Book▼Review
Interconnections Between Human Health and Ecological Integrity Edited by Richard T. Di Giulio and William H. Benson SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL 2002, 136 pp, $40 ISBN 1-880611-51-1 Being connected does not necessarily mean being alike. I think that this book, the result of a Pellston Workshop sponsored jointly by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Society of Toxicology, misses that key point in developing environmental protection policy. Important interconnections between the state of human health and ecological systems are self-evident. Everything is part of the same world, but ecosystems are not organisms. Species do not interact cooperatively for the common good as do parts within bodies, so this book is not only misleading but wrong to repeatedly talk of health states, even “ecological integrity”, as being properties of ecosystems. This means that there are no internal optima for ecosystems that we should be trying to define and use as management criteria; instead, if there are optima, they are defined in © 2003 American Chemical Society
terms of human needs and the way they depend on and impair ecological structure and process. This is a frankly anthropocentric view, but it does set a clear agenda in exploring interconnections and managing them. Although part of one chapter addresses these kinds of issues under “economic interconnections”, they are easily lost in the otherwise interesting case studies. Carping aside, the conceptual model of interconnections that emerged from the workshop will provide a valuable basis for further developments. Yet, interpreting the meaning of “well-being” that is put as a common box in the center of the model will require caution. The implication is that “well-being” means the same thing for the human “social system”— characterized in terms of culture, institutions, and presumably human health—and the “natural system”— characterized in terms of biota, physical environment, and presumably the processes that yield services to the social system. For all of the reasons stated earlier, I believe this is a flawed analogy. Nevertheless, the “policy concepts and applications” are succinctly described in chapter 2, and chapter 3 does address some aspects of the “biological bases of similarities and differences” between systems with a useful discussion on how ecological responses to stressors might act as warnings with respect to human health. There are some important messages in the “Conclusions”, including better mechanistic understanding, better understanding of exposure, and multidisciplinarity. However, I believe the book missed the opportunity to directly confront the role of science in informed policy by not elucidating the ecosystem service interconnections and our impact on them. Reviewed by Peter Calow in the Department of Animal & Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom (
[email protected]).
Books Climate Change Policy, S. H. Schneider, A. Rosencranz, and J. Niles, Eds. (Island Press, 2002, 563 pp, $60). This survey examines the science, economics, and policy issues provoked by global climate change in developed and developing countries. Environmental Change, Climate and Health, P. Martens, A. J. McMichael. (Cambridge University Press, 2002, 338 pp, $90). Climate change will not occur without impact on human health. Composed of chapters by many different specialists, this book identifies the problems with current epidemiological research methods and explores other models for future study. Environmental Law for Engineers and Geoscientists, R. L. Aston. (Lewis Publishers, 2002, 316 pp, $99.95). This textbook introduces the basics of the United States legal system and highlights key subjects, statutes, and laws for environmental work. Large-Scale Atmosphere–Ocean Dynamics I and II, J. Norbury, I. Roulstone. (Cambridge University Press, 2002, 2 volumes, $80 each). With the potential for chaos created between the oceans and atmosphere, it is actually amazing anyone can begin to predict weather patterns. This two-volume set presents analytical methods and numerical models for computation studies. Sewer Processes, T. HvitvedJacobsen. (CRC Press, 2002, 237 pp, $99.95). Sewers are not simply collection and transport systems for waste, but also bioreactors. This book considers microbial and chemical processes to be as important as urban drainage and wetweather performance when designing sewer networks.
FEBRUARY 1, 2003 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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