Reporting Meaningful Environmental Data

• Activity Number: 82
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 1, 2010 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics and the Environment
• Author(s): Barry D. Nussbaum*+
• Companies: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Keywords: environment ; indicators ; quality ; anomalies

Abstract

Reporting environmental data for decision making involves considerable care in reviewing different data sets and their origins. This is quite challenging when data from varying locations, various reporters, or different time periods must be compared. This paper will present the steps used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in producing its Report on the Environment, and will highlight the concerns for comparable data. Preparing the Report on the Environment included major efforts to assure quality information. Yet, it also resulted in some apparent internal inconsistencies in the information presented. The discussion in this paper indicates that these are not true inconsistencies, but rather demonstrates how subtle parts of data definitions yield unanticipated results, which at times defy the more familiar meanings of certain terms.