Introduction: reviews of environmental health, 2001.

3 Mixed feelings of excitement, anticipation, and concern marked the end of the last century and millennium. This was especially true in communication and information technology. Over the past 10 years there has been an exponential growth in these fields. Rapid communication has become the norm for many people. In fact, if executives at Finland’s Nokia Oyj are correct in their prediction, one billion people—just under a fifth of the world population—will own a cellular phone by the middle of 2002 (1). But has the availability of much faster and easier means of communication improved the level of understanding among people? Information technology took root and grew rapidly during this period. There were high expectations that information technology would enhance the dissemination of information, raise the educational level of society, and have a positive impact on our quality of life. There is no doubt that the availability of information has increased dramatically. But has this availability of information really increased the educational level of our society? The rapid growth and concomitant increased dependence on technology left our high-tech society vulnerable to electronic mischief and the so-called Year 2000 (Y2K) bug. The numerous mischievous attacks on the Internet have led to increased surveillance and development of protective software to ward off electronic attacks. Feverish preparations were made to avert a seemingly imminent disaster posed by the Y2K bug. In the end, the first day of the year 2000 came and went with only minor problems. Does this mean the preparations paid off, or was the problem overstated? In any case, our high-technology world was little affected by the “bug.” The global economy around the world responded in kind when fueled by the expanding technology sector. The United States–based, technology-heavy Nasdaq stock index reached a new high in the last couple of years but then took a nose dive. The technology bubble burst. In the case of the environment, information technology provides a means for many people to access and explore environmental issues. However, many of the goals to protect our environment have not been reached. During the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, daily updates on the progress of the conference were readily available. One of the most important accomplishment of the Summit—the signing of the Framework Convention on Climate Change—was reported rapidly around the world, as was the agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries, announced five years later in Kyoto, Japan (Kyoto Protocol) (2). But as of this date, the Kyoto Protocol has not been ratified by many of the larger nations. On the other hand, progress has been made and, even more important, the level of awareness of environmental issues is at an all-time high, thanks partly to the ready access to environmental news over the Internet. Other positive signs for the protection of the environment are actions taken by some of the large oil companies. For example, Royal Dutch/Shell Group and British Petroleum are investing in research in alternative energy sources and in renewable energy sources (solar power, wind turbine, and fuel cells). Use of nonpetroleum energy sources could make it easier for nations to reduce the emissions as mandated by the Kyoto Protocol. Efforts to sequester CO2 in deep aquifers are also underway, including the $20 million CO2 Capture Project (3). One must believe that at least part of this change in attitude and policy direction is related to the information revolution. Apart from the impact of information technology, the emergence of the “precautionary principle” to influence the formulation of environmental regulations is another important development. The principle states that “when an activity raises threats to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some causeand-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically” (4). The importance of this principle has been emphasized in EHP editorials (5,6). Earlier implementation of this concept might have ameliorated some of the damage to the environment as well as the suffering of many people. How much better would our environment be had the precautionary principle been exercised when pesticides and insecticides were first introduced into the agriculture industry on a massive scale? Environmental Health Perspectives was one of the first journals to take advantage of information technology for imparting environmental knowledge. In 1997, EHP developed an Internet site: Environmental Health Information Service (7). At this site, a broad variety of news and scientific information on the environment and human health is readily available. Also, Environmental Health Perspectives is available in its entirety to subscribers, and abstracts of news and scientific articles are free to the general public. As has been our practice, this year’s EHP annual review issue contains articles on topics chosen to cover a broad area of environmental health. The articles provide updated information for specialists and transfer information across other disciplines. The objectives of the reviews are to summarize new developments in environmentally relevant areas, to provide a perspective for the new findings, and to provide sufficient background information for those not familiar with the specific topic. Selected topics for this edition are endocrine disruption, chemical toxicology, developmental neurotoxicology methods, and global environmental and public health issues.