Science and the Law: How the Communication of Science Affects Policy Development in the Environment, Food, Health, and Transport Sectors (ACS Symposium)

Communication and assessment of scientific information is as important as the science itself, especially when policy-makers, politicians, and media specialists lack scientific backgrounds. Scientific advice has never been in greater demand; nor has it been more contested. This book explores the effect of the public communication of science on the interaction between science and policy development in the regulation of the environment, food, health, and transport sectors.

This second "Science and the Law" book by these editors presents a series of case studies that illustrate the impact of science communication to lawmakers and the general public in other areas of policy development, including nutrition, tobacco science, drugs, and environmental issues. The chapter contributors all present an interesting cross-section of current, hot-button issues that revolve around scientific principles, and they clearly demonstrate the extent to which accurate and appropriate communication of science influences leaders and legislation.

William G. Town is President of the Kilmorie Consulting Division of Kilmorie Clarke Ltd. Dr. Town obtained chemistry degrees at the University of Birmingham and the University of Lancaster in the U.K. and worked at the Universities of Sheffield and Cambridge before joining the European Commission at JRC Ispra in Italy. In 2000, he served as the Chair of the ACS Chemical Information Division.

Judith N. Currano has been the head of the University of Pennsylvania's Chemistry Library since 1999. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry and English from the University of Rochester, where she performed undergraduate research in the lab of Robert K. Boeckman, Jr., and a Master of Science degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her main research interests are in chemical information education and research and publication ethics. At the University of Pennsylvania, she provides chemical science researchers with a broad spectrum of library and information services, while teaching a required graduate-level course in chemical information to the Ph.D. students.