SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
INSIGHTS BY STEPHEN Κ. RITTER
search results, one ExxonMobil consult ing scientist challenged the research of a government scientist, saying it was biased in the choice of test sites, did not perform all the work described, and exaggerated the amount of oil remaining. This challenge was treated as a poten NVIRONMENTAL S C I E N C E IS A a surprising amount of oil (about 20,000 tial charge of scientific fraud. A National tricky game. While we trust that gal) persists in some shoreline sediments Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration research studies reported in peer- and continues to affect ecosystem recov- internal review concluded that the allega reviewed journals are objective, erywhere the oil is most persistent (C&EN, tions did not have merit, but this episode cranked up the heat. Since then, the re the subsequent interpretation of Dec. 22,2003, page 11). the data can be quite subjective, depend There are definitely somefinancialin searchers have civilly challenged the con ing on which side of the fence you are terests for both sides. ExxonMobil has clusions of each other's papers in environ standing on. spent more than $3.5 billion on the oil spill mental journals. Thickening the plot, ExxonMobil is still Massaging numbers to advance one's and its aftermath, which includes a $1 bil point of view is common and expected. lion civil settlement and compensation for waiting to see how much money it will have However, the reason people pick a side— fishermen and coastal towns. Some of the to pay in punitive damages because ofthe oil the reason for the subjectivity—is com funds are controlled by a trustee council spill. The original award of $53 billion in plicated. Policy decisions generally are po of federal and state agencies that was cre 1994 was reduced to $4 billion in 2001 on litically motivated, while business decisions ated to oversee long-term environmental appeal. But injanuary it was reset at $4.5 bil are most often driven by financial inter monitoring of Prince William Sound. Re lion. Thefinaltally should be known soon. ests. Efforts by environmental advocacy search funded by the council is being car During the appeals process, ExxonMobil groups also can be politically and finan ried out largely by government scientists. funded research by psychologists, econo cially motivated, but they are influenced ExxonMobil is separately conducting its mists, and law and business school faculty own monitoring studies through funds that that concludes juries are generally incapable more by personal beliefs. of performing the tasks the law assigns to People often interchange these politi it provides to academic researchers. cal-business-advocacy roles from one is A clause in the civil settlement stipu them in punitive damage cases. In other sue to the next, depending largely on their lates that ExxonMobil will have to provide words, juries can be erratic and unpre feelings. People also choose their jobs and an additional $100 million for remedia- dictable —they are emotional—in awarding punitive damages. ExxonMobil has careers—and researchers choose cited these peer-reviewed journal pa theirfieldof research—based on their pers in court. Indeed, other compa passions. nies and judges are citing the studies This role of being human—estab in other court cases. lishing our self-identity—usually es As for politics, the long-term im capes recognition when it comes to pact of the spill could affect future discussing the environment. The broad range ofrelationships that peo decisions on developing oil reserves ple have with nature is just beginning in Alaska. to be studied by psychologists, sociol I'm not approving of or con ogists, and scientists. This is an im demning ExxonMobil's actions. For portant beginning, because a better me, the Valdez spill is just one of a understanding of how our emotions string of examples of how chemicals and beliefs influence decision-making SLICK A tide pool in summer 2001 shows resid of the industrial-consumer age can could go a long way in helping to for ual oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill. unexpectedly rise up and impact so mulate a global environmental policy ciety: DDT, dioxins, asbestos, CFCs, that works and is acceptable to everyone. tion and monitoring studies if any unan mercury, MTBE, nitrogen oxides, phthaAn example that helps illustrate this idea ticipated environmental damage comes to lates, perchlorate, and more. Taking an extra minute to understand is the ongoing saga of the Exxon Valdez oil light before 2006. ExxonMobil obvious tanker spill in Prince William Sound, Alas ly doesn't want to pay the extra money, and the degree to which our emotions and be ka. The Valdez ran aground in March 1989, the government agencies would love to liefs interfere with our better judgment based on sound science will be increasing releasing some 11 million gal ofcrude oil in have the research funds at their disposal. Scientific disagreements between the ly important as global development con to a vibrant and complex coastal ecosys tem. Although ExxonMobil and some sci two sides are expected, but it has been in tinues. Actually, it will be imperative if a entists monitoring the long-term effects of teresting to observe the emotive stance balance is to be achieved between the eco the spill believe the Sound has recovered, taken by some of the researchers. Follow nomic cost and social value of pollution ing a 2002 trustee council review of re prevention, regulation, and compliance. another set of scientists has concluded that
IDEOLOGICAL TUG OF WAR
Objectivity in environmental science can turn to subjectivity when human nature takes its course
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