Recently, Paul Thompson of Michigan State University invited me to participate in a conference on the ethics of intensifying the uses of resources. This problem of “intensification” forced me to think about environmental problems in a new way with parallels to most of the articles in this issue's special section on Natural Resources and Ethical Issues.

The following presentation was given by Rabbi Lawrence Troster on June 25, 2003, at the National Association of Environmental Professionals' (NAEP) 28th Annual Conference, held in San Antonio, Texas.

The following presentation was given by the Rev. Dr. J. Philip Wogaman on June 25, 2003, at the National Association of Environmental Professionals' (NAEP) 28th Annual Conference, held in San Antonio, Texas.

I propose to examine the metamorphosis of science into policy and our ethical responsibility to avoid or at least manage this phenomenon. In doing so, I apply some metaphors to which I hope none take offense.

The Evergreen State College served as the site for Models for Forest Protection, a conference co-sponsored by the Graduate Program in Environmental Studies on May 10, 2003. The goal of the conference was to present and evaluate four current models for National Forest protection through a description of the models and presentations of local case studies to illustrate their use and value. Quileute tribal leader Chris E. Morganroth III served as the keynote speaker for the conference. The stories Morganroth tells are “…passed down from the elders to the children of each succeeding generation, speak of the past, of the relationship between the people, other living things, and the land, and of the personal qualities of living things that are valued today.”

Three years ago, when I was working for a nonprofit environmental organization in Washington, DC, one of my co-workers told me about a woman named Irene Martin, an Episcopalian minister who lived across the country in the tiny Columbia River community of Cathlamet, Washington. Irene had contacted us because one of our campaign goals was to breach four Snake River dams in Washington State in order to recover salmon runs that have been listed as threatened or endangered.

In recent issues, I had prepared two columns on the ethics surrounding how we as professionals need to hold on to our ethics when we are hired to oppose a project proposed by others [“The Ethics of Opposition,” Environmental Practice 4(4):184; “The Ethics of Opposition, Part Two,” Environmental Practice 5(2):92]. In response, I received a letter from a professional engineer who said, “I don't see the conflict with working for either side or even both sides.” He went on to tell me that he and a colleague at his firm have proposed to work for both sides simultaneously: “Both sides benefit from the professional opinion we render, so why not charge both sides and eliminate the dual sets of professionals?”

The 2003 Brownfields Conference, “Growing a Greener America,” which convened in Portland, Oregon, was held on October 27–29. A record 4,100 people attended. Portland was chosen to host the conference, due to its role as a national leader in growth management. Portland's unique urban growth boundary is managed by Metro, the only directly elected regional government in the country. The success of the growth boundary in leading to redevelopment of brownfield sites in Portland was highlighted in sessions and mobile workshops at the conference.

A source evaluation case study is presented for observations of algae toxicity in an intermittent stream passing through the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near Livermore, California. A five-step procedure is discussed to determine the cause of water toxicity problems and to determine appropriate environmental management practices. With this approach, an upstream electrical transfer station was identified as the probable source of herbicides causing the toxicity. In addition, an analytical solution for solute transport in overland flow was used to estimate the application level of 40 kg/ha. Finally, this source investigation demonstrates that pesticides can affect stream water quality, regardless of application within levels suggested on manufacturer labels. Environmental managers need to ensure that pesticides that could harm aquatic organisms (including algae) not be used near streams or storm drainage areas, and that application timing should be considered for environmental protection.

Despite ongoing recession-induced cutbacks of public health program funding, this article presents a feasible option to certain issues raised at the Second National Planning Meeting for the Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of West Nile Virus in the United States (Nasci, 2001; Roehrig, 2001). This county-level, cost-effective program illustrates the importance of maintaining and improving public health infrastructure, including the role of enhanced surveillance and vector control efforts in preventing human cases of infection. Many agencies at the federal, state, and local levels are available to assist in the planning and start-up of such programs. The goal of Monroe County's Vector Control Program has been to minimize or eliminate risk of arthropod-borne disease to residents/resort area visitors, through a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management framework for mosquito surveillance and control. Monroe County has supplemented their efforts with (1) new technology like Internet/Web-based surveillance data reporting, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and Geographic information Systems (GIS); (2) vigorous public education and involvement, including mosquito breeding site identification, control strategies for the homeowner/other residents, and use of personal protection measures; (3) active interaction with East Stroudsburg University; and (4) interagency collaboration, including local, state, and federal agencies. Until September 2003, when the first and only (to date) human case was reported, there were no human infection cases in Monroe County.

This article presents an environmental plan for the area surrounding the Middle Nolichucky River in northeastern Tennessee, developed for a nonprofit group called the Friends of the Nolichucky River, by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The plan is broadly conceived because stakeholders' concepts of the environment include the natural environment and the river/air/water quality, as well as the traditional agricultural landscape, local culture, and historic structures. Numerous problems, such as agricultural runoff, soil erosion, flooding, habitat fragmentation, and impending climate change combine to affect human and ecological health, aesthetics and culture, and environmental economic services. The plan integrates several themes, including the built and natural environments, 21st-century agriculture, sustainable technologies, climate change mitigation, and land conservation techniques. The plan is novel in that it is decidedly multi-faceted, more so than what is found in typical comprehensive plans or more classical environmental plans that focus only on natural amenities.

The early inclusion of tourism, especially skiing, in the economy of Whitefish, Montana, set it on a different path from many other Western towns that relied only on the boom-and-bust cycles associated with extractive industries. Towns that stayed committed to logging or mining relegated themselves to economic oblivion or increasingly severe natural resource degradation. Whitefish, a place that gradually increased tourist business in response to the decline of traditional industries, fared much better both economically and environmentally. Whitefish's history provides insight into the impacts of a place selecting tourism in order to sustain community development. Whitefish's choices produced some problems; minimum wage jobs prevailed and the town's growth led to increased real estate prices. Overall, however, the millions of dollars that poured into local businesses, the solid economy that grew as the number of visitors increased, and the quality of life in Whitefish proved that the incorporation of tourism had positive impacts on the community. Understanding how tourism has developed differently across the Rocky Mountain region will be an important component in thoughtful planning for the future.

Executive Order 12898 requires federally sponsored transportation projects to evaluate environmental justice criteria. These federal requirements for transportation studies have proven difficult to evaluate because of the wide range of potential scenarios that can disproportionately affect sensitive populations (either low-income or minority groups). Therefore, environmental justice assessments typically have been conducted in geographically broad areas without refined resolution for the populations closest to the transportation route. This study uses geographic information systems technology with statistical methods to provide for a more refined analysis at the census block level. The study centers on a proposed commuter rail project in the Interstate 35 corridor in the eastern Kansas/Kansas City, Missouri, area. The project involves construction of five new commuter rail stations, and the study aims to ascertain whether construction and operation of the rail system would have disproportionate impacts on low-income people. Comparisons of the median incomes in census blocks in the county with the census blocks within a one-mile radius of the five proposed stations are provided as the basis for a quantitative environmental justice assessment. The environmental justice parameter of low-income level was evaluated using analysis of variance. Results of the study indicated that the mean of the median incomes in census blocks around one rail station differed significantly from the mean of median incomes in the census blocks around the other four stations, and from the blocks in the rest of the county. The study is useful for demonstrating the importance of using a quantitative method as a tool for environmental justice assessment.