department of Energy with 

 the massive cleanup of hazardous waste at nuclear fiicilirics. 



ASSESSMENT. STRATEGIC PLANNING, AND 

 POUCY DEVELOPMENT 



We have stressed throughout this report that federal environmental R&D 

 is fragmented and ovrriy focused on shon-term problems. To generate the 

 knowledge needed to meet the threats to our planet, the federal system 

 will require better assessment, strategic planning, and policy development 

 capabiliues. In parucular, the system needs a central coordinating mecha- 

 nism that can assess problems, develop policy opuons, set priorities, and 

 shift our R&D system away from short-range, cnd-of-the-pipc solurions and 

 toward identifying trends, finding root causes, and anucipating problems. 



