Greenberg cuts through the complicated layers of bureaucracy, science, and the public interest to show how all policy considerations can be broken down according to six specific factors: 1) the reaction of elected government officials, 2) the reactions of the public and special interests, 3) knowledge developed by scientists and engineers, 4) economics, 5) ethical imperatives, and 6) time pressure to make a decision. Weaving together a combination of advice and first person accounts from government officials, administrators, and leaders in their fields, this volume is poised to become a leading text in environmental policy.