Overview

The consideration of the consequences of proposed actions on the social and economic aspects of human life is, at one and the same time, very easy and extremely difficult. One of the easier aspects is that of identifying the concerns of the public. If the public any public expresses a concern any concern then it may be established that a valid concern exists. The twist on this is that it need not be further proven. At least with respect to the existence of a social concern, the expression of a problem may be equated with its presence. The converse need sarily perceived by the public or voiced by any group. The problem not be true, however. Valid problems may exist which are not neceshere, in the context of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), is that of determining which concerns, and to what degree, might be valid foci for inclusion within an environmental assessment or impact statement.

Since a very large percentage of government proposals have the stated purpose of deliberately altering some aspect of human life, very many of these proposals contain elements of social and/or economic change. Is each of them to be examined under NEPA? How do we determine which aspects of which actions must be so assessed? The application of NEPA to concerns about social and economic consequences of government actions was originally unclear, was developed in almost an accidental manner, and remains equivocal. Interestingly, many observers of the development of the field of social impact...