Includes bibliographical references (p. [165]-253) and index.

1. Making the Best Choices -- 2. Natural Social Artifacts -- 3. Knowledge and Doubt -- 4. Who Decides? -- 5. The Options -- 6. What Ought We to Do? -- 7. A New Cast of Mind.

Using examples from the area of waste management but touching also upon issues like the ozone layer, contaminated foodstuffs, and asbestos removal, Robison presents a new vision for rational decision making on environmental issues. But his ideas extend far beyond that arena to include other aspects of public policy. For in exploring a paradigm about how to make reasonable decisions without condemning us to inaction in the face of risks, Robison points out faults in our old policy-making methodology and offers a rationale for a decision procedure based less on certainty but more adapted and adaptive to our times.