ABSTRACT
What role does science have in the appreciation of the natural world and the formulation of environmental policy? Given that most environmental problems are identified by science one might think that in policy at least it has an essential role. Hence it is surprising to note the widespread criticism of the sciences in recent environmental literature. Sociologists and historians of science, infected by the relativism popular in those studies, have portrayed science as an unreliable ally of environmental policy. Many green writers go further and see in classical science a source of alienation from nature and an ideology of industrial society: they call for or celebrate new scientific paradigms. In this chapter I argue that these positions are mistaken. Science is a reliable ally of environmental policy. Moreover, scientific knowledge and training, properly understood, are components of a proper appreciation of the value of the natural world and show the relation between that appreciation and human well-being.
