10.2190/X9V8-0F1T-YC0F-KQG1 X9V80F1TYC0FKQG1 3 Anticipating Environmental Problems—A Systems Approach 45 55 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 X9V80F1TYC0FKQG1.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=X9V80F1TYC0FKQG1 1 Kan Chan Paul Appasamy Michael Donahue John Reuss University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Center for the Great Lakes, Chicago, Illinois U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC The Environmental Problems Anticipatory Systems (EPAS) was developed as part of a cooperative research effort between the University of Michigan and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of the research was to develop a systematic procedure for the anticipation of emerging environmental problems. The system was developed over a three-year period during which it was designed, refined, and tested. EPAS uses a systems approach involving experts from different sectors to identify and analyze emerging environmental problems. The major subsystems of EPAS involve monitoring, analysis, selection, and scoping. The research effort indicates that EPAS is an operational and tested approach that produces timely and cost-effective information for anticipating emerging environmental problems in a systematic manner. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, <i>Environmental Policies for the 1980s</i>, OECD, Paris, France, pp. 11-17, 1980. The Conservation Foundation, <i>State of the Environment—An Assessment at Mid-Decade</i>, The Conservation Foundation, Washington, DC, pp. 237-260, 1984. J. A. Leitch and F. L. Leistritz, Delphi Analysis: A Technique for Identifying and Ranking Environmental and Natural Resource Policy Issues, <i>The Environmental Professional, 6</i>:1, pp. 32-40, 1984. T. E. James, Jr., S. C. Ballard, and M. D. Devine, Regional Environmental Assessments for Policy Making and Research and Development Planning, <i>Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 4</i>:1, pp. 9-24, 1983.