| Abstract | New Voices, New Approaches GWEN OTTINGER with RACHEL ZURER Drowning in Data Monitoring the chemical content of the air near chemical plants provides valuable data, but it becomes useful only when it is paired with epidemiological data about the local population. I was at the most undignified moment of moving into my new office—barefoot and on tiptoes on my desk, arranging books on a high shelf—when one of my fellow professors at the University of Washington–Bothell walked in to introduce himself. Pulling my shirt firmly over my waistband, I clambered down to shake his hand and exchange the vital information that begins academic acquaintanceships: Where had I come from? What kind of research did I do? I felt my shoulders tense, bracing for the question I knew was probably coming next. I explained that I studied communities living next to oil refineries, especially how residents and refinery experts make claims about the effects of chemical emissions on people's health. My colleague |
