A Different Perspective: Trends in Selected Rhode Island
Environmental Indicators

Many reports have evaluated individual states on their environmental performance. Using traditional assessment methods and standard environmental indicators, these reports examine such items as resource protection, energy and water use, multimedia pollutant releases, consumption, and waste generation. Through the years, Rhode island has ranked high on these evaluations--perhaps due to the small population and geographic size of our state. However comparing Rhode Island to other larger more populous states may not be a true assessment.

Graduate students at the Center for Environmental Studies at Brown University decided that a more effective method of evaluating the environmental performance of Rhode Island may be to compare various trends within our own state. Based on past research conducted by the Center's director, we chose four selected environmental indicators, solid and hazardous waste, energy, open space and water, and evaluated the trends over the past 10 years.

By conducting this research and examining these trends, we have found that evaluating environmental performance is not as clear-cut as first imagined. While data collected seem to represent some important trend lines within Rhode Island, there are many variables from year to year that can affect the numbers. In addition, there are many instances where data and policy gaps exists. It is our hope that the state planners, policy makers and environmental and consumer interest groups will use this data as a basis for continued examination of these and perhaps other selcted indicators. This future data can be utlized to better evaulate exsiting policy and give Rhode Island a different perspective on the status of its environmental quality.