ABSTRACT
Environmentalism has a strong scientific basis that sets it apart from other ideologies. At its heart is a fascination with the natural world, how it works, and how it relates to humankind that can be traced back through history. Today ecological ideas inform the language and belief systems of many environmentalists, though ecological principles can lead to very different conclusions about how society, the economy and the environment should interact. Scientific information has also highlighted the scale of modern environmental problems. Since the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962), the use of scientific evidence has become one of the central ways in which environmental arguments have been constructed. It is now essential for environmental policies to be evidence-based – the case for action backed by science. However, this modern-day reliance on science has coincided with the emergence of environmental problems that are highly complex in nature and characterised by uncertainty. Over recent decades, scientific evidence has been challenged, misunderstood or wilfully misinterpreted. Today, the ability of scientific evidence to settle debates over issues such as climate change is deeply compromised.
