Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large?
Over the last five U.S. presidential election cycles, public concern about environmental issues has seemingly declined while concerns about national security and economic issues have remained steady or increased. These changes in public attitudes have been associated with decreased attention to envi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Queen's University
2017-11-01
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| Series: | Ideas in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/IEE/article/view/7104 |
| _version_ | 1818808180128350208 |
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| author | Adam Rosenblatt |
| author_facet | Adam Rosenblatt |
| author_sort | Adam Rosenblatt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Over the last five U.S. presidential election cycles, public concern about environmental issues has seemingly declined while concerns about national security and economic issues have remained steady or increased. These changes in public attitudes have been associated with decreased attention to environmental issues amongst policymakers, a situation that contrasts strongly with the 1970s when public concern about environmental issues was high and environmental legislation was a U.S. federal government priority. “Framing” has been proposed as a tool that environmental scientists could use to increase the relevancy of their research to U.S. society at-large, thereby helping to change public attitudes and influence policymaking. However, if done haphazardly, some framing efforts can actually have the opposite effect. To combat this weakness, environmental scientists should join with experts in psychology, decision science, and social science to create interdisciplinary teams that can effectively communicate with the public, positively affect public opinion, and make environmental science more relevant and meaningful to society at-large. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:37:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4ab085a2afd04ffa937a57d6c7df26f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1918-3178 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:37:27Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | Queen's University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ideas in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-4ab085a2afd04ffa937a57d6c7df26f62022-12-21T20:55:32ZengQueen's UniversityIdeas in Ecology and Evolution1918-31782017-11-011017104Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large?Adam Rosenblatt0Yale UniversityOver the last five U.S. presidential election cycles, public concern about environmental issues has seemingly declined while concerns about national security and economic issues have remained steady or increased. These changes in public attitudes have been associated with decreased attention to environmental issues amongst policymakers, a situation that contrasts strongly with the 1970s when public concern about environmental issues was high and environmental legislation was a U.S. federal government priority. “Framing” has been proposed as a tool that environmental scientists could use to increase the relevancy of their research to U.S. society at-large, thereby helping to change public attitudes and influence policymaking. However, if done haphazardly, some framing efforts can actually have the opposite effect. To combat this weakness, environmental scientists should join with experts in psychology, decision science, and social science to create interdisciplinary teams that can effectively communicate with the public, positively affect public opinion, and make environmental science more relevant and meaningful to society at-large.https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/IEE/article/view/7104climate changeeconomyenvironmentalismframingpublic policy |
| spellingShingle | Adam Rosenblatt Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large? Ideas in Ecology and Evolution climate change economy environmentalism framing public policy |
| title | Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large? |
| title_full | Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large? |
| title_fullStr | Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large? |
| title_short | Is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at-large? |
| title_sort | is it possible to make environmental science relevant to society at large |
| topic | climate change economy environmentalism framing public policy |
| url | https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/IEE/article/view/7104 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT adamrosenblatt isitpossibletomakeenvironmentalsciencerelevanttosocietyatlarge |