Democracy works, according to the National Research Council panel. Michigan State University, August 23, 2008
*PUBLIC INPUT IMPROVES ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS* [Rachel's introduction: With their intimate knowledge of local environments, ordinary citizens can help government agencies "get the science right, and get the right science."] EAST LANSING, Mich. -- When it comes to environmental issues -- anything from cleaning up a polluted river to dealing with Superfund sites -- public input can make the process smoother and lead to better outcomes, says a new report<http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12434>from a National Research Council panel. The panel that issued the report was chaired by Thomas Dietz, a Michigan State University professor of sociology and crop and soil sciences and director of the university's Environmental Science and Policy Program. Federal agencies have increasingly involved the public in recent decades when deciding, for example, how to manage public forests or Superfund sites, Dietz said. But critics claim that including people with limited scientific knowledge can slow the process and lead to poor decisions. "Such claims have logical validity in that they could be a problem," Dietz said. "But our assessment is that if you run the process right, none of those things happen." Indeed, with their intimate knowledge of local environments, ordinary citizens can help agencies "get the science right, and get the right science," Dietz said. By listening to affected parties and considering their personal values, he added, agencies can reach more legitimate decisions with less likelihood of protests or lawsuits. Furthermore, people involved in decision making are likely to learn more about environmental science and become better participants in future decisions. Dietz said decision making should be inclusive, and that agencies should commit adequate resources to the process and make clear exactly how public input will be used. But the panel "can't provide a cookbook," he said. Instead, agencies must adjust their process to the decision at hand. Dietz said public participation is a relatively new field for research, but one in which Michigan State is highly involved. "I think this is an area where MSU could be a leader," he said. The report was sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is available online at http://national-academies.org. For more information on MSU's Environment Science and Policy Program, visit the Web at http://environment.msu.edu. ### Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving. -- "Justice is what love looks like in public." ~ Dr. Cornel West _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
