RE: information for people on the "street"

[Nathan Benjamin <nbenjamin@cleanup.org>]

There is a real distinction between consumer-based environmental information that is of greatest - and most frequent - interest on the "street", as opposed to more complex, "grey", regulatory and code-based information that is primarily of value to regulators, scholars, industry, etc.

The average person on the "street" is working hard and has limited time and resources, and although he or she often considers his or herself and environmentalist (polls show) it is most often the simple steps that are of interest - Proactive pollution prevention information.

Accordingly, there is a real difference in information that is useful in day-to-day decision making for the average consumer. Sure, the numeric tables and complex rules are of value, but not nearly as often as finding the location to take that old paint or pesticide. For the consumer, doing the right thing, and accessing community-specific information can be all too complex.