Contents Notes |
Were the early scares justified by the evidence? Cranberries, dieldrin, saccharin -- PCBs and DDT : too much of a good thing? -- Dioxin, Agent Orange, and Times Beach -- Love Canal : was there evidence of harm? -- Superfund's abandoned hazardous waste sites -- No runs, no hits, all errors : the asbestos and alar scares -- How does science matter? -- Do rodent studies predict cancer in human beings? -- The effects of acid rain on the United States (with an excursion to Europe) -- CFCs and ozone depletion: are they as bad as people think? --Who's on first? A global warming scorecard --Reporting environmental science -- Citizenship in science -- Detecting errors in environmental and safety studies. "Working with his students at a risk analysis center, Wildavsky examined all the evidence behind the charges and countercharges in several controversial cases involving environmental health and public safety. Here he lays out these cases in terms an average citizen can understand, weighs the merits of the claims of various parties, and offers reasoned judgments on the government's response. From Love Canal to Times Beach, from DDT to Agent Orange, acid rain, and global warming, from saccharin to asbestos, Wildavsky shows how we can achieve an informed understanding of the contentious environmental issues that confront us daily. The book supports the conclusion Wildavsky reached himself, both as a citizen committed to the welfare of the earth and its inhabitants, and as a social scientist concerned with how public policy is made: though it is bad to be harmed, it is worse to be harmed in the name of health."--Jacket. |