Introduction - Science For Environmental Protection: The Road Ahead - page 9

reports written by numerous other government agencies, nongovernment organi-
zations, and independent advisory groups.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
The committee's report covers a broad array of topics that reflect EPA's
expansive scope to protect human health and the environment and its leadership
role in local, state, and international science. In addition to EPA's need to pro-
vide scientific information that will act as the basis of regulatory decision-
making, it plays a role in stimulating and supporting academic research, envi-
ronmental-education programs, and regional science initiatives and in providing
support for safer technologies. Science is needed to support EPA as both a regu-
latory agency and as a leader in environmental science and engineering. While
this report focuses on the issues of science, data, and information management,
it recognizes that the policy changes facing EPA and environmental protection
more broadly are important.
This report is organized into six chapters and four appendixes. Chapter 2
discusses persistent challenges that EPA is facing now and emerging challenges
that may be important to EPA in the future. In the context of those challenges,
Chapter 3 aims to provide information on emerging tools and technologies for
environmental protection and the application of those emerging tools and tech-
nologies. Chapter 4 addresses approaches for EPA to remain at the leading edge
of environmental science and engineering, to evaluate and synthesize leading-
edge science to inform decisions, to deliver science within and outside the
agency, and to strengthen its science capacity. Specific details related to “-
omics” technologies and information technology are elaborated on in Appen-
dixes C and D, respectively. Chapter 5 specifically addresses enhanced science
leadership and scientific capacity at EPA. Chapter 6 summarizes the commit-
tee's main findings and recommendations.
The committee uses the word science in this report in two distinctive
ways. One refers to the processes—collectively called the scientific method—by
which new information is generated (that is, research). The second way refers to
the body of knowledge produced by scientific methods—that is, the resulting
data. EPA both conducts high-quality research and uses scientifically generated
information in many ways. The challenges and tools and technologies that the
committee discusses are meant to be examples of the types of problems EPA
faces now, the types of problems EPA could potentially face in the future, and
the types of tools and technologies that could help to solve current, persistent,
and emerging environmental challenges. The committee cannot anticipate all of
the problems of the future and the tools and technologies that will be needed to
address those problems, so it has focused on describing a framework that will
help EPA to be better prepared in the future. Some of the committee's findings
and recommendations concern the agency's science programs, and many are