Beyond the Science: Environmental Problems...Cultural Solutions

Science is the endeavor that allows us to describe our natural world and how it works. Science gives us the power and knowledge to understand our environment, recognize problems, and quantify threats. But science doesn’t tell us how to use that knowledge. Our planet’s most pressing environmental problems won’t be solved by science. Preserving water resources, facing the immediate and measurable threats from global climate change, reducing waste generation, and solving the myriad environmental challenges facing humans can only be achieved by cultural change. A society represents a collection of individual behaviors…every one of us is responsible for behavioral change. But do we have the personal and political wherewithal to make those changes before we must manage crises?