After spending three years as a kindergarten teacher and one as a reading specialist, Michelle Waters recently became the education outreach coordinator for the Georgia-based Clean Air Campaign. In that role, she has helped roll out a comprehensive Better Air Schools initiative to 20 Atlanta-area elementary schools. The program includes a…

Sustainability has become a central consideration across the board in university business decisions. Passing a tipping point, it has become a pivotal focus of management. College leaders are increasingly drawing connections between sustainability, institutional missions, and higher education's fundamental purposes. Administrators readily rattle…

Describes an approach to constructing an Environmental Quality Index for Canada. The index is divided into air, water, land and miscellaneous sections. By looking at individual subindices, it is possible to see how environmental conditions vary across the country. By combining subindices, a crude gauge of the broad state of the environment may be…

An energy audit is an effective method to determine how much energy a home uses each year, whether the energy is being used efficiently, and where a home wastes energy. This fact sheet describes tools and techniques used for home energy audits, as well as how to perform a do-it-yourself audit. It discusses professionals who conduct home energy…

This circular provides current information for homeowners who must repair or replace existing on-lot sewage disposal systems. Site requirements, characteristics and preparation are outlined for a variety of alternatives such as elevated sand mounds, sand-lined beds and trenches, and oversized absorption area. Diagrams indicating construction…

The Environmental Protection Agency chose the American Society of Testing and Materials to develop standardized guidelines for pesticide registration. Since the numbers and uses of pesticides is so wide, establishing ecological and public health guidelines may be difficult. Strong industry and government representation might also hamper the…

Presented in tabular form are the air quality standards for gases and vapors required by the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Health and Safety Act. (CS)

Concerned with the lack of consistency in reporting air pollution levels, a task force developed the Pollutant Standards Index. This index is intended for voluntary use by state and local pollution control agencies and is specifically designed to inform the public through the news media. Details of index are given. (MA/Author)

An evaluation of the use of the parameters currently being used to design and operate the activated sludge process is presented. The advantages and disadvantages for the use of each parameter are discussed. (MR)

Reports on a study of the cognitive strategies people use in arriving at judgments about environmental problems. (GW)

This guide addresses existing New York laws and available resources to ensure that every child and school employee has an environmentally safe and healthy school. Topics discussed involve indoor air quality; toxic and hazardous chemicals; pests and pesticides; mold, mildew, fungus, bacteria; asbestos; lead; radon; exhaust fumes from idling…

This document consists of a collection of fact sheets about the use of pesticides in schools and how to reduce it. The sheets are: (1) "Alternatives to Using Pesticides in Schools: What Is Integrated Pest Management?"; (2) "Health Effects of 48 Commonly Used Pesticides in Schools"; (3) "The Schooling of State Pesticide…

This feature article outlines the concept and procedures followed in establishing performance standards for new emission sources and summarizes the standards that have been established to date. Five source catagories are enumerated: fossil fuel-fired steam generators, municipal incinerators, Portland cement plants, nitric acid plants, and sulfuric…

Ecologists and engineers must work together to receive maximum benefits from new technologies being developed. Impacts of this close cooperation will be significant on both technologists and ecologists in future years. (PS)