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Are Trucks Too Big and Heavy? Will Restoration Plan Clarify Florida Bay? Opportunity and the Importance of Place Countering Terrorism in the U.S. Summer/Fall 2002 The Scientific Basis for Estimating Air Emissions from Animal Feeding HOT OFF THE PRESS Operations Committee on Animal Nutrition, Board on Agriculture and Natural The Common Thread Resources; and Board on A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics, Environmental Studies and Toxicology; Division on Earth and and the Human Genome Life Studies (2002, 122 pp.; ISBN 0- 309-08461-X; available from NAP, John Sulston and Georgina Ferry $28.25 plus $4.50 shipping). It was a momentous occa- Credits: Studying Classroom Teaching as a Cover: (clockwise from upper left) ©Digital Stock; Florida Medium for Professional sion when British scientist Bay, courtesy South Florida Water Management Development — Proceedings of a John Sulston embarked on District; ©Peter Turnley/Corbis; U.S. Postal Service U.S.-Japan Workshop the greatest endeavor of The nation turns to the National Academies — worker handling mail in October 2001, ©Lorenzo Mathematical Sciences Education Ciniglio/Corbis Sygma our times: the sequencing of National Academy of Sciences, National Academy Board, Center for Education, Page 1: (col.1, from top) ©Corbis; colored scanning electron the human genome. In The of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and micrograph of microcogs forming a microgear Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, and U.S. Common Thread, Sulston National Research Council — for independent, mechanism, ©David Parker/Science Photo Library; (col. 2) ©PhotoDisc National Commission on takes us behind the scenes objective advice on issues that affect people’s lives Page 2: (from top) Military personnel in hazmat suits get Mathematics Instruction, Board on for an in-depth look at the worldwide. Additional information about the decontaminated after sweeping the Longworth and International Scientific Organizations, Rayburn House office buildings for anthrax on Oct. Division on Policy and Global Affairs controversial story behind institution and its work can be found online at 24, 2001, ©Reuters NewMedia Inc./Corbis; Leverett (2002, 272 pp., videotape included; the headlines.The accom-
FEATURES CONTENTS
EDUCATION & RESEARCH HEALTH, SAFETY, & SOCIAL ISSUES
4 Surveying the Landscape of 11 A Child-Safe Internet Opportunity Multifaceted approach needed to protect What contributes to social and economic kids online disparities among neighborhoods? 13 How Many of the Elderly Are 6 From Grad School to Grade School Abused or Neglected? Attracting Ph.D.s to K-12 education The answer requires an expanded research effort
15 Suicidal Tendencies Curbing the nation’s suicide rate
ENVIRONMENT & RESOURCES
16 The Myriad Sources of Oil in the Sea 6 How millions of gallons wind up in North American ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY oceans each year
7 Space Exploration for the Next 18 Murky Waters Decade Will the Everglades Missions to Pluto-Kuiper Belt and restoration clarify Europa should top NASA’s agenda nearby Florida Bay? 16 9 A Big Future for Small Science Ensuring the promise of nanotechnology
10 Pushing the Limits Are trucks too big and heavy? 9
SUMMER / FALL 2002 1 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences Bruce M.Alberts, President 19 James Langer,Vice President CONTENTS 19 Science & Society E.William Colglazier, Executive Officer Science’s Call to Duty Kenneth R. Fulton, Executive Director The National Academies take a thorough look at terrorism and search for ways to National Academy of Engineering counter the most dangerous threats facing the United States. George M.C. Fisher, Chair Wm.A.Wulf, President 22 Spotlight Sheila E.Widnall,Vice President Mitchell Gift to Endow Academies’ Lance Davis, Executive Officer Efforts in Sustainability Science Institute of Medicine 24 Brief Takes Harvey V. Fineberg, President • Getting the ‘Big Dig’ Back on Track Susanne Stoiber, Executive Officer • A Stop to Underage Drinking National Research Council Bruce M.Alberts, Chair Wm.A.Wulf,Vice Chair E.William Colglazier, Executive Officer
24
26 New Projects & Publications
In Focus is prepared by the Office of News and Public Information.
Executive Director:William Skane In Focus Editor:Valerie Chase Assistant Editor: Sara Frueh Staff Writers: Jennifer Burris, Bill Kearney, Christine Stencel,Vanee Vines Freelance Writer: Mari N. Jensen Design: Francesca Moghari
2 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS Science and Technology Are Essentials That No Nation Can Afford to Ignore
The scientific community can and must contribute — through vig- orous scientist-to-scientist and institution-to-institution interactions — to creating a healthier and more sustainable world. Scientists can provide a voice for rationality and moderation in political affairs. They also can easily build strong bridges of understanding between cultures through collaborations in science, technology, FROM THE PRESIDENT health, agriculture, education, human rights, and sustainable economic development. For precisely these reasons, the National Academies have worked for many years to help scientists from different countries collaborate. Experience has demonstrated that when we carry out joint studies with other academies from developing countries, we not only provide valuable information for decision-makers, we also play a significant role in building their future capacity for policy work. For example, our joint project on the Mexico City water supply stimulated that country’s establishment of its own national research council, modeled after the National Research Council that is part of the U.S. National Academies. A second Academies study, Water for the Future: The West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel, and Jordan, successfully generated new scientific and technological connections between countries historically marked by conflict; it also produced a more cooperative and holistic way to deal with limited water resources in the area. And another joint study, Cooperation in the Energy Futures of China and the United States, stimulated an institutional cooperation between the Chinese Academies of Sciences and Engineering that will benefit their future policy work in China. Some mistakenly believe that science is a luxury that developing nations cannot afford. Just the opposite is true. No nation can afford to be without its own cadre of scientists and engineers, with the expertise appropriate for its particular needs. For example, even the poorest nations will benefit from the contributions that such individuals can make to health, environment, agriculture, and economic development. Consider the tragic situation today in Zambia, where the government is preventing famine-starved people from eating donations of U.S. corn that was genetically engineered to produce Bt toxin, a natural insecticide. Examples such as these should make it obvious that science advice must be generated internally, if it is to be effective for wise decision-making. And only local scien- tists can harness the world’s huge and growing store of scientific and technical knowledge to meet local opportunities and challenges, while generating new knowledge based on wisdom from their own societies.
BRUCE ALBERTS President, National Academy of Sciences
SUMMER / FALL 2002 3 RESEARCH EDUCATION & EDUCATION
Surveying the Landscape of Opportunity
When it comes to real estate sales, any factors contribute to social and economic disparities between it’s been said that what matters Mneighborhoods. As a result, the most in negotiating the best deal is location of one’s residence can either put up barriers to resources or open doors to them. “location, location, location.” Likewise, Neighborhoods also can influence the well- where people live can significantly shape being of individuals and families. For exam- ple, inner-city communities that are marked the quality and breadth of resources by deep poverty often have characteristics that can degrade the quality of life for resi- available to them — from educational, dents of these areas. Rates of crime, illness, employment, and public safety offerings and chronic disease tend to be high. Student achievement is generally low, and strong to the availability of hospitals and parks. community groups that supervise children’s behavior are scarce. Inadequate public transportation makes it difficult for poor inner-city residents to take advantage of jobs in the suburbs, where much of today’s
4 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS employment growth occurs. Further, the physical environment suffers as abandoned buildings become havens for illicit activities. Clearly, location matters. The social dynamics of metropolitan neighborhoods is an important research area that should be further studied to help policy-makers better understand fundamen- tal problems, and work to build stronger neighborhoods, says a new National Research Council report that presents the findings of a workshop on the topic. should go further, the report says. Studies Experts at the meeting explored how place need to systematically blend in larger issues and neighborhood relate to opportunity on related to metropolitan governance and several key fronts: employment and the demographic trends. Broad policies — zon- transition from welfare to work; public ing and taxation, for instance — also shape health; and child development. They also neighborhoods. The same can be said for a considered research that could inform pub- community’s overall context, which lic policy. The Research Council held the includes its racial composition and employ- workshop to broaden discussion of findings ment prospects. from its 1999 report, Governance and Researchers also should look into new Opportunity in Metropolitan America, and creative ways to use statistical models which examined how the sheer number and to figure out how certain neighborhoods variety of local governments, each going its have evolved and how they produce effects own way, often make socioeconomic on people, the report says. Trying to exam- inequalities between city dwellers and sub- ine the big picture may be akin to looking urbanites worse. through a kaleidoscope. But society could On the whole, workshop participants only benefit from knowing more about the agreed that sophisticated studies on the basic local conditions that represent a mini- “importance of place” certainly could con- mum standard for residents to prosper. tribute to successful policies and help — Vanee Vines address issues that concern troubled neighborhoods. They also may reveal Equality of Opportunity and the Importance of -Place: Summary of a Workshop. Steering Committee on ways to connect inner-city residents with Metropolitan Area Research and Data Priorities, Division suburban jobs. of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (2002, 84 The road to gaining this knowledge may pp.; ISBN 0-309-08467-9; available from the National Academies Press, tel. 1-800-624-6242; $18.00 plus $4.50 be long and winding, however. Researchers shipping for single copies; also on the Internet at have taken steps to factor into their studies
SUMMER / FALL 2002 5 From Grad School to Grade School Attracting Ph.D.s to K-12 Education
any newly minted extensive hands-on training in Ph.D.s in science K-12 settings, the program Mand mathematics would prepare them to obtain begin their job search outside a teacher’s license. And they the traditional academic realm, would be encouraged to use seeking opportunities that their connections in the scien- would allow them to use their tific and engineering commu- training in novel and reward- nities to help strengthen links ing ways. An ideal destination among schools, colleges, uni- may be closer than they think. Given their versities, and science-based institutions. passion for their work, knack for learning Ultimately, these scholars could become through discovery, and ease with informa- not only seasoned, highly skilled teachers, tion technology, talented postdoctoral schol- but also leaders in efforts to boost the ars are needed and would be truly appreciat- quality of teaching and learning in the ed in the world of K-12 education. nation’s schools, the report says. They could help improve teaching and The program’s cost would depend on the learning at a time when U.S. student achieve- number of fellows selected each year and ment in science and math often trails that of the overall duration of the pilot project. But peers in many other industrialized countries, each individual fellowship should last two says a new report from the National years, and postdocs could expect a stipend Research Council. Meanwhile, teaching and of about $35,000 per year, the report says. other positions in K-12 education could offer A national program, possibly supported postdocs a challenging career path. with funds from both the federal govern- To experiment with such a match, the ment and private sources, would compen- report calls for the creation of a national sate scholars in their first year. Schools fellowship program to attract Ph.D.s, a where they would work during their fellow- pilot project to test the program in interest- ship would be expected to pay stipends and ed schools and learning centers, and a com- benefits in the second year. — Vanee Vines prehensive plan to evaluate its impact. Attracting Ph.D.s to K-12 Education:A Dem- A critical step in rolling out the pro- -onstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and posed program would be the selection of Technology. Committee on Attracting Science and Mathematics Ph.D.s to K-12 Education: From Analysis to the Ph.D.s themselves. Ideal candidates Implementation, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences would have doctorates in physical, biologi- and Education and Division on Policy and Global Affairs cal, or mathematical sciences, or in engi- (2002, 108 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08427-X; available from the National Academies Press, tel. 1-800-624-6242; $26.00 neering. Plus, they would have a strong plus $4.50 shipping for single copies; also on the Internet commitment to K-12 education and an at
6 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS SpaceSpace ExplorationExploration for the for the TECHNOLOGY
NextNext ENGINEERING & DecadeDecade
Missions to Pluto-Kuiper Belt and Europa Should Top NASA’s Agenda
One might expect a place that is dark, t’s not just the lure of being the last unexplored planet in the solar system frigid, and dauntingly remote to have a Ithat makes Pluto so intriguing to scien- tough time attracting visitors. And so far tists. Perhaps most interesting about the distant planet is that it’s the largest known that’s been Pluto’s fate: It is the only member of the Kuiper Belt, a field of icy, planet in the solar system that has never rocky objects that are thought to have changed little since they first condensed been visited by a robotic probe. Now a some 4.6 billion years ago. “Data collected on the Kuiper Belt over new National Research Council report the last decade suggest that it’s made up of says Pluto and its neighborhood are too innumerable objects, and that they have a bizarre variety of properties,” said Michael scientifically compelling for NASA to wait Belton, president, Belton Space Exploration any longer to send a mission there. Initiatives, Tucson, Ariz., and chair of the committee that wrote the report. “A mis- sion would let us study some of those
SUMMER / FALL 2002 7 properties more closely.” This examination committee believes. “For the scientific may help scientists understand how the health of the space program you need a solar system began, because the giant plan- major mission from time to time,” said ets are believed to have been created from Belton. “They’re costly, but they can help objects like those in the Kuiper Belt. A us achieve a breadth of knowledge that mission might also provide clues to the smaller missions can’t.” origin of life on Earth, the report says, The next large mission should be sent to which may have started with organic Jupiter’s moon Europa, the report says. material delivered by a comet from the The satellite is thought to have an ocean region billions of years ago. under its icy crust — which makes it, with A mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Mars, the best place beyond Earth to has been on and off NASA’s agenda for sev- search for life. The mission would confirm eral years. The Bush administration elimi- the presence of the ocean, study its quali- nated funding for the mission in NASA’s ties, and try to determine whether it does 2003 budget, citing the high cost involved. in fact harbor living organisms. But the report says that a trip to the Kuiper Important research can be done from the Belt could gather enough data — possibly ground as well, the report notes, urging paradigm-shifting information — to justify NASA to partner with the National Science its price tag, which is midsize by space- Foundation to build a large-aperture survey exploration standards. telescope, which could survey the faintest Another reason not to delay the mission objects in the entire northern sky every is that the time window for studying Pluto week. In addition to aiding the study of is closing. The planet is beginning the leg distant Kuiper Belt objects, the telescope of its 248-year solar orbit that is farthest would offer a very concrete benefit: the from the sun; more of the surface will be ability to better detect and assess the risk shadowed and the atmosphere will freeze, posed by small asteroids and comets that making study impossible. A thaw — and most frequently collide with Earth. another chance to survey the brightest — Sara Frueh object in the murky Kuiper Belt — won’t New Frontiers in the Solar System:An Integrated happen again for more than a century. -Exploration Strategy. Solar System Exploration Survey The report makes several recommenda- Steering Committee, Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences (2002, approx. 457 pp.; tions for NASA’s space exploration agenda ISBN 0-309-08495-4; available from National Academies over the next decade, prioritizing missions Press, tel. 1-800-624-6242; $44.95 plus $4.50 shipping for within different size classes — including single copies; also on the Internet at
8 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS A BIG Future for Ensuring the Promise of SMALL SCIENCE Nanotechnology hink big, but envision report from the National small. Almost invisible, in Research Council. T fact — no larger than One of the initiative’s current 1/100,000 the width of a human long-range goals is to move the hair. Now imagine working on science out of the laboratory that scale. and into society. For this to hap- Nanotechnology is a science pen, a continued investment in that does just that, manipulating the development of tools that matter at the atomic, molecular, allow scientists to view, model, and macromolecular levels. and manipulate nanoscale Operating at these most basic levels, scien- objects is necessary. tists are able to create materials, devices, A new breed of scientist also must emerge, and systems with fundamentally new prop- one who is well-grounded in a specific disci- erties and functions. Industry and academia pline but able to work across multiple fields, aim to use the science to design a new gen- the report says. This is essential because eration of products that are faster, cheaper, nanoscale science and technology combines lighter, and stronger. many disciplines, such as biology, physics, Science and engineering at the nanoscale chemistry, and engineering. Nanotechnology will have a dramatic impact on fields such centers in the United States currently encour- as computing, telecommunications, and age collaboration, but creation of a more medicine. One example is the application widespread interdisciplinary culture — both of nanosized semiconductor crystals known nationally and internationally — is crucial to as “quantum dots,” which fluoresce when stimulating growth in the field. irradiated. Quantum dots can be attached Federal leaders of the initiative need to to genetic base pairs and used as markers develop an overarching strategic plan, and for DNA diagnostics. Attaching dots of dif- outline goals and objectives, especially ferent sizes to different molecules allows long-term ones. To provide further guid- researchers to track biological processes by ance to federal agencies on important R&D monitoring the molecules’ fluorescence. opportunities, an independent advisory Because of their semiconducting properties, board composed of leaders from industry they also might serve as components of and academia should be established, the potentially faster, more efficient computers report recommends. — Jennifer Burris that can store trillions of bits of informa- Small Wonders, Endless Frontiers:A Review of the tion on a device no larger than a pinhead. -National Nanotechnology Initiative. Committee for the For nanotechnology to fulfill its prom- Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences (2002, 68 pp.; ISBN ise, however, the government-funded 0-309-08454-7; available from the National Academies National Nanotechnology Initiative — Press, tel. 1-800-624-6242; $18.00 plus $4.50 shipping for which has received almost $1 billion in single copies; also on the Internet at
SUMMER / FALL 2002 9 Pushing the Limits Are Trucks Too Big and Heavy?
hile driving down a local high- also results in higher costs for bridge con- way, have you ever found your- struction and highway maintenance. W self doing a double take when a The committee that wrote the report rec- tractor-trailer zooms past? The trucks seem ommends Congress should charter a new larger than the ones on the interstate. It’s organization to oversee implementation of no illusion. They might very well be. federal truck-size regulations and evaluate Given current federal size limits, larger their results, carry out pilot studies and trucks sometimes have to avoid interstate research to determine the impact of trucks highways and use secondary roads where on highways, and recommend new rules accidents are more likely to happen and based on its findings. maintenance costs are higher. The proposed pilot studies and permit The federal government first placed lim- program could provide incentives for its on truck size and weight in 1956, as industry and states to develop safety inno- part of the legislation that created the fed- vations. Promising technologies, such as eral highway program. Since then, the reg- electronic braking systems, could improve ulations have only been significantly truck safety but more research and moni- revised twice. In 1991, Congress passed a toring is needed, the report says. law as a safety measure that prohibits While trucking firms and shipping states from expanding the use of heavier groups advocate liberalization of limits, double and triple trailers. highway-safety advocacy groups, some But a new report from the Transportation small trucking firms, and a number of Research Board recommends that the gov- states oppose increases in truck size. And ernment should authorize states to allow the railroad industry fears the change trucks exceeding present federal limits to would divert freight from the rail to high- operate on interstate highways, provided ways. Objective data collection and analy- that impacts on safety and road-maintenance sis, together with public input, should costs are monitored. break the gridlock over size and weight The standard tractor-trailer has five axles, policies. — Jennifer Burris and the current federal limit is 80,000 Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of pounds. States should be allowed to issue -Commercial Motor Vehicles:TRB Special Report 267. permits for the operation of six-axle tractor- Committee for the Study of the Regulation of Weights, Lengths, and Widths of Commercial Motor Vehicles, trailers weighing up to 90,000 pounds, the Transportation Research Board (2002, 270 pp.; ISBN 0- report says. Increasing the length of the 309-07701-X; available from the board, tel. 202-334-3214; truck reduces shipping costs moderately, and $24.00 for single copies; also on the Internet at
10 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS SOCIAL ISSUES HEALTH, SAFETY, & SAFETY, HEALTH, A Child-Safe INTERNET Multifaceted Approach Needed to Protect Kids Online
any children today have never accessibility pose a real challenge for par- known a world without personal ents, policy-makers, and educators. Mcomputers and the Internet. In Many workplaces, schools, and fact, nearly 60 percent of school-age chil- libraries use filters and monitoring to dren have access to the Internet at home block access and inadvertent exposure to and at school, according to a 2000 survey pornography, and laws and regulation by the Census Bureau. work to reduce the extent of its availabil- While many parents may lack the tech- ity. But there is no single approach — nological sophistication of their children, technical, legal, economic, or educational they can’t ignore the added responsibility — sufficient to protect children from posed by Internet access. Because the Web pornography, says a new report from the doesn’t distinguish between adults and chil- National Research Council. dren, it is difficult to protect children from Controlling where children go, what inappropriate materials on this global, they see, to whom they talk, and what interactive, and anonymous medium. they do when online requires a balanced Although the percentage of adult- mix of interventions. An essential element oriented, sexually explicit material on the of protecting kids from such material on Web is quite small, making up less than the Internet is the promotion of social 2 percent of all online content, it generates and education strategies that teach chil- about $1 billion a year in revenue from dren to make wise choices online, the paying customers. Its high profile and easy report says.
SUMMER / FALL 2002 11 Parents can start by gaining a basic Regardless of whether technology is used, understanding of what is on the Internet a child must learn how to deal with the and initiating sometimes-uncomfortable material they encounter. conversations with their children. Home Public policy can help make sexually computers could be put in places that make explicit material less available to children. solitary viewing impossible. Parents also For example, providing incentives could can provide explicit instruction and guid- lead the adult online entertainment industry ance to their children about what they con- to take actions to restrict children’s access sider unacceptable activities. to content and, to some extent, reduce the Children should also be educated in number of providers of such material. Internet safety, much as they are educated Aggressive enforcement of existing anti- about physical safety. This might include obscenity and child pornography laws can teaching them how sexual predators and also make a difference. Public policy can hate group recruiters typically approach also be used to promote media literacy and young people on the Internet, how to rec- Internet safety education; to support devel- ognize jargon that signals inappropriate opment of quality, online educational ma- material, and when it is okay to provide terial for children; and to encourage self- personal information online. regulatory efforts by private parties. Many children learn as much from peers The committee that wrote the report and older siblings as they do from parents, found that studies examining the impact on teachers, and other adults. Peer mentoring, children from viewing sexually explicit which has been shown material are limited and this area needs to to help some young be further researched. In addition, more people avoid crime technology-based tools should be developed. and stay in school, Current technologies are not well-matched could potentially help to the growing diversity of channels through promote safe use of which children may be exposed to inappro- the Internet. priate content or experiences. In addition to such — Jennifer Burris hands-on human Youth, Pornography, and the Internet. Committee interventions, tech- -to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids From nology and public Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content, Computer Science and policy have important roles to play as Telecommunications Board, Division on Engineering and well. Technology-based tools provide par- Physical Sciences (2002, 480 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08274-9; ents and other responsible adults with available from the National Academies Press, tel. 1-800- 624-6242; $47.95 plus $4.50 shipping for single copies; also added options to protect children and can on the Internet at
12 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS How Many of the Elderly Are Abused or Neglected? The Answer Requires an Expanded Research Effort
Their golden years are hardly peaceful ewer than 50 peer-reviewed studies of elder mistreatment exist in the scien- for the estimated 1 million to 2 million Ftific literature. Current research is elderly people who are victims of abuse spotty, and most of the reports have methodological weaknesses, said the com- and neglect. Even though the problem mittee that wrote the report. This mistreat- of “granny battering” hit the news in 1978 ment, as the committee defined it, includes physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and as a result of congressional hearings, financial abuse of vulnerable elderly people by individuals they trust or rely on for care. there is an abysmal absence of research Who commits it and why, the circum- into the neglect and abuse of elderly stances under which it occurs, and what preventive measures are effective — even Americans, says a new report from the what constitutes “elderly” — are questions National Research Council. still to be answered. “The current knowl- edge base about even the most elementary facts concerning elder mistreatment is incomplete, contradictory, misleading, and
SUMMER / FALL 2002 13 noncumulative,” the report says. population as a whole; therefore the find- Meanwhile, between 3 percent and 5 per- ings cannot be extrapolated to the larger cent of elderly people are thought to be population. Even before collecting the abused. As the nation’s over-65 population much-needed data on the extent of the figures climb in the 21st century, so too problem, researchers in the field need to will the number of victims. develop uniform definitions and modes of “I was genuinely surprised at how little measurement. Such systematizing of the we know — the gaps in our knowl- field’s research methodologies is edge are enormous,” said com- essential before launching a full- mittee chair Richard J. Bonnie, scale national study of the director of the Institute of extent and types of elder mis- Law, Psychiatry, and Public treatment in the United States. Policy at the University of Discovering the scope and Virginia, Charlottesville. “In significance of elder mistreat- terms of the development of ment requires attracting a new knowledge, the field of elder abuse generation of interdisciplinary sci- is about where the child-abuse field was entists to the field. Establishing the neces- in the early 1970s. We are really at the sary infrastructure demands a long-term beginning.” funding commitment by federal, state, and Even good base line data on the magni- private agencies. tude and social costs of the problem are “As a society, we have a strong moral lacking. Current estimates of how many obligation to protect people who, as they Americans over the age of 65 have suffered are aging, lose the capacity to protect some type of mistreatment at the hands of themselves,” Bonnie said. “A meaningful a caretaker are little more than educated investment in building the foundation for guesses. There has never been a national this field is truly needed.” survey to determine the size of the prob- — Mari N. Jensen lem. Still more poorly understood are the Elder Mistreatment:Abuse, Neglect, and situations that lead to mistreatment and -Exploitation in an Aging America. Panel to Review Risk the underlying causes of the abuse. and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and Neglect, Committee on National Statistics and Committee on Law and Justice, Designing effective public policies to pre- Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education vent and counteract elder mistreatment (2002, 568 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08434-2; available from the requires this basic information. National Academies Press, tel. 1-800-624-6242; $57.95 plus $4.50 shipping for single copies; also on the Internet But more of the same type of research at
14 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS SUICIDAL Tendencies Curbing the Nation’s Suicide Rate n popular culture, suicide is sometimes research, both of which romanticized as the tragic result of a bro- have benefited from dedi- Iken heart or troubled spirit. It is even cated research centers. portrayed as gutsy, as in the movie “Thelma What existing data do and Louise” when the lead characters decide show is that the majority of to drive off a cliff rather than face the police. suicidal people visit a doctor in the months However, suicide is anything but fiction- or weeks before their deaths. Physicians and al melodrama. Every year about 30,000 nurses often are these individuals’ first and Americans kill themselves — more than the only medical contact. Primary care providers average number of homicides. Overall, sui- could serve as a front-line intervention force cide is the 11th-leading cause of death for to steer at-risk patients into treatment. Americans, and the third-leading cause of Reluctance among primary care providers to death for those between the ages of 15 and discuss suicide risk factors with patients 24, government statistics show. Emergency could be eased through training that incorpo- rooms annually treat 650,000 people after rates study of suicidal behavior. they attempt to take their own lives. But Few treatment and prevention programs despite its prevalence and impacts, efforts have had the capacity to conduct long-term to reduce suicide have lacked the serious evaluations of their efficacy. However, the national attention afforded other major report highlights examples of prevention public health issues. programs that seem to be effective. The Research efforts and prevention programs U.S. Air Force’s program, for example, have offered some insights into factors that appears to have reduced suicide rates in its increase or decrease the risk of suicide, but a community by increasing access to treat- dearth of information hampers the nation’s ment and support and reshaping attitudes ability to fully understand the problem and about suicide. More work needs to be done craft solutions. To that end, a new report to determine whether programs like this from the Institute of Medicine puts forth a can be expanded to other populations. blueprint for research designed to fill in the — Christine Stencel data gaps. Many questions about suicide Reducing Suicide:A National Imperative. remain unanswered because the appropriate -Committee on Pathophysiology and Prevention of infrastructure to adequately address them is Adolescent and Adult Suicide, Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health, Institute of Medicine (2002, 516 pp.; lacking. The report calls for the creation of a ISBN 0-309-08321-4; available from the National national network of laboratories geared to Academies Press, tel. 1-800-624-6242; $59.95 plus $4.50 perform large-sample studies through a mul- shipping for single copies; also on the Internet at
SUMMER / FALL 2002 15 RESOURCES
ENVIRONMENT & The Myriad Sources of
Oil in the Sea
ven though disasters like the recent coming from tankers, the vast majority of spill off the coast of Spain sometimes this oil arrives in the sea via such sources as Estill occur, double-hull tankers and land-based runoff, polluted rivers, jet skis, tougher international standards have led to and even airplanes that jettison fuel over the a significant drop in the amount of oil water. Typically, only about 10 percent spilled by ships since 1989, when the Exxon comes from tanker and pipeline spills, or is Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska. released during the oil-drilling process. That’s the good news. The bad news is that “The oil you see glistening on the road 29 million gallons of oil, more than twice when it starts to rain runs off the pave- the amount that leaked from the Valdez, still ment and eventually finds its way to the winds up in North American ocean waters sea,” explained Nancy N. Rabalais, a each year as a result of human activity, professor at the Louisiana Universities according to a new report from the Marine Consortium and member of the National Research Council. But instead of committee that wrote the report. Oil
16 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS runoff from cars and trucks is a particular documenting sources of problem in coastal regions where more runoff to better monitor roads and parking lots are being built to how much oil is seeping accommodate dramatic population into the sea. And the U.S. growth. Oil that is in wastewater or that Environmental Protection has been improperly disposed of also Agency should continue finds its way to the ocean. Two-stroke efforts to phase out older engines manufactured before 1998 dis- two-stroke engines. charge significant amounts of unburned Rabalais said consumers fuel and can still be found on many recre- can do their part by fol- ational boats and jet skis. And bigger lowing municipal guide- ships may release oil from their engines lines for discarding oil while in port or at sea. and by maintaining their Scientists studying the aftermath of the car engines. Valdez spill discovered that the environ- The fact that most of mental devastation caused by an oil spill the oil entering the of that magnitude lasts much longer than ocean comes from land previously thought. Researchers have also or small watercraft does learned, however, that the impact of an not mean, however, that oil spill is not always proportional to its governments can ignore size, since even a small spill in an ecologi- tanker safety since the cally sensitive area can have long-term potential is still there effects. And there is growing evidence for a large spill, espe- that toxic compounds found in oil can cially in regions of the world with lax adversely affect marine species even at safety controls, the report notes. very low concentrations. — Bill Kearney But while scientists have gained new Oil in the Sea III: Inputs, Fates, and Effects. insight into the damage caused by an acute -Committee on Oil in the Sea: Inputs, Fates, and Effects, oil spill, less is known about how the ocean Ocean Studies Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, and Marine Board,Transportation Research Board (2002, ecosystem is affected by chronic releases approx. 446 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08438-5; available from the from land-based sources or boat engines. National Academies Press, tel. 1-800-624-6242; $54.95 To learn more, a major research effort plus $4.50 shipping for single copies; also on the Internet at
SUMMER / FALL 2002 17 much of its fresh water from the Murky Waters Everglades, would improve. But a new report from a Research Council committee advising the task force on scientific matters questions whether more fresh water is really the answer to a problem that may not have been caused by too much salt to begin with. It calls the evi- dence linking high salinity to the loss of turtle grass “debatable,” and says that some scientists suspect the bay’s environ- mental woes are in fact due to nutrient pol- lution, which fresh water from the Everglades may bring more of. And even if the Everglades restoration plan is fully implemented, it is unclear how much fresh Will Everglades Restoration water will actually flow into the bay, with Clarify Nearby Bay? some models predicting little change from current levels by the year 2050. Ironically, efforts to return the bay to its he 850 square miles of water that grassy, pristine self may not be what nature make up Florida Bay is rarely much intended. Historical accounts from the more than about a meter deep, a fact T 19th century describe a murky body of that would lead you to believe it should be water, not a clear one. no trouble seeing the sandy bottom regard- A more reliable characterization of the less of where you stand. This was true 30 bay’s historical condition and a focused or 40 years ago. But in the 1980s, it started technical review of how the Everglades getting cloudy from increasing algae restoration plan will affect the bay are growth and suspended sediment. At the needed, the committee said. same time, dense meadows of turtle grass — Bill Kearney common to the bay began to die off. The prevailing assumption in Florida Florida Bay Research Programs and Their Relation -to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. was that high salinity — partly caused by Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades lower freshwater inflows from the nearby Ecosystem,Water Science and Technology Board and Everglades — was to blame for the loss of Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Division on Earth and Life Studies (2002, 54 pp.; ISBN 0-309- grass and muddying of the water. So when 08491-1; available from National Academies Press, tel. 1- a joint federal-state task force said that it 800-624-6242; $18.00 plus $4.50 shipping for single wanted to elevate water levels in the copies; also on the Internet at
18 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS SOCIETY SCIENCE &
Science’s Call to Duty
hether by designing sophisticat- ed weapons, building better The National Academies W ships and planes, or advancing battlefield medicine, scientists, engineers, Examine Threats to and doctors have always answered their country’s call to service during wartime, Homeland Security and the current war against terrorism is no different. A week after the Sept. 11 attacks, the presidents of the National Academies wrote to President Bush, saying that the Academies “stand ready to pro- vide advice and counsel in any way that the nation desires.” The Bush administra- tion took them up on the offer almost immediately and asked for real-time advice on how to protect the mail during the anthrax attacks.
SUMMER / FALL 2002 19 Meanwhile, the Academies also got to and develop sensors that can rapidly detect work fulfilling another promise made in the radiological, biological, or chemical materi- letter: to convene groups of experts to iden- als. The blast- and fire-resistance of build- tify — and look for ways to counter — the ings should be improved as well. And power most dangerous threats facing the United grids must be mapped in a manner that States. They drafted more than 100 scien- allows them to bypass damaged areas if they tists, engineers, physicians, and national- come under attack. security specialists to take part in the task, These and other research opportunities which led to a 440-page report — Making may go unrealized, however, unless the the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and federal government formulates a strategy Technology in Countering Terrorism. for pursuing them, the report says. This The report lists several steps that can be will be difficult given that the agencies taken right away to counter terrorism that traditionally fund research are not using existing technologies. These include necessarily the same agencies responsible initiatives to secure nuclear material in the for homeland security. To narrow this gap, former Soviet bloc, boost vaccine supplies, the new Department of Homeland Security improve ventilation systems in public that was proposed by President Bush buildings, and supply emergency personnel should have an undersecretary for science with the latest communication tools. and technology. Homeland security offi- For the future, research is urgently needed cials should also be supported by an inde- to reduce vulnerabilities further, the report pendent, nonprofit institute that could says. The nation has to create drugs for employ experts to analyze vulnerabilities pathogens that are not currently treatable in the nation’s infrastructure.
20 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS terrorism says threats against terrorists work but that other efforts, such as trying to turn foreign populations against terrorist organizations, are needed as well. Last fall the Academies released Countering Agricultural Bioterrorism, a study that began before Sept. 11 but took on obviously greater importance after that day. It says that the country remains vul- nerable to a bioterrorism attack on its crops and livestock and needs a more com- prehensive plan to defend against it. The Academies hosted a workshop to address the thorny issue of restrictions being placed on the publication of research find- ings in the name of national security. In a recent statement, the presidents of the National Academies said scientists should work closely with federal agencies to identi- fy research that may be related to new secu- Although this report is the centerpiece of rity threats and to develop principles for the Academies’ counterterrorism activities, researchers in those fields, but that the gov- they have undertaken other studies and ernment should not vaguely categorize held workshops to seek ways to make the information as “sensitive but unclassified.” nation safer. For example, the Natural — Bill Kearney Disasters Roundtable met to discuss what A collection of the Academies reports in this emergency workers who deal with disasters area is accessible at
SUMMER / FALL 2002 21 Mitchell Gift to Endow Academies’ SPOTLIGHT Efforts in Sustainability Science
The National Academies are pleased to An early admirer of the work of design announce a $10 million gift from Houston- and ecology visionary Buckminster Fuller, the young CEO Mitchell also realized that based philanthropist George there were finite energy resources and raw Mitchell and the George and materials for a world whose population Cynthia Mitchell Foundation. The was increasing rapidly. In the 1970s he helped sponsor the work of Dennis gift — and an additional $10 mil- Meadows, whose Club of Rome study The lion in future matching funds — Limits to Growth was a global wake-up will underwrite the National call on the pressing need for sustainable Academies’ newly created George energy technologies and food sources worldwide. and Cynthia Mitchell Endowment “[In the late 1960s,] I first became for Sustainability Science. A key step in involved at the Aspen Institute with developing the capacity of the National Buckminster Fuller, a tremendous mind,” said Mitchell. “I was intrigued with him Academies to undertake important new and his concept that the Earth could han- efforts on sustainable growth, the endow- dle only so many people . . . because I real- ment will fund research, studies, and other ized that his concept was right. Later, with activities in the emerging field of sustainabili- Dennis Meadows and his study The Limits to Growth, we came up with a new con- ty science and technology. cept. We talked about ‘alternatives to growth.’ Then we finally hit on ‘sustain- eorge Mitchell has made his able societies.’ What we were really trying mark as a renaissance American to determine was, how could you establish Gbusinessman and entrepreneur. As sustainable societies when you have a rapid a young petroleum geologist and engineer population growth?” in Texas after World War II, he realized Mitchell has been equally concerned that in the rush to find oil and drill prof- about unplanned urban sprawl in this itable wells, big petroleum companies were country, much of it — he believes — often ignoring — even burning off as waste fueled by “white flight” to suburbs in the — another important energy source: natu- 1960s and 1970s that threatened the very ral gas. He set his sights on exploiting that existence of central city cores. After visits underutilized resource and built his own to inner-city communities like Watts and industry powerhouse around it — the Bedford-Stuyvesant, Mitchell turned his Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. talents and resources to developing a
22 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS master-planned city for residents of all “George Mitchell has long been a vocal incomes. His new town, “The advocate for research and planning for a Woodlands,” is located just north of more sustainable world,” said National downtown Houston. Today it is home to Academy of Sciences President Bruce more than 70,000 residents. Its design, Alberts. “He is a corporate leader who clear- which will accommodate a total popula- ly understands that we now have a window tion of 150,000 and provide jobs for of opportunity in which to address the chal- 75,000, has won awards for urban design, lenges that the Earth’s rapidly growing pop- energy use, and ecology. ulation poses for our finite resources. We In Houston, Mitchell and his wife thank him for his wisdom and dedication to Cynthia are major philanthropic supporters these issues and for his expression of confi- of the arts, education, and medical research. dence in the National Academies.” In 1982, he founded the Houston Advanced One of George Mitchell’s major contri- Research Center, an institution dedicated to butions to sustainable development has environmental issues and sustainable been his strong conviction that, to be suc- growth, with special emphasis on critical cessful, it must enlist the active participa- regional issues such as clean air and water. tion of corporations and business leaders. The National Academies have enjoyed a New products, services, and processes that close and productive association with achieve growth with minimal negative George and Cynthia Mitchell. Together impact on communities, resources, and with Mitchell Energy & Development health, he believes, will be key ingredients Corp., the Mitchells underwrote the in sustainable development. National Academies’ landmark Our “What does sustainable growth come Common Journey: A Transition Toward down to?” asks Mitchell. “Well, if you can’t Sustainability, the 1999 report that rede- make the world work with 6 billion people, fined the role science and technology can what are you going to do with 9 and a half play in sustainable development. Our billion? How do we finally get enough col- Common Journey helped establish the lective organization and efforts in the next National Academies’ long-term commit- 10 to 40 years to really see how we resolve ment to research for global economic devel- these issues?” Mitchell said he is counting opment that maximizes the efficient and on the National Academies, and science wise use of the Earth’s resources. academies worldwide, to take the initiative.
SUMMER / FALL 2002 23 Getting the ‘Big Dig’ was meant to carry 75,000 vehicles each day but now shoulders a daily load of Back on Track almost 200,000. The project, which is BRIEF TAKES more than 80 percent complete, also For over a decade Boston’s skyline has includes a new tunnel to Logan airport been punctuated not just by office towers that passes under Boston Harbor and was but also by cranes, its streets have rumbled finished in 1995, as well as a two-bridge with dump trucks along with the usual crossing of the Charles River. The larger urban din, and its commuters have had to of the two, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker navigate an ever-changing map of detours. Hill Bridge, is the widest cable-stayed These are only surface signs of an upheaval bridge in the world. that’s going on mainly underground — a The Big Dig hopes to give relief to public works project that is the largest, those who currently endure lengthy traffic most complex, and most expensive ever jams on the Artery, which has an accident undertaken in the United States. rate four times the average for urban Known as the “Big Dig,” the megapro- interstates. The project also will transform ject is creating an eight- to 10-lane under- the urban landscape, reconnecting down- ground expressway through the middle of town Boston with its waterfront and Boston. It will replace the city’s overbur- opening up about 200 acres of space dened and deteriorating Central Artery, an throughout the city. elevated highway built in the 1950s that Delays and cost overruns have plagued the project, however, taxing not only motorists’ patience but also pocketbooks across the United States. When ground was broken in 1991, the project was slated for completion in 1998 and estimated to cost about $6 billion; it is now expected to be completed in 2005 at a cost of $14.6 billion. In an effort to keep the remainder of the project on schedule and within budget, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has asked the National Research Council to evaluate current management practices and structure. The panel will assess whether the management is using industry “best prac- tices,” and will also give suggestions for finishing the project in a timely and cost- effective way. The review is scheduled for release in early 2003. — Sara Frueh (See listing on page 26.)
24 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS A Stop to Underage higher taxes on alcohol, and aggressive ID checks at bars and liquor stores. Advocates Drinking have urged the federal government to take a stronger lead, prompting Congress to ask When NBC announced about a year ago the National Academies to recommend a that it would start airing television ads for prevention strategy. hard alcohol for the first time in 50 years, The study committee, whose work got it drew protests from advocacy groups under way last summer, is examining the and legislators, leading the network to wide variety of existing efforts to assess reverse its decision a few months later. what works and what doesn’t. Based on Chief among the objections was that the ads would glamorize alcohol use to a very susceptible audience — teen-agers and young adults. Research has shown that youths who use alcohol, particularly those who drink a lot, take on added risks compared with their nondrinking peers. Kids who drink are more likely to get poor grades than their classmates who abstain. They are more likely to have sex at a younger age and to have multiple partners; they’re also less likely to use condoms, raising their risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Drinking among college students has been linked to higher rates of accidental injuries and fatalities, physical assaults, date rape, and vandalism. All 50 states and the District of what it finds to be successful, the commit- Columbia have laws setting the minimum tee will develop a strategy for reducing drinking age at 21, but kids who are under- underage drinking. Its report is slated for age report having access to alcohol anyway. release in May 2003. — Sara Frueh And a considerable number of them are (See listing on page 26.) binge drinking: In 2000, almost one in five youths aged 12 to 20 had five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past 30 days. Communities and states have experiment- ed with a range of approaches to preventing underage drinking such as programs aimed at swaying youth attitudes and choices,
SUMMER / FALL 2002 25 Baltimore. Sponsors: U.S. Food and vice president, The Lewin Group, Projects Drug Administration and U.S. Falls Church, Va. Sponsor: National Department of Agriculture. Institute on Drug Abuse. The following projects have been undertaken by units of the National Non-Native Oysters in the Academies. The latest information Chesapeake Bay. Ocean Studies Board, Division on Publications PUBLICATIONS about all current committee activi- Earth and Life Studies. Project direc- ties — including project descriptions, For documents shown as available tor: Susan Roberts. Co-chairs: James committee rosters, and meeting Anderson, professor, department of from the National Academies Press information — is now available in environmental and natural resource (NAP), write to 500 Fifth St., N.W., NEW PROJECTS & “Current Projects” on the National economics, University of Rhode Lockbox 285, Washington, D.C. Academies’ Web site. Island, Kingston; and Dennis 20055; tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1- Hedgecock, professor, Bodega Marine 800-624-6242; or order on the Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Laboratory, University of California, Internet at
26 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS ISBN 0-309-08475-X; available from Diversity in Engineering: Managing Evolution of Evidence for Selected NAP, $27.00 plus $4.50 shipping). the Workforce of the Future Nutrient and Disease Relationships National Academy of Engineering Food and Nutrition Board, Institute Care Without Coverage: Too Little, (2002, 157 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08429-6; of Medicine (2002, 87 pp.; ISBN 0- Too Late available from NAP, $36.50 plus 309-08308-7; available from NAP, Board on Health Care Services, $4.50 shipping). $23.00 plus $4.50 shipping). Institute of Medicine (2002, 193 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08343-5; available from Down to Earth: Geographic For Greener Skies: Reducing NAP, $27.00 plus $4.50 shipping). Information for Sustainable Environmental Impacts of Aviation Development in Africa Aeronautics and Space Engineering Closure and Johnston Atoll Chemical Committee on Geography and Board, Division on Engineering and Agent Disposal System Mapping Science Committee, Board Physical Sciences (2002, 56 pp.; ISBN Board on Army Science and on Earth Sciences and Resources, 0-309-08337-0; available from NAP, Technology, Division on Engineering Division on Earth and Life Studies $18.00 plus $4.50 shipping). and Physical Sciences (2002, 66 pp.; (2002, 172 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08478-4; ISBN 0-309-08405-9; available from available from NAP, $39.00 plus High-Impact Terrorism: Proceedings of NAP, $18.00 plus $4.50 shipping). $4.50 shipping). a Russian-American Workshop Office for Central Europe and Considerations for Viral Disease The Dynamics of Disability: Eurasia Development, Security, and Eradication: Lessons Learned and Measuring and Monitoring Disability Cooperation, Division on Policy and Future Strategies — Workshop for Social Security Programs Global Affairs, in cooperation with Summary Board on Health Care Services, the Russian Academy of Sciences Forum on Emerging Infections, Board Institute of Medicine; and Committee (2002, 279 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08270-6; on Global Health, Institute of on National Statistics, Division of available from NAP, $47.00 plus Medicine (2002, 213 pp.; ISBN 0- Behavioral and Social Sciences and $4.50 shipping). 309-08414-8; available from NAP, Education (2002, 372 pp.; ISBN 0- $38.00 plus $4.50 shipping). 309-08419-9; available from NAP, Human Interactions with the Carbon $49.95 plus $4.50 shipping). Cycle — Summary of a Workshop Deadly Lessons: Understanding Committee on the Human Lethal School Violence The Emergence of Zoonotic Diseases: Dimensions of Global Change, Committee on Law and Justice, Understanding the Impact on Animal Division of Behavioral and Social Division of Behavioral and Social and Human Health — Workshop Sciences and Education (2002, 41 pp.; Sciences and Education, and Board on Summary ISBN 0-309-08420-2; available from Children, Youth, and Families, Forum on Emerging Infections, Board NAP, $12.00 plus $4.50 shipping). National Research Council and on Global Health, Institute of Institute of Medicine (2002, 400 pp.; Medicine (2002, 157 pp.; ISBN 0- Integrity in Scientific Research: ISBN 0-309-08412-1; available from 309-08327-3; available from NAP, Creating an Environment that NAP, $39.95 plus $4.50 shipping). $30.00 plus $4.50 shipping). Promotes Responsible Conduct Board on Health Sciences Policy, Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Emerging Animal Diseases: Global Institute of Medicine; and Board on Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Markets, Global Safety — A Life Sciences, Division on Earth and Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids Workshop Summary Life Studies (2002, 216 pp.; ISBN 0- Standing Committee on the Scientific Board on Agriculture and Natural 309-08479-2; available from NAP, Evaluation of Dietary Reference Resources, Division on Earth and Life $24.95 plus $4.50 shipping). Intakes, Food and Nutrition Board, Studies (2002, 41 pp.; ISBN 0-309- Institute of Medicine (2002, approx. 08468-7; available from NAP, $18.00 IDs — Not That Easy: Questions 936 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08525-X; avail- plus $4.50 shipping). About Nationwide Identity Systems able from NAP, $64.95 plus $4.50 Computer Science and shipping). Emerging Issues in Hispanic Health Telecommunications Board, Division — Summary of a Workshop on Engineering and Physical Sciences Discouraging Terrorism: Some Committee on Population, Center for (2002, 74 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08430-X; Implications of 9/11 Social and Economic Studies, Division available from NAP, $18.00 plus Center for Social and Economic of Behavioral and Social Sciences and $4.50 shipping). Studies, Division of Behavioral and Education (2002, 56 pp.; ISBN 0-309- Social Sciences and Education (2002, 08524-1; available from NAP, $18.00 46 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08530-6; avail- plus $4.50 shipping). able from NAP, $18.00 plus $4.50 shipping).
SUMMER / FALL 2002 27 Immunization Safety Review: (2002, 350 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08333- ISBN 0-309-08428-8; available from Hepatitis B Vaccine and 8; available from NAP, $55.00 plus NAP, $47.00 plus $4.50 shipping). Demyelinating Neurological Disorders $4.50 shipping). Board on Health Promotion and Privatization of Water Services in the Disease Prevention, Institute of Modeling and Simulation in United States: An Assessment of Medicine (2002, 120 pp.; ISBN 0- Manufacturing and Defense Systems Issues and Experience 309-08469-5; available from NAP, Acquisition: Pathways to Success Water Science and Technology Board, $28.00 plus $4.50 shipping). Board on Manufacturing and Division on Earth and Life Studies Engineering Design, Division on (2002, 164 pp.; ISBN 0-309-07444- Information Technology Research, Engineering and Physical Sciences 4; available from NAP, $39.95 plus Innovation, and E-Government (2002, 198 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08482- $4.50 shipping). Computer Science and 2; available from NAP, $41.25 plus Telecommunications Board, Division $4.50 shipping). Research Ethics in Complex on Engineering and Physical Sciences Humanitarian Emergencies — (2002, 147 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08401- National Capacity in Forestry Summary of a Workshop 6; available from NAP, $26.00 plus Research Roundtable on the Demography of $4.50 shipping). Board on Agriculture and Natural Forced Migration, Committee on Resources, Division on Earth and Population, Division of Behavioral Is Soccer Bad for Children’s Heads? Life Studies (2002; 162 pp.; ISBN 0- and Social Sciences and Education Summary of the IOM Workshop on 309-08456-3; available from NAP, (2002, 28 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08493-8; Neuropsychological Consequences of $35.25 plus $4.50 shipping). available from NAP, $12.00 plus Head Impact in Youth Soccer $4.50 shipping). Board on Neuroscience and The National Plant Genomics Behavioral Health, Institute of Initiative: Objectives for 2003-2008 Research Opportunities in Geography Medicine (2002, 26 pp.; ISBN 0-309- Board on Life Sciences and Board on at the U.S. Geological Survey 08344-3; available from NAP, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Committee on Geography, Board on $12.00 plus $4.50 shipping). Division on Earth and Life Studies Earth Sciences and Resources, (2002, 62 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08529-2; Division on Earth and Life Studies Life in the Universe: An Examination available from NAP, $18.00 plus (2002, 144 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08516- of United States and International $4.50 shipping). Programs in Astrobiology 0; available from NAP, $32.00 plus Space Studies Board, Division on $4.50 shipping). New Tools for Environmental Engineering and Physical Sciences, Protection: Education, Information, and Board on Life Sciences, Division Review Procedures for Water and Voluntary Measures on Earth and Life Studies (2002, Resources Planning Committee on the Human Dimensions approx. 94 pp.; ISBN 0-309-08496- Water Science and Technology of Global Change, Division of 2; copies available free from the Board and Ocean Studies Board, Behavioral and Social Sciences and Space Studies Board, tel. 202-334- Division on Earth and Life Studies, Education (2002, 356 pp.; ISBN 0- 3477 or e-mail
28 THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES INFOCUS The Scientific Basis for Estimating Air Emissions from Animal Feeding HOT OFF THE PRESS Operations Committee on Animal Nutrition, Board on Agriculture and Natural The Common Thread Resources; and Board on A Story of Science, Politics, Ethics, Environmental Studies and Toxicology; Division on Earth and and the Human Genome Life Studies (2002, 122 pp.; ISBN 0- 309-08461-X; available from NAP, John Sulston and Georgina Ferry $28.25 plus $4.50 shipping). It was a momentous occa- Credits: Studying Classroom Teaching as a Cover: (clockwise from upper left) ©Digital Stock; Florida Medium for Professional sion when British scientist Bay, courtesy South Florida Water Management Development — Proceedings of a John Sulston embarked on District; ©Peter Turnley/Corbis; U.S. Postal Service U.S.-Japan Workshop the greatest endeavor of The nation turns to the National Academies — worker handling mail in October 2001, ©Lorenzo Mathematical Sciences Education Ciniglio/Corbis Sygma our times: the sequencing of National Academy of Sciences, National Academy Board, Center for Education, Page 1: (col.1, from top) ©Corbis; colored scanning electron the human genome. In The of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and micrograph of microcogs forming a microgear Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, and U.S. Common Thread, Sulston National Research Council — for independent, mechanism, ©David Parker/Science Photo Library; (col. 2) ©PhotoDisc National Commission on takes us behind the scenes objective advice on issues that affect people’s lives Page 2: (from top) Military personnel in hazmat suits get Mathematics Instruction, Board on for an in-depth look at the worldwide. Additional information about the decontaminated after sweeping the Longworth and International Scientific Organizations, Rayburn House office buildings for anthrax on Oct. Division on Policy and Global Affairs controversial story behind institution and its work can be found online at 24, 2001, ©Reuters NewMedia Inc./Corbis; Leverett (2002, 272 pp., videotape included; the headlines.The accom-
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Are Trucks Too Big and Heavy? Will Restoration Plan Clarify Florida Bay? Opportunity and the Importance of Place Countering Terrorism in the U.S. Summer/Fall 2002