ENVIRONMENTALISM AND SCIENCE - POLITICS AND THE PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE

How has American environmentalism affected the U.S. scientific enterprise? After two decades of intense and often rancorous debate about environmental protection, has the environmental movement changed the pursuit of scientific knowledge in significant ways? This article examines the relationship between environmentalists and scientists on four dimensions: (a) the degree to which scientific research has become more applied; (b) the relative success or failure of efforts to integrate and coordinate research projects and programs; (c) the amount of synthesis of scientific information for policy purposes that has taken place; and (d) the level of professionalizing that has occurred in environmental science, economics, policy, and management. Results indicate that environmentalism has had little impact on science. © 1991, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.