Nature's Experts: Science, Politics, And The Environment
Rutgers University Press, 2004; 298 pp., $24.95 paper, $65.00 cloth
Stephen book, Nature's Experts, is important, insightful, and very readable. If knowledge is power, he asks, then why is it that science has lost some of its credibility in areas, such as environmental regulation, that would seem to require solid and credible science to proceed? With a trenchant analysis of the problems, failures, and successes of peer review, for example, Bocking points out areas and methods in which science can improve its impact and effectiveness. Using most, if not all of the extensive relevant literature on this issue, Nature's Experts presents a compelling case for the rethinking of how science and scientists should relate to and be involved in the political process.
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Bocking criticizes the usual model of presenting science to the public and to policymakers: "More is needed for effective science than simply more basic research, communicated more effectively." He goes on to make important suggestions about how science can and should be made accessible for policy decisions. This requires, among other things, a more open attitude from scientists, including the recognition of the importance of what he calls "local knowledge." Although his examples are all environmental, the conclusions he reaches are important for every area where science is necessary in policy decisions. Bocking concludes with a chapter on democratic environmental science, an important investigation of the various attempts to infuse the decisionmaking process with science, such as "science shops" and consensus conferences. Students and professionals alike will benefit from a very enjoyable read.
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