Four cultures: new synergies for engaging society on climate change

Abstract

The scientific community has largely reached consensus that climate change is real, is exacerbated by human activities, and is causing detectable shifts in both living and non-living components of the biosphere. Yet, documenting and predicting the ecological, economic, social, and cultural consequences of climate change have not yet stimulated an appropriately strong and rapid societal response, especially in the US. Climate-change impacts, and the related environmental degradation and species extinctions, continue to increase at rates far steeper than the rate of social change. If this trend continues, we may well miss our last chances to take appropriate action. We join with the authors of the papers in this Special Issue of Frontiers in stressing that scientists and scientific knowledge alone cannot create the resources and infrastructure needed to instigate societal change. In this commentary, we expand on the calls of our colleagues by drawing attention to the need for truly multidisciplinary collaborations across academic and other institutions.

Citation

Nisbet, Matthew C.; Hixon, Mark A.; Moore, Kathleen Dean; Nelson, Michael. 2010. Four cultures: new synergies for engaging society on climate change. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 8: 329-331.