244 



♦ 'I'hc air in U.S. cities threatens to deteriorate further as improve- 

 ments in auto emission controls are overwhelmed by the shcci 

 numbers of cars and miles driven and by congestion. Meanwhile, 

 indoor air pollution is largely ignored. 



^ Disposal and cleanup of the vast amounts of WMtf generated each 

 year pose great difficulties and consume an increasing proportion 

 of the limited funds available for environmental protection. 

 Indirect sources of pollution, such as urban and agricultural 

 runofT, continue almost unabated. 



♦ Encroaching land devebpment'n displacing and undermining crit- 

 ical ecosystems such as wetlands and threatens rural landscapes, 

 natural areas, and biological diversity. 



♦ Large areas of national forest and other public landi and resources 

 are not managed sustainably. 



♦ Farmlands are suffering from soil loss and excessive use of chemi- 

 cals. 



♦ freshwater aquifers are being consumed and contaminated at an 

 alarming rate in many areas. 



♦ Overfishing and pollution arc seriously depleting our most impor- 

 tant commercial fisheries. 



♦ In many U.S. inner cities, the physical environment has the look 

 of a wasteland. 



This litany of environmental ills, familiar-sounding and by no 

 means complete, is a product of todays level and character of economic 

 activity and human population. We must also consider tomorrow. 

 Over the next 50 years — within the lifetimes of many of us and of all 

 our children — economic activity in the United States is projected to 

 quadruple and global population to double at least. If growth of thi.s 

 magnitude occurs with current industrial processes, agricultural meth- 

 ods, and consumer practices, the results could be both environmentally 

 and economically disastrous. 



Forecasts based on linear projections are often wrong. In the casc 

 of environmental conditions, such projections may be too opiiniisiiL. 



Crisis ano Oitor iunuy xiii 



