In an interdisciplinary study the role of the news media in environmental problems is examined. A description of the environmental problems of the San Francisco Bay Area and of the many news media which serve this area introduces this second volume of the study. The dimensions of the information explosion in the Bay Area news media are documented in quantitative terms. The study identifies the groups in the Bay Area which can be expected to use the information offered by the news media and the implications of this for the press. The difficulties for the press in reporting environmental deterioration and the damage caused by "environmental" advertising are pointed out. The study also examined: the difficulties of gaining access to information about the plans of public utilities; the interrelationship of a growing community and its newspapers and the possible effects of newspaper coverage of urban land use patterns; and the possibilities of getting along without the news media and becoming informed on one's own. The study concludes that the media have alerted the public to environmental hazards, but that continued efforts to pinpoint local problems will be necessary. For the extensive background study of the environmental problems of the Bay Area, see volume one of the study (EM009436). (JY)