Science for Environmental Protection The Road Ahead (2012) / Chapter Skim
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6 Findings and Recommendations
6 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 187-203
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From page 187... ...
It has stimulated and supported basic and applied research, developed environmental-education programs, supported regional science initiatives, supported and promoted the development of safer and more cost-effective technologies, provided a firm scientific basis of regulatory decisions, and prepared the agency to address emerging environmental problems. The broad reach of EPA science has also influenced international policies and guided state and local actions.
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From page 188... ...
A highly competitive fellowship program also provides a pipeline for future environmental science and engineering leaders and enables the agency to attract graduates who have state-of-the-art training. Thus, the foundation of EPA science is strong.
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From page 189... ...
SYSTEMS THINKING It is important for EPA to try to balance its capacity and resources to address complex environmental challenges, to address potential favorable and unfavorable health and environmental effects, and to apply emerging scientific information, tools, techniques, and technologies. Approaching problems from a systems perspective will allow EPA to meet those challenges and make the maximum continuing use of new scientific tools.
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From page 190... ...
Data are acquired as needed and synthesized to generate knowledge about key outcomes. This knowledge is incorporated into an array of systems tools and solutions-orineted synthesis approaches to formulate policies that best improve public health and the environment while taking account of social and economic impacts.
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From page 191... ...
. In addition, it may be more cost effective for EPA to provide incentives and resources to increase collaboration between LCA practitioners in the agency and those working on related analytic tools (such as risk assessment, exposure modeling, alternatives assessment, and green chemistry)
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From page 192... ...
There has been progress toward agency-wide science integration with the establishment of the Office of the Science Advisor, and further progress might be made with the shift of the science advisor position from within ORD to the Office of the Administrator in early 2012; however, the Office of the Science Advisor may need further authority from the administrator or additional staff resources to continue to improve the integration and coordination of science across programs and regions throughout the agency. When the committee speaks of enhancing science leadership, it is not just referring to the strengthened capacity of someone in a higher-level position within EPA to whom the administrator has provided independence, authority, and resources, but also the internal support at all levels in the agency (including scientists, analysts, directors, and deputy and assistant administrators)
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From page 193... ...
The committee specifically recommends that the person in this position and his or her staff create, implement, and periodically update an integrated, agency-wide multiyear plan for science, its use, and associated research needs. Such a plan would bring together ORD, program, and regional science initiatives while being cognizant of the flexibility that is imparted through bottom-up initiatives undertaken in ORD, the program offices, and the regions.
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From page 194... ...
In order to have the capacity to address future environmental challenges, the agency will need to have enough internal expertise to identify and collaborate with the expertise of all of its stakeholders so that it can ask the right questions; determine what existing tools and strategies can be applied to answer those questions; determine the needs for new tools and strategies; develop, apply, and refine the new tools and strategies; and use the science to make recommendations based on hazards, exposures, and monitoring. Finding: EPA has been a leader in environmental science and technology both nationally and internationally.
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From page 195... ...
EPA is currently attuned to these needs, but staffing high-quality scientists in these areas of expertise who can embrace problems by drawing from information across disciplines will require continued attention if EPA is to maintain its leadership role in environmental science and technology. Recommendation 3a: EPA should continue to cultivate a scientific workforce across the agency (including ORD, program offices, and regions)
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From page 196... ...
Behavioral and decision sciences are particularly essential in dealing with such issues as "framing effects", cognitive heuristics, risk communication, and the design and assessment of the likely effectiveness of alternative regulatory strategies. Finding: EPA's economic, social, behavioral, and decision science staff consists almost entirely of economists.
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From page 197... ...
The large interest in behavioral and decision sciences that exists now in economics broadly, as exhibited by the fields of behavioral and neuroeconomics, will contribute to making NCEE a productive location. More importantly, behavioral economics is an essential source of new insight in environmental economics research pertaining to the benefits of environmental protection and the design of incentives for environmental management.
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From page 198... ...
For example, the explosion of new Internet-based, wireless, and miniaturized sensing technologies provides an unprecedented opportunity to involve the public in research and in meeting data-collection needs in ways that were not possible in the past. The emergence of secure enterprise social networks also provides a host of opportunities for EPA to greatly enhance internal and external collaboration.
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From page 199... ...
Develop a quantitative microbial risk-assessment framework that incorporates alternative indicators, using genomic approaches, microbial source tracking, and pathogen monitoring. Collaborate with other agencies (for example, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Exposure Biology program; the NSF Environmental, Health, and Safety Risks of Nanomaterials program; the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the European Commission's Exposure Initiative)
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From page 200... ...
Recommendation 4: The committee recommends that EPA engage in a deliberate and systematic "scanning" capability involving staff from ORD, other program offices, and the regions. Such a dedicated and sustained "futures network" (as EPA called groups with a similar function in the past)
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From page 201... ...
Currently at EPA, there are few long-term monitoring programs, let alone programs that are systematic and rigorous. Recommendation 5: The committee recommends that EPA invest substantial effort to generate broader, deeper, and sustained support for long-term monitoring of key indicators of environmental quality and performance.
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From page 202... ...
Rather, it would be more cost effective to partner and engage with others to support innovation. That can be supported through EPA's Small Business Innovation Research program or an award, such as the Presidential Green Chemistry Awards, which would nudge the entrepreneurial community to address problems of direct interest to the agency.
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From page 203... ...
But the agency cannot continue to provide leadership, pursue many new needs and opportunities, and lay the foundation for ensuring future health and environmental safety unless the longterm budgetary trend is reversed. Recommendation 7: The committee recommends EPA create a process to set priorities for improving the quality of its scientific endeavors over the coming decades.
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