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MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION NO. 1065, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



One example comes to mind. Water seeping from 

 or flowing through a recent forest burn may have 

 a higher temperature than if the area had been in 

 deep forest. 



Industry may contribute serious heat pollution 

 of streams. The Mahoning River in Ohio provides 

 a good example; it is used extensively for indus- 

 trial and power cooling in the Youngstown area. 

 The temperature of the river in the summer is 

 raised to such an extent that fish life is com- 

 pletely eliminated, and the river is rendered unfit 

 for further use in either waste assimilation or addi- 

 tional cooling. 



Agricultural and forestry interests wishing to 

 use surface waters for recreation or fishing would 

 be seriously affected by water unduly heated by 

 industrial cooling. 



Socioeconomic Evaluation 



A whole array of decisions must be made among 

 alternative approaches posed by wastes in the 

 environment. How do we define quality of the 

 environment ? Where do we draw the line between 

 contamination and noncontamination ? How much 

 are we willing to pay for specific levels of quality 

 improvement? What level of waste treatment do 

 we want? Do some segments of society want differ- 

 ent levels of environmental quality than others? 

 How do we set up standards that provide flexibil- 

 ity? How do we attach monetary significance to 

 esthetic values? How do we relate these values to 

 quantitative aspects readily evaluated in the mar- 

 ketplace? Do Ave want to maximize economic bene- 

 fits, or should we seek to maximize social benefits, 

 or should we attain an optimal combination of the 

 two? 



Answers must be sought to these and similar 

 questions if optimal economic and social solutions 

 to waste problems are to be attained. 



Economic research on wastes should emphasize 

 the evaluation of costs and benefits associated with 

 waste production and waste disposal. Such evalua- 

 tions are needed for each of the agents that do or 



maj' affect this quality of our environment. Such 

 studies would identify which areas of waste pro- 

 duction are most in need of correction in terms of 

 dollar costs and benefits. 



To this end, economic studies are underway on 

 data from the Pesticide and General Farm Survey 

 for 1966. Evaluation of these data in relation to 

 those previously obtained will indicate trends. 



Studies are underway on the economic signifi- 

 cance of water quality, erosion and sedimentation 

 processes, and the salinity of irrigation waters. 



Economists maintain a continuing research pro- 

 gram with respect to fertilizer use. 



Organic wastes present a major area for eco- 

 nomic studies toward arriving at sound decisions 

 on alternate ways of handling animal and poultry 

 manures and food and fiber processing wastes. 



There is an immediate need for information on 

 the status of rural waste problems. Surveys should 

 be designed to provide for better knowledge on 

 abatement costs, economic effects, existing institu- 

 tional control arrangements, and other informa- 

 tion as specified by survey objectives. 



These surveys should highlight critical problems 

 requiring studies in depth. Such studies should 

 trace the economic implications of selected prob- 

 lems, specify feasible alternatives for solution, and 

 provide information for the rational compromises 

 between production efficiency and waste-free 

 environments. 



There are presently serious problems of adjust- 

 ment within agriculture to meet changing con- 

 cepts of environmental quality. Local ordinances 

 and court actions have caused abrupt cessation of 

 agricultural operations in some areas. Studies 

 need to be made on the role that local leadership 

 in county and district organizations can play in 

 guiding the amelioration of rural waste problems. 



There is a critical need for improved techniques 

 for measuring secondary economic effects, and 

 nonmonetary benefits and costs, of waste control 

 programs. 



The need for information thus is great in the 

 complex of decision-making processes. 



