tailieunhanh - Source Environmental Assessment

Environmental considerations were largely ignored for almost 200 years in the development of the United States. Only in the last third of the twentieth century did environmental factors begin to play a significant role in the speed and direction of our national progress. These factors have developed in us a new concern and recognition of the dependence that we, as human beings, have on the long-term viability of the envi- ronment for sustaining life. The new “ethic” of conservation of resources has also grown as concern for the environment has grown, because much of our environmental quality is itself a nonrenewable resource | McGraw-Hill PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING - o Provides a comprehensive approach for analyzing the environmental Impact of a project o Includes examples of methodologies for assessing the environment Contains 150 pages of now text as well as ease studies and case law Environmental Assessment SECOND EDITION Ravi Jain . Urban Gary s. Stacey Harold Balbach Source Environmental Assessment Chapter 1 Environmental Assessment Environmental considerations were largely ignored for almost 200 years in the development of the United States. Only in the last third of the twentieth century did environmental factors begin to play a significant role in the speed and direction of our national progress. These factors have developed in us a new concern and recognition of the dependence that we as human beings have on the long-term viability of the environment for sustaining life. The new ethic of conservation of resources has also grown as concern for the environment has grown because much of our environmental quality is itself a nonrenewable resource. Human development especially in the twentieth century represents an intrusion into the overall balance that maintains the earth as a habitable place in the universe. We are recognizing this fact in our concern for the environment but most of us are also reluctant to give up the profligate consumption of resources which characterizes the modern lifestyle. Thus it is incumbent upon the human species to examine its actions and to attune to ensuring the long-term viability of earth as a habitable planet. The development of environmental impact analysis or assessments is a logical first step in this process. It represents an opportunity for us to consider in decision making the effects of actions that are not otherwise accounted for in the normal market exchange of goods and services. The adverse effects discovered in the assessment process then need to be weighed against the social economic and other advantages derived from a given action. .