Science sets our agenda
As EDF's chief scientist, Steven Hamburg, Ph.D., leads our team of ecologists, biologists, chemists and other scientists.
EDF was founded by a small group of scientists.
Ever since, we've relied on rigorous science to identify serious environmental problems and the most effective remedies.
Our staff scientists have published more than two dozen peer-reviewed papers over the past two years.
Recent highlights include a commentary in the journal Nature Climate Change warning that conservation planners may be miscalculating climate change risks for migratory species, and another paper in the journal Nature showing that the “rebound effect” is never an excuse for inaction on energy efficiency standards.
View a complete list of EDF scientist and economist’s peer-reviewed papers.
We put science into action
We also move scientific expertise beyond the science journals and into the policy world.
For example, for more than a decade EDF senior scientist Richard Denison, Ph.D., has worked to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), an outdated federal law that fails to protect Americans from unregulated chemicals.
Today, more than ever, strong science must build the case for action.
Steven Hamburg, Ph.D. Chief Scientist
Decades of science at work
1967: A ban on DDT
A group of scientists showed that the pesticide DDT was harming wildlife and tainting mothers' milk. They formed EDF and won a ban on the pesticide, allowing bald eagles, ospreys and Peregrine falcons to rebound.
1974: Ensuring safe drinking water
An EDF study linked chemical contamination in Mississippi water to high cancer rates. Our findings prompted a study of contaminants in drinking water nationwide, which led to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
1985: Taking the lead out of gasoline
Our scientists helped convince regulators to remove lead from gasoline, leading to a dramatic decline in childhood lead poisoning.
1998: Advancing climate change knowledge
Dr. Michael Oppenheimer — then our chief scientist — published a seminal paper warning of the consequences of polar melting from unchecked global warming. His message fundamentally altered the thinking of scientists and policymakers across the country.
2007: Getting nanotechnology right
We developed, with DuPont, the Nano Risk Framework to help companies commercialize nanoscale materials safely. Companies such as GE and Lockheed Martin now use the framework.
2012: Rebuilding the delta
EDF's Dr. Angelina Freeman co-managed a team of scientists and engineers that developed models showing how reconnecting the Mississippi River to its natural floodplain would rebuild wetlands.
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