COMMENT pubs.acs.org/est
Making Decisions
T
his issue of Environmental Science & Technology features articles confronting decision making methods. Considering potential risks and weighing choices along the life cycle of a product or process can bring a daunting host of variables, some of which may have unknown values. The scenarios explored in these highlighted manuscripts seek to systematize a process to aid stakeholders in myriad environmental contexts. In the Feature, Linkov and Seager describe the methodological confluence of risk and life-cycle assessments with multicriteria decision analysis (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es100959q). Their narrative explains how needs can be prioritized to extract information on what is known and how to implement plans. To demonstrate the method’s utility to complex and risk-laden contexts they outline two case studies: nanomaterial safety and contaminated sediment remediation (noting a recent related Policy Analysis manuscript in Environ. Sci. Technol. (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es103925u)). Zhu et al. confront the implications for human health resulting from China’s rapid urbanization (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es2004254). The authors note that infectious diseases have been contained while incidences of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases have increased. Speculating that European/ U.S. epidemiological studies may not adequately represent the recent demographical evolution of China, the expressed aim is the assembly of a robust data set to inform strategy for Chinese public health efforts. Considering the need to detect environmental pollutants, Weisman et al. remark that living organisms serving as “in vivo biosensors” is a compelling new method (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es200065f). They note that a challenge is to determine sensitive biomarkers of high selectivity so as to provide useful data. To seek out such targets, they report on a microarraydata-mining approach that relies on Arabidopsis messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) transcripts’ response to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) phenanthrene. Turning from model and database construction to the decisionmaking side, Babbitt et al. consider the issue of electronic waste, or “e-waste” (Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1021/es1028469). As consumers, including large institutions, become aware of the complete life cycle of products such as electronics, they may decide to consider new parameters that inform their usage practices. The authors establish a baseline using data from Arizona State University’s electronic equipment inventory statistics to aid policy decisions regarding acquisition, managed use, and disposal. Darcy J. Gentleman Managing Editor
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
[email protected]. Published: June 13, 2011 r 2011 American Chemical Society
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dx.doi.org/10.1021/es2016395 | Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45, 5066–5066
