CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS 1155—16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 872-4600; TDD (202) 872-4432 Letters to Editor:
[email protected] C&EN Online: http://pubs.acs.org/cen EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Madeleine Jacobs MANAGING EDITOR: Rudy M. Baum ART DIRECTOR: Robin L. Braverman SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Lois R. Ember NEWS EDITOR: Janice R. Long SPECIAL FEATURES EDITOR: Celia M. Henry ONLINE EDITION EDITOR: Melody Voith EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Michael Heylin CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Susan J. Ainsworth, Wilbert C. Lepkowski, Κ. Μ. Reese ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Patricia Ο ate s PROGRAM ASSISTANT: Stephanie Wahl BUSINESS William J. Storck, Assistant Managing Editor Northeast: (732) 906-8300. Michael McCoy (Senior Editor), MarcS. Reisch (Senior Editor), Ronald S. Rog ers (Associate Editor), Rachel Eskenazi (Administra tive Assistant). Houston: (281) 486-3900. Ann M. Thayer (Bureau Head). Hong Kong: 852-2984-9072. Jean-François Tremblay (Bureau Head). London: 44 181870-6884. Patricia Layman (Senior Editor) GOVERNMENT & POLICY David J. Hanson, Assistant Managing Editor Washington: (202) 872-4495. Bette Hileman (Senior Editor), Jeffrey W. Johnson (Senior Editor), William G. Schulz (Associate Editor) SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/EDUCAnON Pamela S. Zurer, Assistant Managing Editor Washington: (202) 872-4411. Stuart A Borman (Senior Correspondent), Mairin B. Brennan (Senior Editor), Doron Dagani (Senior Correspondent), Rebecca L Rawls (Senior Correspondent), A Maureen Rouhi (Senior Editor), Sophie L Wilkinson (Associate Editor). Northeast (732) 906-8301. Stephen C. Stinson (Senior Editor). Chicago: (773) 463-2371. Mitch Jacoby (Associate Editor). West Coast: (510) 849-0575. Elizabeth Κ Wilson (Associate Editor). London: 44 1256-811052. Michael Freemantle (Senior Editor) ACS NEWS Linda R. Raber (ACS News Editor), Kevin R. MacDermott (Editorial Assistant) EDITING & PRODUCTION Ernest L Carpenter, Assistant Managing Editor JanetS. Dodd (Associate Editor), Robin M. Giroux (Se nior Editor), Arlene Goldberg-Gist (Associate Editor), Stephen Κ Ritter (Senior Editor), Diana L Slade (As sistant Editor) PUBLISHING & CREATIVE SERVICES William R Succolosky (Head), LindaMattingly (Staff Artist). Production & Imaging: Vincent L Parker (Manager), Meltem Akbasli (Assistant) MARKETING MANAGER: Scott Nathan ADVISORY BOARD Paul S. Anderson, Bernard D. Azoulay, Shenda M. Baker, Robert T. Betz, Ronald Breslow, Vincent A Calarco, Margaret A Cavanaugh, Jean Chmielewski, Mark E. Davis, Earnest W. Deavenport Jr., Frank L Douglas, John G. Ekerdt, J. Michael Fitzpatrick, Renée G. Ford, Cynthia M. Friend, Lynn R Goldman, Ryota Hamamoto, Peter R. Heinze, J. Roger Hirl, Nancy B. Jackson, William C. Knodel, Robert S. Langer, Robert L Lichter, Chad A Mirkin, James C. Mullen, Jane Margaret O'Brien, David B. Price Jr., Douglas J. Raber, David R Rea, Eisa Reichmanis, Ian Shott, Richard E. Smalley, Gabor A. Somorjai, Mary C. Waltham Published by AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY John Kistler Crum, Executive Director Robert D. Bovenschulte, Director, Publications Division EDITORIAL BOARD Michael P. Doyle (Chair); ACS Board of Directors Chair: Henry F. Whalen; ACS President: Ed Wasserman; Daryle H. Busch, Lura J. Powell, Joan E. Shields, Paul H. L. Walter. © Copyright 1999, American Chemical Society Canadian GST Reg. No. R127571347
• E D I T O R ' S PAGE
Chemistry And Democracy
Ν
early 30 years ago, I worked as a public information officer at the National Institute of Allergy & In fectious Diseases. The diseases that I wrote about then—hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria—didn't have the public's at tention like cancer or heart disease, but worldwide they were responsible for enor mous suffering and death. The challenges that scientists faced in tackling these dis eases were daunting. They still are. Malaria presents especially awesome challenges—both scientific and politi cal—as Senior Editor Bette Hileman ex plains in her Government Insights on page 41. Each year, there are 500 million clinical cases of malaria and more than 2.7 million people die from the disease. The incidence of malaria is increasing because mosquito-control programs— especially those using DDT—have been cut back, prevention programs have been reduced, and malaria-carrying mosqui toes have extended their natural range. DDT is an exceptionally effective method of killing mosquitoes, but it also has well-known deleterious effects on the environment. DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, but it is still used in many nations. Earlier this month, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Pro gram, about 110 nations met to discuss the phaseout of 12 persistent organic pol lutants, including DDT. They were unable to resolve the question of whether DDT should be banned in the near term. The DDT situation is a reminder that many questions in life, especially those with scientific and technological content, cannot be answered with a sim ple yes or no. For such complex issues, it is important to pose the right questions and then remember that sometimes even the best data are subject to inter pretation. The latest case in point: agri cultural biotechnology. The lack of informed debate in the area of genetically modified food especial ly troubles me. I've just returned from Eu rope where the hysteria about genetically modified food is palpable. Every newspa per in England and France is full of the al leged horrors of "Frankenfoods." The hysteria may be spreading to the U.S. Re cently, a large Ohio-based pet-food maker told its grain suppliers it won't accept ge netically engineered corn for its premium
dog and cat chows unless the corn variet ies are among those few approved by the European Union. There are many, many questions that must be answered in the debate about the safety and future of genetically modified foods. To date, I think this debate has been handled poorly. Who is to blame? In part, the chemical-cum-life sciences com panies that have moved aggressively into the field without first understanding or even bothering to take the public pulse; in part, the media for distorting scientific studies and reports to attract audiences. But in part, scientists are to blame for fail ing to get involved. We as scientists—as chemically trained scientists—cannot leave these de bates to others. I cannot exhort my fellow chemists to action as eloquently as Cor nell University chemistry professor and Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann did in his Priestley Medal Address nine years ago (C&EN, April 23, 1990, page 25). Hoff mann recently reprised these ideas at the congress of the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry in Berlin as re ported by Senior Editor Michael Freemantle (see page 67). Here's what Hoffmann said in Berlin: "I am concerned, very much so, that igno rance of science poses a barrier to the democratic process, as imperfect as that be. I believe deeply that 'ordinary people' and their representatives must be empowered to make decisions—on genetic engineer ing, on waste disposal sites, on dangerous and safe factories, and on which addictive drugs should or should not be controlled." The public can call on experts to ex plain the advantages and disadvantages, the options, benefits, and risks. But ex perts do not have the mandate to make de cisions; the people and their representa tives do, Hoffmann stressed. Each of us makes a difference, whether it is helping to educate the public or jumping into the fray ourselves. As Hoffmann said in his Priestley address: "For chemistry, and chemists, there is no choice other than re sponsibility, personal and collective. No choice but education and democracy."
^IfïUAdeuuu Editor-in-chief
Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS SEPTEMBER 20,1999 C&EN
5
