Proceedings of California's Emerging Environmental Challenges Workshop

Note To Reader
These workshop proceedings serve as a record of the ideas presented during California’s Emerging Environmental Challenges: A Workshop to Identify Future Issues for Cal/EPA. A conscious effort was made by staff to capture all the views and opinions expressed at the workshop. The ideas presented in this document are those of the individual speakers and participants. This document does not necessarily reflect the policies or perspectives of Cal/EPA or any of its boards, departments, and office.

The capability to anticipate problems that may emerge in the future represents a potentially powerful planning tool for California’s environmental protection programs. The Emerging Environmental Challenges Program arose out of a recognition within the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) of the significant benefits that may be derived from early efforts to prevent the occurrence or minimize the adverse impacts of future problems, and to take advantage of future opportunities. (Appendix A is a fact sheet on the Emerging Environmental Challenges Program.)

On June 25 and 26, 1998, OEHHA convened California’s Emerging Environmental Challenges: A Workshop to Identify Future Issues for Cal/EPA as an important first step in Cal/EPA’s Emerging Environmental Challenges Program. This workshop was set up to provide a forum for scientists and other environmental professionals to discuss future challenges for California’s environmental protection programs. This enabled OEHHA to draw from the wealth of knowledge, insights and perspectives of a diverse audience of representatives of government, academia, industry, environmental interest groups and research organizations.

The goal of the workshop was to generate a well-balanced compilation of ideas about possible future issues for the consideration of policy-makers in Cal/EPA as they develop plans for their programs. Its focus was on identifying emerging environmental challenges driven by scientific and technical factors, that are supported by scientific data and analyses, and that can be addressed by Cal/EPA.

The workshop consisted of presentations from a number of distinguished speakers, exploring future challenges for Cal/EPA in four major subject areas (see Appendix B for a summary of the emerging environmental challenges raised by the speakers):

Session I: Environmental Impacts of New Technologies;

Session II: Sources, Releases and Transformations of Chemicals;

Session III: Multimedia, Multi-chemical Exposures and Risks; and,

Session IV: Resource Management and Resources Sustainability

Workshop participants contributed their own ideas about future challenges during break-out group sessions.  (See Appendices C, D and E for information relating to the break-out sessions. Appendix F is a list of workshop participants.)

These workshop proceedings are published as a record of the presentations and discussions that transpired at the workshop. The ideas collected at the workshop are being organized, and those which appear to warrant further attention will be identified. The results of these efforts will be issued as a separate document.

Download a copy of the Proceedings in Adobe Acrobat PDF format

Download a copy of the Appendices to the Proceedings in Adobe Acrobat PDF format

You will need the free program Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print these files.

For technical assistance or comments, please contact our Web Mistress

Last updated March 2, 1999