Since the introduction of the toxic release inventory (TRI) in 1988, there has been considerable interest in environmental information disclosure as a possible complement or substitute for traditional forms of regulation. Among the most important reasons for this growing interest are the following: (1) the TRI program led to a significant voluntary decrease in the total amount of TRI chemicals released in the United States, beyond any mandated levels; (2) information disclosure programs serve another very important social function—they satisfy the belief that the public has a "right to know" that they might be affected by third-party pollution; (3) new information technologies (both hardware and software) that facilitate the dissemination of environmental information in a meaningful way; (4) the fact that these programs are generally thought to cost the government far less than drafting and implementing industrywide regulations; and (5) these approaches are often politically more feasible to adopt since they are generally framed as "right to know" laws and thus not easily characterized as coercive new regulations.

The purpose of this Dialogue is to explore the policy implications of our recent experience with environmental information disclosure programs. First, I examine what we know and what we don't know about environmental information programs. Next, I consider several different types of policy initiatives. In each case, I examine what lessons we have learned to date that should help inform the debate over any future proposed initiatives. Finally, I identify important areas of research that will help policymakers design better programs in the future.