We recommend action.
Our research and practice points to ways that engineers, scientists, regulators, and elected representatives could do more to promote social justice through research and innovation. We identify actions they can take in pursuit of our vision: a future where every advancement in knowledge and technology moves us closer to a just world.
Policy makers should invest in Open Science Hardware, to ensure that research and innovation better align with the needs of diverse social groups.
The deployment of new technologies should be treated as an experiment, to avoid widespread unintended consequences.
Regulators should use environmental data to address systemic issues, not just inform individual action. (Featured in Information to Action: Strengthening EPA Citizen Science Partnerships for Environmental Protection, p. 37)
Real-time air monitoring programs should include investments in health monitoring, data infrastructure, and innovative interpretation, to ensure their value for communities and decision-makers.
Regulators should involve community members in technical aspects of monitoring programs, including system design, quality assurance, and data interpretation.
Politicians should embrace debates about values when discussing issues like climate change and energy transitions, rather than pretending science alone can provide the answers.
Environmental regulators should respect the knowledge of people most affected by pollution. (Featured in the Taipei Times and in Information to Action: Strengthening EPA Citizen Science Partnerships for Environmental Protection, p. 7)
Communities should have on-going opportunities to grant or withdraw their consent to industrial facilities in their midst, as we learn more about the environmental and health impacts of pollution.