I share Wendy’s concerns but also believe that there is room for optimism, although on different grounds than Rena and John.  Much of the debate over the use of science to support regulation of public health and the environment has focused on the most challenging contexts.  Toxics regulation, as we all know, rests on relatively weak science that is shot through with difficult judgment calls, making the “science” particularly vulnerable to manipulation.  At the same time, a great deal of money is often at stake for those entities subject to regulation, which tends to super-charge interest group tactics and pressure on federal agencies.  In their recent book “Bending Science,” Wendy and Tom McGarity describe the many modes of manipulation in all their disturbing glory.   One source of hope that I have found is areas of regulation for which the stakes are lower and the science more solid.  In these settings innovative approaches may emerge more readily.  One area that seems to have significant promise is ecological monitoring and conservation.  Several organizations have evolved to fill gaps in government programs and the existing science.  NatureServe, for example, is a partnership of environmental non-profits (the Nature Conservancy), governmental agencies (U.S …