ABSTRACT
Weather is a prime factor in the production of food and fiber, the quantity and availability of usable water, and the consumption of energy. It can also be very destructive to lives and property. The failure of numerous regions to attain ambient air quality standards presents both challenge and danger. Nonattainment poses a danger to the health and welfare of the nation's population and to its productivity. Conversion to coal is likely to intensify the deterioration of the air, to severely challenge the states' air quality implementation plans, and to curtail freedom of location and expansion of industry. The droughts of 1976-1977 and of 1980 served as amplifiers of long-recognized, but frequently ignored, water problems. At issue is the allocation of scarce water resources for environmental enhancement, recreation, food and energy production, and municipal and industrial water supplies. Irrigation is the largest single depletor of water in the United States.
