The Pacific Research Institute is pleased to present the fifth edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. The purpose of the Index is to provide policymakers and interested citizens with an annual checkup on environmental trends in the United States. It is especially propitious to do so this year, which marks the 30th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22.

Since "the environment" is such an expansive topic, encompassing hundreds if not thousands of discrete aspects, this report varies its focus from year-to-year in order to avoid the dimensions of the New York City phone book. Last year’s edition (available on our website at www.pacificresearch.org) looked at the role of long-term economic growth as a factor in environmental improvement, and examined the complex matter of toxic risk assessment. This year we offer a retrospective on Earth Day, and a discussion of "sustainable development" and renewable energy, currently prominent themes in public discourse.

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