Science and Technology of New York City

Janet Currie is the Professor of Economics and Public Affairs Director of the Center for Health and Well-Being at Princeton University. In this paper she tries to find out the effect of site cleanups on infant health. At the end of her results, she decides that it is inconclusive as it can be debated whether or not that the infants born during the cleanup is healthier or not. She also notes that it’s too soon to track long term illnesses such as cancer, therefore it’s too soon to tell whether or not the cleanup really is helping infant health.

I found that the article did not have a lot of bias because it used relevant data and included the graphs to prove her point in a very scientific manner. Likewise, this paper is probably meant for scientists or researchers who are into the field of environmental health. The strengths of this paper lie in the amount of data that Currie had done. The weaknesses however, lie in the fact that there is no emphasis on the social ladder of sustainability and that the conclusion was inconclusive. Nevertheless the paper can back up the thesis that for brownfields as well as the Gowanus, there isn’t much more a focus on the social ladder of sustainability and there is more of a focus on the economical and environmental area. It is very relevant; as it seems to me that many green campaigns are just publicity stunts in order to make one feel as if involving in the green movement increase one’s social status.

Currie, Janet, Michael Greenstone, and Enrico Moretti. “Superfund Cleanups And Infant Health.” American Economic Review101.3 (2011): 435-441. EconLit with Full Text. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.

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