WASHINGTON--Environmental problems have become so pervasive, that such complex issues as toxic wastes, global warming, and depletion of the ozone layer have become the topics of casual conversation among an otherwise scientifically illiterate public. And yet the one government agency that is supposed to protect the U.S. public from these threats has been prevented from doing its job, many scientists believe. The Reagan Administration cut the Environmental Protection Agency's research staff by more than 20%, and dealt even more harshly with the agency's R&D budget, cutting it by one-third before gradually allowing it to return to the still-meager levels of the Carter administration.
This week, however, marks the beginning of the George Bush presidency. And environmental advocates are eager to put the setbacks of the past behind them. No fewer than three major reports have appeared since last fall outlining the direction that the new administration must take to tackle ...
