From Divining Rods to Statistics: A Forensic Analysis of the Misuse of Statistics in the Estimation of Environmental Impact

Abstract

Shortly after my retirement, I became involved in local water issues and learned that I could be of especial use in work on those issues because of my background in statistics. What I am reporting here is a minimally-technical account of the experience I had using statistics as a forensic tool to unearth what appears to have been a misuse of statistics in the modeling of the environmental impact of a proposed desalination project to provide water for the community where I reside. Of potential interest to statisticians is how statistics can be useful in detective work.