Levitan, Lois Carol
Senior Extension Associate
Lois Levitan is a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Communication at Cornell and
Program Leader of the Environmental Risk Analysis Program (ERAP). The ERAP mission is to help
citizens and policy-makers interpret information about environmental risks and make informed decisions that balance levels of concern with levels of risk and social impact.
research
research and scholarship focus
Develop effective tools and methods for communicating environmental and health risk, with particular focus on (i) basic risk concepts; (ii)pesticide risk and pesticide life-cycle stewardship, (iii) recycling and other environmentally-benign disposal of plastic wastes from agriculture, (iv) sustainable resource use.
primary investigator of
research areas
- adult and extension education | collaborative research area (CALS)
- agroforestry | collaborative research area (CALS)
- breast cancer | collaborative research area (CALS)
- city and regional planning | collaborative research area (CALS)
- communication | collaborative research area (CALS)
- community development | collaborative research area (CALS)
- entomology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- environmental sciences | collaborative research area (CALS)
- integrated pest management | collaborative research area (CALS)
- land use | collaborative research area (CALS)
- pesticide management | collaborative research area (CALS)
- pest management | collaborative research area (CALS)
- resource policy and management | collaborative research area (CALS)
- risk analysis and assessment | collaborative research area (CALS)
- rural development | collaborative research area (CALS)
- sustainable agriculture | collaborative research area (CALS)
- toxicology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- waste management | collaborative research area (CALS)
submitted impact statement
- Recycling Agricultural Plastics as a Means of Reducing Dioxin Emissions and other Environmental/Health Risks | 2007 Impact statement
- Advocating pesticide life cycle stewardship | 2007 Impact statement
- Recycling Agricultural Plastics as a Means of Reducing Dioxin Emissions and other Environmental/Health Risks | 2006 Impact statement
- Advocating pesticide life cycle stewardship | 2006 Impact statement
- Advocating pesticide life cycle stewardship | 2005 Impact statement
- Avoiding pollution and saving farmers money by recycling agricultural plastic films | 2004 Impact statement
affiliations
academic staff in
- Communication (COMM) | Cornell department
service
outreach focus
(i) Build capacity to interpret scientific information about impacts and risks and to appropriately balance the level of concern with level of risk and social impact. (ii) Analyze and implement systems for recycling agricultural plastics, including assessing and communicating the need, cultivating manufacturing and consumer markets, identifying and promoting Best Management Practices, identifying and promoting suitable equipment and infrastructure. (iii) Communicate about - and build capacity to understand - risks associated with pesticides. (iv) Promote sustainable resource and energy use.
background
featured in
- Cornell researchers win $3.7 million in grants to help create vibrant New York agricultural future | Cornell Chronicle feature
Keywords: agricultural film recycling, agricultural plastics recycling, biohazards, biosecurity, community emergency preparedness, dairy film recycling, environmental health risk factors, environmental risk, environmental risk analysis (Communication), environmental risk education, environmental risk indicators, health risk communication, health risk education, horticultural film recycling, land use, open burning, pesticide health effects, pesticide impact assessment, pesticide nontarget impacts, pesticide non-target impacts, pesticide risk, pesticide risk indicators, plastic recycling, public health, risk analysis, risk communication, sustainability, west nile virus