The growing conflict between UK scientists and members of the nation’s green movement often stalling progress on many important environmental issues (agricultural biotech high on the list),
Scientists and environmentalists often find themselves in agreement on many key points: solving the climate crisis and preserving biodiversity, for instance. Many environmentalists consider themselves science-oriented. So why do these two groups, which should be working together, often clash with one another? According to Guardian journalist Simon Lewis, this conflict is based in politics and scientific self-identity:
A key reason, I think, is rooted in politics, because both greens and scientists – in very different ways – challenge society’s ideas of human progress.
Many [scientists] consider it dangerous even for scientists to mention big political ideas of social and economic change. Won’t it upset our paymasters? Won’t it undermine the credibility of science?
I suspect that scientists often get so angry with greens because they want to support them but, for example, once a green group says some nonsense about GM crops being a risk to human health (they’re not), it feels hard to support green causes without undermining one’s sense of self.
Read the full, original story here: Scientists love to hate greens, because what greens say matters
Additional Resources:
- “The green movement is not pro-science,” The Guardian
- “Third way: ‘partnership scientists’ can tackle environmental challenges,” The Guardian
