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Environmental Decision Making—Taking Steps toward Improving the Process

In the opening article of this special issue on environmental decision making, Lynton Caldwell, one of the original authors of the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, raises the question, "Can American society make sound environmental decisions?" Caldwell goes on to ask whether society in the United States is sufficiently coherent in its beliefs and values to reach reasonable consensus, or at least compromise, on environmental solutions. He ponders if public understanding of the issues and the science are sufficient for sound decisions. Finally, he asks whether the current public and private institutions, and decision-making processes associated with them, are sufficient to meet the many challenges to making publicly acceptable and scientifically sound decisions.