Science for Environmental Protection The Road Ahead (2012) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 15-26
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From page 15... ...
An increased use of new scientific knowledge and technical information is necessary to understand increasingly complex environmental problems; to understand rapidly evolving advances in such fields as microbiology, information technology, and medicine; to set priorities for research and regulation; to identify emerging and future environmental and health concerns (NRC 2000) ; and to support policy, management, and technical innovations that prevent undesirable effects in the first place.
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From page 16... ...
Achieving solutions to these challenges requires increased sustainability, the pursuit of which has been called a wicked problem. The term wicked problem has been used in the field of social planning to describe a problem that is difficult to solve because it is difficult to define clearly, resistant to resolution, and inadequately understood; it has multiple causes that interact in complex ways; it attracts attempted solutions that often result in unforeseen consequences; it is often not stable; it usually has no clear solution or endpoint but rather solutions that are considered better, worse, or good enough; it is socially complex and has multiple stakeholders who must consider the changing behavior of others; and it rarely sits conveniently within the understanding of one discipline or the responsibility of any one organization.
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From page 17... ...
Addressing the emerging challenges that EPA faces will require not only good science and technologies, but data and information from disciplines such as social, behavioral, and decision sciences and the integration of broader frameworks that will allow a systems approach to assessing and managing issues. Frameworks for Incorporating Human–Environment Interactions To respond effectively to complex and rapidly changing problems, it will be important for EPA to strive toward incorporating a broader array of interactions between humans and the environment into its regulatory and decision-making processes, identify optimal ways to advance core human development and sustainability goals, understand the tradeoffs that necessarily accompany decisions about specific ways to use environmental resources, and align response options with the level of governance at which options can be most effective.
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From page 18... ...
It has also made substantial efforts to comprehend the unprecedented complexities of emerging environmental problems and to prepare to respond appropriately to the challenges that these developments pose for both its research and its regulatory responsibilities. However, because EPA is a regulatory agency and is not fundamentally a science agency, the role EPA plays supporting science to protect the environment and human health can sometimes be challenging.
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From page 19... ...
Its success has stemmed largely from the establishment and enforcement of its regulatory programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act; the Clean Water Act; the Clean Air Act; the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as Superfund) ; the Toxic Substances Control Act; and other statutes.
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From page 20... ...
TABLE 1-1 Change in Conventional Air Pollutant Emissions Over the Last 3 Decades Change, % 1980–2010 1990– 2010 2000– 2010 Carbon monoxide (CO)
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From page 21... ...
. The list included removing lead from gasoline to improve air quality and children's health, reducing acid rain to improve water quality in lakes and streams, reducing exposure to second-hand smoke by identifying environmental tobacco smoke as a human carcinogen, spurring improvements in vehicle efficiency and emission control, testing requirements and encouraging "green chemistry", banning widespread use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
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From page 22... ...
Specific challenges that EPA faces today and will likely face in the future and tools and technologies to address them are elaborated on in Chapters 2 and 3 of this report. THE COMMITTEE'S TASK EPA asked NRC to assess independently the overall capabilities of the agency to develop, obtain, and use the best available scientific and technologic information and tools to meet persistent, emerging, and future mission challenges and opportunities.
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From page 23... ...
In addition to EPA's need to provide scientific information that will act as the basis of regulatory decisionmaking, it plays a role in stimulating and supporting academic research, environmental-education programs, and regional science initiatives and in providing support for safer technologies. Science is needed to support EPA as both a regulatory agency and as a leader in environmental science and engineering.
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From page 24... ...
Because the committee's report will become dated as science evolves and as lessons continue to be learned about best practices for protecting human health and the environment, it may be beneficial for EPA to carry out a similar type of exercise at regular intervals in the future. REFERENCES Aspen Institute.
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From page 25... ...
. EPA SAB (US Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board)
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From page 26... ...
26 Science For Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead http://www.quaternary.stratigraphy.org.uk/workinggroups/anthropocene/ [accessed July 22, 2012]
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