Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • "Nature is written in the language of mathematics" (Galileo)
  • It's About Models
  • Boring
  • Great Idea - if only they had taken their own advice
  • A pivotal work - outstanding
Useless Arithmetic: Why Environmental Scientists Can't Predict the Future
Orrin H. Pilkey , and Linda Pilkey-Jarvis
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0231132123

Book Description

Noted coastal geologist Orrin Pilkey and environmental scientist Linda Pilkey-Jarvis show that the quantitative mathematical models policy makers and government administrators use to form environmental policies are seriously flawed. Based on unrealistic and sometimes false assumptions, these models often yield answers that support unwise policies.

Writing for the general, nonmathematician reader and using examples from throughout the environmental sciences, Pilkey and Pilkey-Jarvis show how unquestioned faith in mathematical models can blind us to the hard data and sound judgment of experienced scientific fieldwork. They begin with a riveting account of the extinction of the North Atlantic cod on the Grand Banks of Canada. Next they engage in a general discussion of the limitations of many models across a broad array of crucial environmental subjects.

The book offers fascinating case studies depicting how the seductiveness of quantitative models has led to unmanageable nuclear waste disposal practices, poisoned mining sites, unjustifiable faith in predicted sea level rise rates, bad predictions of future shoreline erosion rates, overoptimistic cost estimates of artificial beaches, and a host of other thorny problems. The authors demonstrate how many modelers have been reckless, employing fudge factors to assure "correct" answers and caring little if their models actually worked.

A timely and urgent book written in an engaging style, Useless Arithmetic evaluates the assumptions behind models, the nature of the field data, and the dialogue between modelers and their "customers."

Customer Reviews:

1 out of 5 stars "Nature is written in the language of mathematics" (Galileo).......2007-08-12

I picked this book up because the premise is very interesting, and one of the book jacket reviewers--an academic who is known in the modelling world--called it "a must-read for anyone serious interested in the role of models in ... science and policy."

I was very disappointed. I think critiques of modelling are useful and instructive, whether or not you believe in the approach or not (though few scientists believe it is really useless). But the critiques should be both sound and constructive, and this book provides neither.

Math is a language, for sure, but it is the least ambiguous language we humans have, and is the easiest means by which we can understand complex phenomena. I agree with the authors that qualitative knowledge is essential in science, but I think their premise fails by not more closely evaluating the postive aspects of modelling.

One may find probably the best critique of ecological modelling in Charles Hall's classic 1988 paper, "An assessment of several of the historically most influential theoretical models used in ecology and of the data provided in their support." (One may find it readily on the web.) Instead of getting this book, just read Hall's paper--you'll be better off on both counts.

4 out of 5 stars It's About Models.......2007-07-26

The first author is a retired professor of geology and a particular expert on beaches. He's a scientist's scientist, and clearly an opinionated and occasionally irascible guy. This book is a bit of a tirade in places but it's full of real examples, good data, and thought provoking stories. I enjoyed it a lot. The main theme is that the natural world is too complicated a place for quantitative models to work well, and that when politics is involved they can lead to really bad decisions. The majority of examples are drawn from cases where earth sciences meet human activities - sea level rise, beach erosion and "nourishment", hydrology of abandoned pit mines, storage of nuclear waste. Closely related are discussions of fishery management and invasive species. For the most part the book is well researched. The writing is clear - the book is an easy read and never boring.
Quantitative models are decried throughout the book, and the suggestion is made that what is reasonable is "qualitative" modelling. The distinction isn't really developed until the last chapter where some good examples are to be found. Still, the distinction isn't as crisp as I'd like - perhaps it is a qualitative difference and not a quantitative one! Another positive suggestion is that incrementalism is a generally better approach to interacting with the complexities of nature than the brittle approaches that arise from an overly numerate engineering mentality. In other words, instead of using quantitative models to plan enormous, long-term projects, try something on a small scale, observe the results, and go from there.
I came away with considerably more knowledge of the topics discussed. I was already a convert to the basic themes - that we tend to overestimate what we know, to trust numbers more than we should, that political processes often interact with science in ways that are inimical to both good decisions and greater knowledge. Several times I thought of Eisenhower's dictum that plans are generally useless but planning is essential. Perhaps that captures best the distinction Pilkey is trying to make about qualitative models.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I was not offended by the political implications of anything Pilkey asserts. I didn't see it as either pro or anti global warming in any political sense. No hidden agendas here, it's really about modelling. Recommended.

1 out of 5 stars Boring.......2007-06-28

Some of the complaints in other reviews are sound, but I will mention just one. This is a dull book. Longwinded, preachy. And aside from some jargon, there isn't much substance here beyond what you could say in 20 pages.

1 out of 5 stars Great Idea - if only they had taken their own advice.......2007-05-17

As a systems engineer, I have practical experience in creating, testing, critiquing, and evaluating models that attempt to explain, predict, or illustrate system processes. Any engineer learns early on that regardless of what the model says - Reality Always Wins. Thus I was very interested in this book because of its evident intent to discuss the limitations of modeling as applied to natural processes.

Unfortunately, the authors exhibit a level of bias against any model they don't approve that is so over the top that I was constantly wondering what cheese would be served with the "whine". And then they cap it off by blindly accepting an entire range of dire global warming predictions, which are entirely derived from - you guessed it - models of complex natural processes. I guess if you like the model's answers then it is magically a good model.

I have a hard time accepting what appears to be intellectual dishonesty, so although the book makes some good points, I really can't recommend it. The authors also appear to be particularly upset with certain individuals and organizations in the coastal engineering community, because the animus comes through loud and clear.

If you really want a good book on the limitations of mathematical modeling as applied to the real world, there is a two-volume set called "Reality Rules" that is much better. However, the Reality Rules books are not aimed at the layperson, so be prepared for some real math in these books.

4 out of 5 stars A pivotal work - outstanding.......2007-05-13

A pivotal work. Wherever one stands on the debate over human caused global warming, this book will raise questions. A well done investigation of mathematic global modeling pitfalls.
Making Your Move to One of America's Best Small Towns: How to Find a Great Little Place as Your Next Home Base
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • A Poor Offering
  • Make that 3 1/2 stars
  • Part of the story
  • A good guide to start
Making Your Move to One of America's Best Small Towns: How to Find a Great Little Place as Your Next Home Base
Norman Crampton
Manufacturer: M. Evans and Company, Inc.
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0871319888

Book Description

For those looking to raise a family in a storybook American town, or a change of pace from hectic city life, this book is the answer.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars A Poor Offering.......2007-08-10

This is not a very good book. 50% of the book is devoted to Mr. Crampton's less than interesting observations of life in a small town. His advice is mostly extremely basic common sense stuff that any normal person should already know. He offers very few interesting insights.

The other half of the book is his list of the 120 best small towns in America. This part of the book is even more weak. It's obvious Mr. Crampton did a lot of internet travel to gather his data as the descriptions are clearly culled from the towns' chamber of commerce websites. He offers zero insight or information gained from him (or someone else) actually visiting / living in the towns and conveying what the towns are actually like.

His ruse is painfully evident as the "more info" listing for each town is merely a link to their respective chamber of commerce website! What "more info" could there be given that the author merely copied the site? Even his internet research was exceptionally lazy.

The book should be titled "A Compilation of America's Best Small Towns' Chamber of Commerce Website Info plus Non-insightful Musings of the Armchair Travelling Author."

And how do the towns qualify as being best? By Mr. Crampton's estimation they must have a highschool, and a hospital, and at least a few other businesses that aren't Walmart. Could the bar be set any lower? With that criteria one could throw 120 darts blindfolded at a map and do just as well as this book.

The book could be fodder for a Garrison Keilor Ketchup skit, "you know June, why don't we retire to the country, find a town with a highschool and live out our days..... Dear, have you been getting enough Ketchup lately..."

A very weak text that I'll be returning to Amazon post haste!

3 out of 5 stars Make that 3 1/2 stars.......2005-03-28

Actually, I would have given "Making Your Move" 4 stars had I found the descriptions of the individual towns more interesting. But, what I did find was a witty style of writing, some laugh-out-loud moments, and some very down-to-earth advice on the pearls and perils of small-town life. One might apply Norm's smart and insightful guidelines to just about any sparsely populated area in the quest for new habitation. So even though his selections failed to fire me up, they did make me realize that I may not be cut out for small-town living after all. And that, in itself, is worth far more than the price of a book. Thanks, Norm, and make that four stars.

3 out of 5 stars Part of the story.......2003-03-12

This book is a good place to start if you're thinking of moving to a town of 15,000 or less. It will point you to many interesting communities. However, having used his previous book to guide my last move, and as a resident of one of the towns highlighted in this book (Grinnell), I can honestly say that data only carries you so far. Crampton could provide readers with a great benefit by lengthening the amount of description and flavor for each town. In particular, one key element missing is the 'dynamic' of a town: is it progressive? conservative? excited about education? quick to vote down taxes and bonds? These elements form the 'culture' of a small town, and believe me, the culture of a small town will be *very* important to you!

3 out of 5 stars A good guide to start.......2003-01-08

As a resident of one of the 120 "best small towns" recommended by Norman Crampton, I was delighted to see Silver City on the list.

While Crampton's book is a good place to start your search for small town living, it is important to realize that each small town offers a unique personality. Some generalizations simply do not apply to Silver City. For example, it is not necessary to join a church (or country club) in order to fit in here. Even a small community like ours has diverse sub-populations: recent retirees, most of whom have some affinity for the arts; old-timers, most of whom are the conservative church-goers Crampton describes; and Hispanic families, many of whom have worked in the mines.

These groups rarely interact, although we usually get along very peacefully. We also have a number of folks who teach at the university -- and we rarely see them around town.

To learn about Silver city, you won't get much information from the Chamber of Commerce or the editor of the newspaper. You'd do better to spend some time hanging out at the AIR cafe, talking to whoever comes in. The morning and afternoon groups are quite different and everyone is friendly.

The author gives some nuts and bolts about each small town. Unfortunately, with the exception of weather, much of this information will change by the time the book is printed. And your decision may well be made by factors that can't be added up.

The best part of the book is the section on economics of small town living. Here, he's right on. You have to budget for travel to a large city now and then. Air travel will be more costly and you need time to drive to a large airport. His view of housing prices seems optimistic. If you move to a desirable city (such as Silver City) expect to pay more for a house than he allows.
And if you move to retire, your economic picture will be quite different. Many newcomers to Silver City are beginning a second career as an artist or writer. Moving without a job is scary -- and I do not recommend it unless you fit the profile I describe in my own book, Making the Big Move.
Bargaining With Uncertainty: Decision-Making in Public Health, Technologial Safety, and Environmental Quality
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Bargaining With Uncertainty: Decision-Making in Public Health, Technologial Safety, and Environmental Quality
    Merrie G. Klapp
    Manufacturer: Auburn House
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0865690464

    Book Description

    In this intriguing volume, Merrie G. Klapp explains how regulatory decisions in such crucial areas as public health, technological safety, and environmental quality are molded and recast. She finds that "scientific uncertainty" is a key factor, with agencies, interest groups, Congress, and the courts attempting to shift responsibility of proof or varying the standard of proof according to the pressures brought to bear on the issue. In general, Professor Klapp finds that when citizens or industrialists organize to protest a regulatory decision and when the legislature or the courts take scientific uncertainty into account, then the initial regulatory decision is changed. By contrast with the United States, where scientific uncertainty is used as a public resource and rationale for change, in France and Britain scientific uncertainty is treated as a private resource. French and British scientists do not treat regulatory decisions as opportunities to reveal scientific uncertainty to the public--instead, discussions of uncertainties are held behind "closed doors" and, when reports are made to the public about regulatory decisions, scientific information is presented as if it were certain. Bargaining with Uncertainty will be a provocative analysis to those scholars and researchers concerned with the making of public policy as well as those concerned with risk assessment in public health, the environment, and technology.
    Mediated Modeling: A System Dynamics Approach To Environmental Consensus Building
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Mediated Modeling: A System Dynamics Approach To Environmental Consensus Building
      Marjan van den Belt
      Manufacturer: Island Press
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      Renewable Energy Policy and Politics: A Handbook for Decision-Making
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Renewable Energy Policy and Politics: A Handbook for Decision-Making

        Manufacturer: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
        ProductGroup: Book
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        * Written in clear terms, this book contains the experience of world leaders in this field
        * Including an executive summary, it will be an essential reference for decision-makers, offering a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms

        At a time when renewable energy attracts varying degrees of political support and mixed success in policy implementation, clear information on why and how to promote renewable energy markets is much needed, for decision-makers in particular. This book meets that need.

        The reason for exploiting renewable energy sources should not be because they are cheap, or because fossil fuels are running out. The crucial reasons are: saving the environment, developing new industries and establishing more secure sources of energy. This book outlines how renewable energies can be promoted at a political level, encouraging the expansion of current markets and the establishment of new industries. Critical pathways are made clear, and key stakeholders are identified and described.

        Acknowledging the importance of the media and the interaction between public and private bodies, this book sets out the rules of the game, the stakes and the strategies for success. Contributing authors include: Randy Swisher and Kevin Porter, Rakesh Bakshi, Gordon Edge, Sven Teske and Volker Hoffmann, Jose Luis Garcia and Emelio Menendez.
        Legal Aspects of Implementing the Kyoto Protocol Mechanisms: Making Kyoto Work
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          Legal Aspects of Implementing the Kyoto Protocol Mechanisms: Making Kyoto Work

          Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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          Binding: Hardcover

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          ASIN: 0199279616

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          The first protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in Kyoto in 1997 and entered into force in February 2005. It is a unique international law instrument which sets legally binding targets for the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. The targets are unprecedented in an environmental agreement and will involve substantial financial commitment in virtually all industrialized country parties to the protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is also the first international agreement to include economic instruments which are designed to involve private sector entities and assist parties to meet their targets. These economic instruments, known as the Kyoto or flexible mechanisms, are Joint Implementation (JI), the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and International Emissions Trading. The Kyoto Protocol defined these mechanisms but did not set out the details necessary for their operation. After protracted negotiations, detailed rules were finalized at the Seventh Session of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties held in Marrakech in 2001. The Marrakech Accords run to almost 250 pages but still leave many important practical issues unaddressed. As the 2008-2012 commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol draws close more and more projects under CDM and JI are being developed to take advantage of the Kyoto mechanisms and the key issues and problems are now becoming more apparent. Drawing on the emerging body of expertise in this complex area, this book conveys a knowledge of what is becoming known as 'Carbon Finance'. It thereby aims to contribute to the development of the market for carbon emission reductions - one of the objectives of the Kyoto mechanisms.
          Making Collaboration Work: Lessons From Innovation In Natural Resource Managment
          Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
          • Thorough but not persuasive
          Making Collaboration Work: Lessons From Innovation In Natural Resource Managment
          Julia M. Wondolleck , and Steven Lewis Yaffee
          Manufacturer: Island Press
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          ASIN: 1559634626

          Book Description

          Across the United States, diverse groups are turning away from confrontation and toward collaboration in an attempt to tackle some of our nation's most intractable environmental problems. Government agencies, community groups, businesses, and private individuals have begun working together to solve common problems, resolve conflicts, and develop forward-thinking strategies for moving in a more sustainable direction.

          Making Collaboration Work examines those promising efforts. With a decade of research behind them, the authors offer an invaluable set of lessons on the role of collaboration in natural resource management and how to make it work. The book:

          Drawing on lessons from nearly two hundred cases from around the country, the authors describe the experience in practical terms and offer specific advice for agencies and individuals interested in pursuing a collaborative approach. The images of success offered can provide ideas to those mired in traditional management styles and empower those seeking new approaches. While many of the examples involve natural resource professionals, the lessons hold true in a variety of public policy settings including public health, social services, and environmental protection, among others.

          Making Collaboration Work will be an invaluable source of ideas and inspiration for policy makers, managers and staff of government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, and community groups searching for more productive modes of interaction.

          Customer Reviews:

          3 out of 5 stars Thorough but not persuasive.......2007-07-02

          As the title suggests, this book examines success stories in the area of collaborative management of natural resources. The cases vary, but all involve a national forest because of the intellectual history of the two authors.

          The book is constructed in outline form with chapters, sections, and subsections. Each subsection essentially consists of its own list of forms of collaboration. Around this outline the authors have built a sort of narrative, using pieces of cases as illustrations for each point in the outline. As a result, a particular issue - - such as collaboration to protect the Kirtland's warbler in the jack pine forests of the northern lower peninsula of Michigan - - may be spread among many different sections instead of being presented coherently in one place.

          This structure has its advantages by pulling out analytical points, whereas presenting a bunch of cases would emphasize facts instead of concepts. Yet their stories are so short that the reader never feels that he is getting the full story. Including some fuller, in-depth cases would have helped.

          A more important challenge is that looking only at successes is a strong selection bias even in large n or quantitative studies. It's possible that a collection of failures would exhibit the same collection of features that the success stories have. When looking only at successes in a collection of case studies, you don't really know what's driving the successes because you don't know how the successes differ from the failures. Perhaps each success reflects some unobserved luck and there are no lessons to be drawn from anything.

          As this suggests, the book is not so useful for improving our understanding of collaborative problems - - the authors haven't systematized their knowledge or tried to explain the pattern of successes and failures. In other words, the book eschews theory.

          However, the book would be most useful to people who are involved in practical problems, since you might be able to get some ideas from the successes of others. If that describes you, this book deserves four stars as a kind of checklist when considering community-based collaboration on environmental questions - - "Have we thought of doing X?" Most of the ideas in the book probably won't be relevant for solving your problem, but whatever ideas end up working will be worth the price of admission.
          Sustainability: A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Sustainability: A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management
            Bryan G. Norton
            Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
            ProductGroup: Book
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            1. Searching for Sustainability: Interdisciplinary Essays in the Philosophy of Conservation Biology (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology) Searching for Sustainability: Interdisciplinary Essays in the Philosophy of Conservation Biology (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology)
            2. The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait Of A Paradigm Shift The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait Of A Paradigm Shift
            3. Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World
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            ASIN: 0226595218

            Book Description

            While many disciplines contribute to environmental conservation, there is little successful integration of science and social values. Arguing that the central problem in conservation is a lack of effective communication, Bryan Norton shows in Sustainability how current linguistic resources discourage any shared, multidisciplinary public deliberation over environmental goals and policy. In response, Norton develops a new, interdisciplinary approach to defining sustainability—the cornerstone of environmental policy—using philosophical and linguistic analyses to create a nonideological vocabulary that can accommodate scientific and evaluative environmental discourse.

            Emphasizing cooperation and adaptation through social learning, Norton provides a practical framework that encourages an experimental approach to language clarification and problem formulation, as well as an interdisciplinary approach to creating solutions. By moving beyond the scientific arena to acknowledge the importance of public discourse, Sustainability offers an entirely novel approach to environmentalism.


            Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessment
            Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
            • Brilliant?
            • The Dangerous 'Game' of Risk Assessment
            • Some good points are raised but then lost in emotionalism
            Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessment
            Mary O'Brien
            Manufacturer: The MIT Press
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover

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            1. Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing The Precautionary Principle Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing The Precautionary Principle
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            4. The Perception of Risk (Earthscan Risk and Society Series) The Perception of Risk (Earthscan Risk and Society Series)

            ASIN: 0262150514

            Book Description

            For the past quarter-century, government and the private sector have relied heavily on risk assessment for making decisions, allowing widespread environmental deterioration. In this book, Mary O'Brien recommends a simple yet profound shift to another decision-making technique: "alternatives assessment." Instead of asking how much of a hazardous activity is safe (which translates into how much damage the environment can tolerate), alternatives assessment asks how we can avoid or minimize damage while achieving society's goals.

            Alternatives assessment is a simple, commonsense alternative to risk assessment. It is based on the premise that it is not acceptable to damage human and nonhuman health or the environment if there are reasonable alternatives. The approach calls for taking precautionary measures even if some cause-and-effect relationships have not been fully established scientifically. The process must involve an examination of the full range of alternatives, including no action at all. Equally important, it must be democratic and include potentially affected parties.

            O'Brien not only makes a persuasive case for alternative assessment; she tells how to implement it. She also shows how this technique has profound implications for public health, for our stewardship of the environment, and for a truly democratic government.

            Published in association with the Environmental Research Foundation.

            Customer Reviews:

            3 out of 5 stars Brilliant?.......2002-02-16

            This book raises a number of good points about Risk assessment and it's potential flaws. As many of us know, there are many. The book is short and interesting and definitely worth the read. I agree with the second reviewer who said that the methodology that she presents is a little unclear - a pseudo-method. There IS much value, though, in insisting that a wider range of options are considered in decision-making at every level of society.

            The book is a little repetitive - obviously stemming from the author's desire to have each chapter tell part of her story and be a stand alone piece.

            It seemed to me that the author could have used many more supporting examples throughout the book, instead of hitting the same ones over and over. Without prior knowledge of the issue, the book seems to show you a few examples and say 'trust me the rest are like these few'

            The ending is definitly a little touchy feely, go out and change the world esque. But it is also just a few short chapters that you blast through.

            5 out of 5 stars The Dangerous 'Game' of Risk Assessment.......2000-11-26

            This brilliant little book should be made compulsory reading for all politicians, environmental health officers, and officials from environmental agencies. It completely debunks the idiocies of the 'game' of 'risk assessment' in a comprehensible, readable and intelligent way and comes up with a realistic, sane alternative.

            If you've ever been involved in a campaign against against a polluting industry, as I have, you'll recognise the following tactics used by them: Downplay estimates of hazard: Discount harmful effects experienced and reported by local communities as 'anecdotal'. Downplay estimates of exposure: Use complicated mathematical models or formulas that can only be analysed in a complicated computer program, that community groups cannot easily gain access to or understand. Downplay risks: Compare the risks to other 'voluntary' activities like smoking. Do not discuss whether the risks are necessary or whether they could be avoided entirely through reasonable alternative behaviours.

            It is on this common sense latter point that the book really concentrates. Mary O'Brien gives the example of a woman standing besides an icy river that she needs to cross. Four 'experts' are advising her. The toxicologist tells her the water is probably free of chemicals; the cardiologist says she is at little risk as her heart is sound; the hydrologist states that the currents are probably safe; and the EPA specialist tells her she will probably survive the crossing as it is a low risk compared to many other environmental problems. They are amazed when she continues to refuse to wade the river. Until, of course, she points to the bridge a few yards away which they all had conveniently ignored or failed to notice!

            O'Brien also emphasises the public right to know; after all, it is those living in a community who will suffer the impact of pollution. If we could actually name those individuals who will die from the effects of pollution, we could accuse agencies and businesses of premeditated murder. But why is it any different when they talk of a 0.1% increase in the likely number of premature deaths resulting from a process? Even though we can't name the people who will die, death is still death. And the polluting process still killed them.

            O'Brien calls for all government agencies and businesses to put their options in understandable language, and to consider ways of creating the least possible environmental damage. She argues that all citizens should be given easy access to relevant information, especially on health effects, and that we should have access to legal and financial resources to enforce environmental laws.

            For those campaigning on these issues, take a really close look at Chapter 16, 'Getting Started'. Here O'Brien gives step-by-step advice on how 'Alternatives Assessment' could be carried out, forcing regulators and industries to evaluate the real impact of their actions and forcing them to find the environmentally best options, not a statistical justification for the harm they are already doing.

            For campaigners, don't get swallowed up in the 'Risk Assessment' game. At the end, however much scientific expertise and statistical skill you acquire, you will probably be defeated. And in the process, you are helping to justify a fundamentally flawed approach. Instead, ask the basic questions, and try to get the local politicians, regulators and bureaucrats to take on board the real issues of 'should we be doing this at all' and 'what could we do instead'.

            Certainly the most helpful, and practical book of this kind that I have read in ten years of environmental campaigning.

            Adrian Fox Chair of Environmental Working Group, West Wiltshire District Council, United Kingdom

            2 out of 5 stars Some good points are raised but then lost in emotionalism.......2000-09-23

            I began reading this book with great expectation given the bold title and the accolades that are printed on its back cover. However, I was soon disappointed. While she raises some important points about the limitations of risk assessment, her argument is occluded by a rash sentimentalism about environmental concerns that is removed from the real economic choices that risk-takers may CHOOSE to make. There are indeed many problems with sole reliance on risk assessment and the author raises some good methodological points. However, her alternative to risk assessment is a somewhat ad hoc and feel-good process which she calls "alternative assessment." I think it is somewhat disingenuous for Ms. O'Brien to suggest that risk assessors do not consider alternatives -- risk assessment is a further step by which each alternative is subsequently analyzed with analytic rigor to make sure all factors of hazard and exposure are accounted for. Perhaps we should heed Ms. O'Brien's advice and further institutionalize the consideration of alternatives. However, that alone cannot substitute the subsequent assessment and comparison between the alternatives. Ms. O'Brien, in my opinion, is presenting a sort of pseudo-methodology, that is predicated on a belief that the right to a clean environment should be placed before all other criteria. I agree with her completely that de facto, all communities have a right to a clean environment and pollution should never be inflicted upon them. However, individuals and communities, inevitably make choices about their lifestyles and may CHOOSE to tolerate a certain measure of environmental harm for other benefits. In this case they should have measurable indicators by which those choices are made -- hence the need for risk assessment. My fear is that in her aversion for risk assessment Ms. O'Brien has thrown away the proverbial baby with the bathwater.
            Swimming Upstream: Collaborative Approaches to Watershed Management (American and Comparative Environmental Policy)
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Swimming Upstream: Collaborative Approaches to Watershed Management (American and Comparative Environmental Policy)

              Manufacturer: The MIT Press
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              3. Adaptive Governance: Integrating Science, Policy, and Decision Making Adaptive Governance: Integrating Science, Policy, and Decision Making
              4. Adaptive Governance and Water Conflict (RFF Press) Adaptive Governance and Water Conflict (RFF Press)
              5. Democracy in Practice: Public Participation in Environmental Decisions (RFF Press) Democracy in Practice: Public Participation in Environmental Decisions (RFF Press)

              ASIN: 0262693194

              Book Description

              In recent years, water resource management in the United States has begun a shift away from top-down, government agency-directed decision processes toward a collaborative approach of negotiation and problem solving. Rather than focusing on specific pollution sources or specific areas within a watershed, this new process considers the watershed as a whole, seeking solutions to an interrelated set of social, economic, and environmental problems. Decision making involves face-to-face negotiations among a variety of stakeholders, including federal, state, and local agencies, landowners, environmentalists, industries, and researchers.

              Swimming Upstream analyzes the collaborative approach by providing a historical overview of watershed management in the United States and a normative and empirical conceptual framework for understanding and evaluating the process. The bulk of the book looks at a variety of collaborative watershed planning projects across the country. It first examines the applications of relatively short-term collaborative strategies in Oklahoma and Texas, exploring issues of trust and legitimacy. It then analyzes factors affecting the success of relatively long-term collaborative partnerships in the National Estuary Program and in 76 watersheds in Washington and California. Bringing analytical rigor to a field that has been dominated by practitioners' descriptive accounts, Swimming Upstream makes a vital contribution to public policy, public administration, and environmental management.

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