Emerging Technologies: Socio-Behavioral Life Cycle Approaches

Traditional Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodologies affect the public health and environmental impacts from a material, product, process or activity. The authors of this book suggest that a more holistic approach that incorporates societal and behavioral dimensions will create better results. They discuss how to develop an adaptive framework that would include a wider range of perspectives and disciplines. The book will also include discussions about "Technological Black Swans," trading zones, ethics, behavioral nanotechnology, governance, risk, green design, tools for practitioners, and conclude with a chapter presenting a "strategic outlook."

Nora Savage is an environmental engineer at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, DC, in the Office of Research and Development (ORD). Her focus areas include nanotechnology, pollution prevention, and life cycle approaches for emerging technologies.

Michael E. Gorman is a professor in the Department of Engineering & Society at the University of Virginia, USA, where he teaches courses on ethics, invention, psychology of science and communication. His research focuses on social psychology of science and technology, including collaborations among scientists, engineers, social scientists and ethicists.

Anita Street is a program analyst in the Science and Technology Division within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). She is an environmental scientist by training and has spent 18 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Her areas of interest and expertise include nanotechnology, sustainability, resource depletion, and advanced manufacturing as they relate to energy, economic, and national security.