  Certain issues regarding the time-scales over which environment-induced
decoherence occurs, and the nature of emergent pointer states, are discussed. A
model system, namely, a Stern-Gerlach setup coupled to a quantum mechanical
"heat-bath" is studied. The emergent pointer states for this system are
obtained, which are different from those discussed in the literature. It is
pointed out that this difference is due to some confusion regarding the
decoherence time-scale, which is clarified here.
