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Who are nature's experts? |
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And so will ordinary people. The book's author, Trent University's Dr. Stephen Bocking, associate professor in the Environmental and Resource Studies program, examines how scientific knowledge is used to make decisions about the environment. And he's quick to point out that we're all decision-makers. "People, generally, even if they aren't aware of it, use knowledge that science has provided us," says Prof. Bocking. "We all have some connection with environmental science, which is what makes us all decision-makers." The importance of "ordinary people" as decision-makers is central to the conclusions Prof. Bocking has reached in Nature's Experts. The book, released by Rutgers University Press late last year, is about science in environmental politics: how it contributes to resolving environmental problems; and how, frequently enough, its contribution is ineffective or heedless of people's concerns. Prof. Bocking illustrates through practical examples and case studies that science must satisfy two criteria for it to be useful in environmental policy making. Firstly, he says, science has to be relevant to people's concerns and be seen as credible. By listening to and gathering information from the individuals involved, this can be achieved. For example, Prof. Bocking explains that, while much testing for toxic and hazardous material was done in downtown Manhattan following the September 11 attacks, there was little or no discussion of the potential risks with the people who live there. "The science needed to be guided by the people who live there," he says. "People need to feel that those giving the advice have listened to them. Advice is ineffective if people don't feel they were listened to in the first place." Secondly, science has to be democratic, with significant public funding, and scientific information and scientists accessible and available to all, says Prof. Bocking. "Science has to be... seen as consistent with democratic values -- not under the control of certain interest groups," says Prof. Bocking, noting the current concern that corporations are shaping the debate over genetically engineered agricultural crops. Many of the topics Prof. Bocking writes about in Nature's Experts were first discussed with his students, in the environmental science and politics course he has taught at Trent since 1996. Like the course, which he strives to make relevant to both humanities and science students, the book is written accessibly and looks at controversial issues including climate change, and fisheries and forestry management. In an upcoming issue of the American academic news publication Chronicle of Higher Education, an excerpt of the book will be published. Nature's Experts follows Prof. Bocking's Biodiversity in Canada: Ecology, ideas, and action, published in 2000. His current research includes a study of the history of environmental science in northern Canada, a study of the environmental history of Toronto and a study of the science and politics of land use controversies on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Posted February 1, 2005 |
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Politicians and government decision-makers, scientists, humanities and
social science scholars, along with those
working with environmental organizations, will find significance in
Nature's Experts: science, politics, and the environment.