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ASSOCIATION AFFAIRS

idly in the face of a crisis. As the geologist


Entering the Century of the Marshal Kay was fond of saying, What does
happen, can happen.
Environment: A New Social Despite the plethora of reports examin-
ing the future of the scientific enterprise (1,
Contract for Science 2), I see the need for a different perspective
on how the sciences can and should ad-
Jane Lubchenco vance and also return benefit to society.
This different perspective is firmly embed-
As the magnitude of human impacts on the ecological systems of the planet becomes ded in the knowledge of specific, identifi-
apparent, there is increased realization of the intimate connections between these able changes occurring in the natural and
systems and human health, the economy, social justice, and national security. The social worlds around us. These changes are
concept of what constitutes the environment is changing rapidly. Urgent and unprec- so vast, so pervasive, and so important that
edented environmental and social changes challenge scientists to define a new social they require our immediate attention. Sci-
contract. This contract represents a commitment on the part of all scientists to devote entific knowledge is urgently needed to pro-
their energies and talents to the most pressing problems of the day, in proportion to their vide the understanding for individuals and
importance, in exchange for public funding. The new and unmet needs of society include institutions to make informed policy and
more comprehensive information, understanding, and technologies for society to move management decisions and to provide the
toward a more sustainable biosphereone which is ecologically sound, economically basis for new technologies.
feasible, and socially just. New fundamental research, faster and more effective trans- This paper is organized around four key
mission of new and existing knowledge to policy- and decision-makers, and better questions: How is our world changing?

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communication of this knowledge to the public will all be required to meet this challenge. What are the implications of these changes
for society? What is the role of science in
meeting the challenges created by the
changing world? and How should scientists
Scientists today are privileged to be able to vestment that produced this wealth was a respond to these challenges? My goal in
indulge their passions for science and simul- result of strong bipartisan political support communicating these thoughts is to stimu-
taneously to provide something useful to and popular enthusiasm for science that late a dialogue within the scientific com-
society. With these privileges, of course, began during World War II and increased munity on these topics. I hope that the
comes serious responsibility. The close of a substantially in the 1960s. This support result will be a thoughtful reexamination of
century and a millennium provides an oc- was predicated in part upon an (unwrit- our individual and collective priorities and
casion for reflection on the nature of these ten) social contract between science and actions.
responsibilities and an evaluation of the society, specifically the expectation that a The Board of Directors of AAAS has
extent to which we are fulfilling them. substantial investment in research would initiated an electronic discussion of the re-
The scientific enterprise has provided result in winning the war (initially World lationship between science and society. A
phenomenal understanding of our bodies, War II and later the Cold War), winning paper summarizing its deliberations along
our minds, our world, and our universe. the space race, and conquering diseases with comments from a number of scientists
The advances that have emerged from (bacterial infections, polio, and cancer). are posted to invite an exchange of ideas on
space, defense, and medical research, The scale of the U.S. investment in sci- the questions posed above. On behalf of the
among many other areasall of which ence changed dramatically during this pe- Board, I invite your participation (3).
have depended on basic research across all riod. Investment in science in most other
disciplineshave been astounding. Space developed nations is predicated upon a Global Changes and Their Causes
exploration, for example, has given us not similar expectation of a return of knowl-
only new understanding of the cosmos, edge and technology to society. The sci- How is our world changing? One major
and wonderful products and technologies, entific enterprise that has produced this way is that we now live on a human-
but also a new sense of our world and wealth is widely admired and envied. The dominated planet. The growth of the hu-
ourselves: a sense captured forever by that question I pose is whether the enterprise man population and the growth in amount
first photograph of the whole Earth taken that has met these past challenges is pre- of resources used are altering Earth in
against the black background of space. pared for the equally crucial and daunting unprecedented ways. Through the activi-
Scientific research is advancing explosive- challenges that lie in our immediate fu- ties of agriculture, fisheries, industry, rec-
ly on all fronts. The benefits include a ture. The answer that I must give is no. reation, and international commerce, hu-
dizzying array of new knowledge, econom- I assert that the immediate and real chal- mans cause three general classes of
ic opportunities, and productsranging lenges facing us have not been fully appre- change. Human enterprises (i) transform
from laser surgery to genetic testing, from ciated nor properly acknowledged by the the land and seathrough land clearing,
global positioning systems to prediction of community of scientists whose responsibil- forestry, grazing, urbanization, mining,
El Nino events, from the discovery of new ity it is, and will be, to meet them. trawling, dredging, and so on; (ii) alter the
drugs derived from natural products to Part of our collective responsibility to major biogeochemical cycles of carbon,
new information systems. society must include a scientific communi- nitrogen, water, synthetic chemicals, and
In the United States, much of the in- ty-wide periodic reexamination of our goals so on; and (iii) add or remove species and
and alteration of our course, if appropriate. genetically distinct populationsvia hab-
The text is modified from her Presidential Address at the The fact that the scientific community has itat alteration or loss, hunting, fishing,
Annual Meeting of the American Association of the Ad- responded to societal needs several times in and introductions and invasions of species
vancement of Science, 15 February 1997. The author is the past centuryalthough generally in (46).
in the Department of Zoology, Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR 973312914, USA. E-mail: lubchenj@bcc. wartimeprovides encouragement that it is The resulting changes are relatively
orst.edu possible to mobilize and change course rap- well documented but not generally appre-

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ciated in their totality, magnitude, or im- The world is changing in myriad other forth have immediate and long-term impli-
plications. Vitousek and colleagues have important ways as well. Inequity within cations for humanity. The key is simply that
provided a succinct and dramatic summary and among all nations has increased; new human well-being and prosperity depend
of the extent of human domination of infectious diseases have emerged; there are upon diverse, functioning ecological sys-
Earth in the following six conclusions (4): dramatically more democratic govern- tems in ways we are only beginning to
(i) between one-third and one-half of the ments; technology, communication, and appreciate.
land surface has been transformed by hu- information systems have undergone rev- Most people are well aware that hu-
man action (7); (ii) the carbon dioxide olutionary changes; markets have become mans extract goods from nature: seafood,
concentration in the atmosphere has in- global; the biotic and cultural worlds have game animals, fodder, fuelwood, timber,
creased by nearly 30% since the beginning been homogenized; the rate of transport of pharmaceutical products, and genes, for
of the Industrial Revolution (8); (iii) more people, goods, drugs, and organisms has example. We buy, sell, and trade these
atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by humanity increased around the globe; multinational goods. Until recently, little attention has
than by all natural terrestrial sources com- corporations have emerged; and nongov- been paid to another benefit provided by
bined (9); (iv) more than half of all ac- ernmental organizations have increased. natural ecological systems, the fundamen-
cessible surface fresh water is put to use by (22). Most of these changes have profound tal life-support services without which hu-
humanity (10); (v) about one-quarter of implications for our future. Integration of man civilization would cease to thrive
the bird species on Earth have been driven the human dimensions of these global (24, 25). These ecosystem services in-
to extinction (11); and (vi) approximately changes with the physical-chemical-bio- clude the purification of air and water;
two-thirds of major marine fisheries are logical dimensions is clearly needed. mitigation of floods and droughts; detoxi-
fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted The individual and collective changes fication and decomposition of wastes; gen-
(12). described above are so different in magni- eration and renewal of soil and soil fertil-

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The rates and spatial scales of most of tude, scale, and kind from past changes that ity; pollination of crops and natural vege-
these changes are increasing. In addition, even our best records and models offer little tation; control of the vast majority of po-
some of the changes are new. Novel chem- guidance concerning the scale or even the tential agricultural pests; dispersal of seeds
ical compoundsranging from chlorofluo- character of likely responses to these chal- and translocation of nutrients; mainte-
rocarbons to persistent organic compounds lenges. The future is quite likely to involve nance of biodiversity, from which human-
such as DDT and PCBsare being synthe- increasing rates of change; greater variance ity has derived key elements of its agricul-
sized and released. Only a few of the thou- in system parameters; greater uncertainty tural, medicinal, and industrial enterprise;
sand or so new chemicals released each year about responses of complex biological, eco- protection from the suns harmful UV
(13) are monitored; the biological effects of logical, social, and political systems; and rays; partial stabilization of climate; mod-
most are unknown, especially synergistic more surprises. The world at the close of the eration of temperature extremes and the
interactions of different compounds (14), 20th century is a fundamentally different force of winds and waves; support of di-
and interference with developmental and world from the one in which the current verse human cultures; and provision of
hormonal systems (15). scientific enterprise has developed. The aesthetic beauty and intellectual stimula-
Many of these physical, chemical, and challenges for society are formidable and tion that lift the human spirit (24).
biological changes entrain further alter- will require substantial information, knowl- Although these services are essential to
ations to the functioning of the Earth edge, wisdom, and energy from the scientif- human societies, their continued exis-
system, most notably causing: (i) disrup- ic community. Business as usual will not tence has been taken for granted. Never
tions to the global climate (16), (ii) de- suffice. before have human actions so threatened
pletion of stratospheric ozone (17), (iii) their provision. Because these services are
irreversible losses of biological diversity Changes for Ecosystem Services not traded in economic markets, society
(18, 19), and (iv) changes in the structure and Humanity has no feedback mechanisms to signal
and functioning of ecosystems around the changes in their supply or in the de-
world (6, 20). Many of the environmental changes have terioration of underlying ecological sys-
The conclusions from this overview are serious consequences for humanity. Climat- tems that generate them. Various attempts
inescapable: during the last few decades, ic disruption, increased ultraviolet (UV)-B have been made to calculate the worth of
humans have emerged as a new force of radiation, or insufficient drinking water global ecosystem services; all estimate the
nature. We are modifying physical, chem- provide examples of undesirable outcomes. value to be in the trillions of U.S. dollars
ical, and biological systems in new ways, at Many of the most serious consequences are (2427).
faster rates, and over larger spatial scales less obvious and mediated through the As land is transformed globally, as bio-
than ever recorded on Earth. Humans functioning of ecological systems. Humans geochemical cycles are modified on a grand
have unwittingly embarked upon a grand and our social and economic systems are scale, and as genetic, population, species,
experiment with our planet. The outcome intimately dependent upon the ecological and ecosystem diversity are lost, the func-
of this experiment is unknown, but has systems now undergoing rapid changes (21, tioning of ecological systems is disrupted
profound implications for all of life on 23). and the continued provision of ecosystem
Earth. An assessment from the Ecological Ecological systemsfrom wetlands, for- services is threatened (4, 6, 20, 21, 24).
Society of America entitled the Sustain- ests, coral reefs, and tundra, to grasslands, Primary threats to ecosystem services in-
able Biosphere Initiative states that en- kelp beds, estuaries, and the open ocean clude habitat degradation or loss, changes
vironmental problems resulting from hu- provide a broad range of essential goods and in biodiversity, and synergistic interactions
man activities have begun to threaten the services to humanity. They are the life- between these factors and rapid climate
sustainability of Earths life support sys- support systems for all of life on Earth. change, release of toxic substances, and
tems. . . . Among the most critical chal- Ecological goods and services provide a key stratospheric ozone depletion.
lenges facing humanity are the conserva- link to understanding how changes in A recent synthesis of information about
tion, restoration and wise management of biodiversity, climate, land transformation, ecosystem services from the Ecological So-
the Earths resources (21). stratospheric ozone, water, nitrogen, and so ciety of America (28) concluded that:

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ASSOCIATION AFFAIRS
Based on available scientific evidence, we are are attributable to changing land-use prac- increases in nutrients. In one such case,
certain that: tices (29, 31). For example, the construc- outbreaks of the ambush dinoflagellate
Ecosystem services are essential to civilization. tion of roads in Amazonia to access and Pfiesteria piscicida in estuarine waters of the
Ecosystem services operate on such a grand scale transport timber, coupled with higher hu- middle and southern Atlantic shores of
and in such intricate and little-explored ways man population densities, has increased the United States have resulted in the
that most could not replaced by technology. the incidence and spread of malaria (32). death of billions of fish (36) and are sus-
Human activities are already impairing the flow Roads and the accompanying canals of pected of causing human health problems
of ecosystem services on a large scale. stagnant water provide prime conditions ranging from amnesia to kidney and liver
If current trends continue, humanity will dra- for the numerical increase and spatial ex- impairment. Nutrient pollution from up-
matically alter virtually all of Earths remaining pansion of populations of mosquito vec- stream sources is the suspected trigger.
natural ecosystems within a few decades.
tors for the malarial parasites. Prevention of further nutrient-triggered
In addition, based on current scientific evidence, Global climatic change is predicted to disruption of terrestrial, freshwater, and
we are confident that:
have direct and indirect effects on human marine ecosystems and resulting health
Many of the human activities that modify or health. Direct effects include increases in consequences will be a formidable chal-
destroy natural ecosystems may cause deteriora-
tion of ecological services whose value, in the
heat stress, decreases in cold-related mortal- lenge in view of the expected global in-
long term, dwarfs the short-term economic ben- ity, and increases in air pollutionrelated creases in population, sewage, livestock,
efits society gains from those activities. pulmonary and allergic complications. Indi- aquaculture, and use of fossil fuels.
Considered globally, very large numbers of spe- rect effects, some mediated through inter- The economy. The economy is more
cies and populations are required to sustain eco- actions with land-use practices, include interlinked with the environment than is
system services. increases in the geographic distribution of often appreciated (23, 37). The false as-
The functioning of many ecosystems could be a variety of diseases including malaria, sertion that society must choose between

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restored if appropriate actions were taken in dengue fever, yellow fever, and hantavirus the economy and the environment is often
time. (16, 33). made. In reality, this jobs versus the en-
We believe that land use and development The full consequences to human health vironment choice is a false dichotomy:
policies should strive to achieve a balance be- of large-scale alterations in biogeochemi- the real choice is between short-term gain
tween sustaining vital ecosystem services and cal cycles are not yet known. Over the last and long-term, sustained prosperity (23,
pursuing the worthy short-term goals of eco- century, human activities have more than 37, 38). The insurance industry has been a
nomic development. doubled the amount of nitrogen fixed and leader in private sector concern about cli-
therefore entering the global terrestrial ni- matic change (39), in part because its
Redefining the Environment trogen cycle. Nonanthropogenic nitrogen- business demands a long-term perspective.
fixationaccomplished by algae, bacteria, The economic consequences of increases
Recognizing the significance of the global and lightningtotals approximately 140 in the frequency and severity of extreme
environmental changes summarized above, Tg/year. Anthropogenic sourcesthe weather events provide strong motivation
E. O. Wilson suggested that humanity is on making of fertilizer, planting of legumes to act to decrease the probability of likely
the verge of Entering the Century of the (over larger areas than would naturally causes of these anomalies.
Environment. Based on emerging informa- occur), and burning of fossil fuelsnow Economic development and prosperity
tion about ecosystem services and other contribute more than an additional 140 hinge upon maintaining an adequate flow
environmental issues, I wish to take his Tg/year. As Vitousek and colleagues state, of essential services provided by natural
phrase a step further and broaden the dia- Serious environmental consequences are ecosystems. Human-engineered sources of
logue about what constitutes an environ- already apparent. In the atmosphere con- well-being foster the widespread miscon-
mental issue. As we begin to appreciate the centrations of the greenhouse gas nitrous ception that affluence is independent of
intimate fashion in which humans depend oxide and of the nitrogen-precursors of or possibly even hindered bythe preser-
on the ecological systems of the planet, it is smog and acid rain are increasing. Soils in vation of natural ecosystems (40). Howev-
becoming increasingly obvious that numer- many regions are being acidified and er, as humans fill in wetlands, clear-cut
ous issues that we have previously thought stripped of nutrients essential for contin- forests, degrade coral reefs, drive natural
of as independent of the environment are ued fertility. The waters of streams and populations and species to extinction, and
intimately connected to it. Human health, lakes in these regions are also being acid- introduce alien species, we often disrupt the
the economy, social justice, and national ified, and excess nitrogen is being trans- functioning of the systems or lose the eco-
security all have important environmental ported by rivers into estuaries and coastal system entirely. When we do so, we begin
aspects whose magnitude is not generally waters. It is quite likely that this unaccus- to incur unanticipated and occasionally
appreciated. tomed nitrogen loading has already caused staggering costs having now to manufac-
Human health. Human health is being long-term declines in coastal fisheries and ture, grow, or otherwise provide what we
increasingly recognized as having strong accelerated losses of plant and animal di- once got for free.
environmental components. Obvious ex- versity in both aquatic and land-based A compelling example is provided by
amples include the importance to human ecosystems (34). Chichilnisky and Heals analyses of op-
health of good air quality, clean drinking Increased nutrients in coastal waters tions for the provision of drinking water
water, clean food, and minimal exposure may also trigger population explosions of for New York City (27). Historically, the
to toxic chemicals and UV-B radiation. certain taxa of phytoplankton that con- watershed of the Catskill Mountains pro-
Less apparent examples include the impact tribute to human health problems. In- vided the ecosystem service of water fil-
of land-use practices, climatic change, and creases in the frequency, spatial extent, tration and purification. Over time, this
population density on emergence and and duration of harmful algal blooms are watershed system became overwhelmed by
transmission of diseases (2931). Recent reported from shores around the world sewage and agricultural runoff to the point
changes in the epidemiology of Lyme dis- (35). Many (although not all) harmful that the water quality was impaired.
ease, hantavirus, malaria, trypanosomiasis, algal blooms that involve toxic dinoflagel- Chichilnisky and Heal calculated and
schistosomiasis, cholera, and yellow fever lates and diatoms are known to respond to compared the costs of purchasing and re-

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storing the watershed so that it could con- During his tenure as U.S. Secretary of explain patterns in nature (46). An em-
tinue to provide the ecosystem services of State, Warren Christopher initiated a new phasis on investigator-initiated, peer-re-
water purification and filtration ($1 bil- perspective when he pledged to make envi- viewed science is designed to help meet
lion) versus the costs of building and ronmental issues part of the mainstream of this expectation.
maintaining a water purification and fil- American foreign policy. In framing a The second part of the contract reflects
tration plant ($6 billion to $8 billion in bold, new perspective on national security, the anticipation that the investment by
capital costs, plus annual operating costs Christopher declared that [t]he environ- society will lead not only to improvements
of $300 million). This comparison pro- ment has a profound impact on our national in our understanding of the world but also
vides an estimate of the replacement costs interest in two ways. First, environmental the achievement of goals that society has
for only a single service supplied by the forces transcend borders and oceans to deemed importantwinning wars, con-
watershed. Other services include flood threaten directly the health, prosperity and quering diseases, creating products, and
control, air purification, generation of fer- jobs of American citizens. Second, address- improving the economy. This second
tile soil, and production of a range of ing natural resource issues is frequently crit- component often weighs heavily in deci-
goods from timber to mushrooms, as well ical to achieving political and economic sions about the allocation of funds. As
as sites for recreation, inspiration, educa- stability and to pursuing our strategic goals President John F. Kennedy stated, Scien-
tion, and scientific inquiry. Even ac- around the world (44). In 1997, U.S. Sec- tists alone can establish the objectives of
knowledging that not all ecosystem ser- retary of State Madeline K. Albright issued their research, but society, in extending
vices can be replaced by a human-made the State Departments first annual report support to science, must take account of
substitute, this analysis helps put some of on environmental diplomacy, stating that its own needs (47). Hence, both the ra-
the tradeoffs in perspective. environmental problems are often at the tionale for public investment in science as
Social justice. Social justice, too, has in- heart of the political and economic chal- well as specific decisions about the alloca-

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timate environmental components (37, lenges we face around the world. . . . We tions of resources are tied to expected
41). The consequences of environmental would not be doing our jobs as peacemakers outcomes that are beneficial to society.
degradation are often borne disproportion- and as democracy-builders, if we were not The needs of society have changed over
ately by racially and economically disad- also good stewards of the global environ- the years. Vannevar Bushs 1945 landmark
vantaged groups. Wealthier individuals or ment (45). report to the President of the United
countries can afford to buy bottled water, In summary, national security, social jus- States, ScienceThe Endless Frontier, em-
move away from degraded and contaminat- tice, the economy, and human health are phasizes providing help in the medical,
ed sites, access information about alterna- appropriately considered to be environmen- defense, and economic arenas. Bushs very
tive choices, influence the political process, tal issues because each is dependent to some first paragraph in his Summary of the
cope with environmental disasters, buy bet- degree on the structure, functioning, and Report stated (1):
ter food, and purchase quality medical ser- resiliency of ecological systems. Linkages
vices and treatments. among the social, political, economic, phys- Progress in the war against disease depends upon
For example, intensive shrimp farming ical, biological, chemical, and geological a flow of new scientific knowledge. New prod-
in Southeast Asia, India, and parts of South systems present new challenges to scientists. ucts, new industries and more jobs require con-
and Central America often brings econom- What is the role of science in meeting these tinuous additions to knowledge of laws of nature,
and the application of that knowledge to practi-
ic benefit to a few owners (large multina- challenges?
cal purposes. Similarly, our defense against ag-
tional or national corporations) in the short gression demands new knowledge so that we can
term but in the longer term destroys man- The Roles of Science develop new and improved weapons. This essen-
grove forests needed by indigenous peoples tial, new knowledge can be obtained only though
to provide food, fiber, and ecosystem ser- Science is the pursuit of knowledge about basic scientific research.
vices such as water purification, sediment how the world works, a pursuit with an
trapping, and flood control. established process for inquiry, logic, and Forty-five years later, Erich Bloch, di-
National security. National security is be- validation. Scientists engage in science be- rector of the National Science Foundation
ing viewed increasingly as an environmen- cause we are curious about why things are (NSF) (established in response to Bushs
tal issue, with multiple, complex connec- the way they are, we relish the fun and report), acknowledged the changing polit-
tions among population growth, environ- challenges of problem-solving, and we wish ical landscape and highlighted the eco-
mental quality, and security, including hu- to contribute something useful to current nomic benefits of fundamental research
man migrations, war, disease, social dis- and future generations. Society supports sci- and the primacy of knowledge as a critical
ruption, political fragmentation, competi- ence because doing so in the past has resource (48):
tion for scarce resources, and ecoterrorism brought benefits and doing so now is ex-
(42). Environmental degradation and scar- pected to provide more. Traditional roles of The National Science Foundation was a product
city of resources (water, fuelwood, fertile science have been to discover, communi- of the Cold War and of a national policy decision
land, forests, fisheries) have been identified cate, apply knowledge, and to train the next that the contribution of research to national
as key contributors to economic disruption, generation of scientists. strength was too valuable to be limited to the
ethnic strife, civil war, migration, and in- Society currently expects two outcomes years of armed conflict. In recent years, the
rationale for supporting science and engineering
surgency throughout the world, for example from its investment in science. The first is
research and education has been changing. As
in Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Gaza, Paki- the production of the best possible science political conflict among the great powers dimin-
stan, Rwanda, Senegal-Mauritania, South regardless of area; the second is the pro- ishes, the major arena for world competition is
Africa, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Peru, duction of something useful. The first goal increasingly becoming economic, and in this
Philippines, the West Bank, and Somalia reflects the expectation that scientists new global economy, which runs on ideas and
(21, 43). So-called fish wars for scarce cod will search . . . for the truth about how innovation, knowledge is the critical resource.
and salmon present ongoing challenges for nature works . . . producing reproducible,
the state departments of the United States independently verifiable results, logically In more recent years, as funding for
and Canada. consistent theories and experiments that science has gotten tighter and other needs

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ASSOCIATION AFFAIRS
for funds expanded, there has been an over larger scales than ever before re- ple to space, medicine, and defenseare
even greater emphasis on the need for new corded, and recognizing the urgent need needed to focus more intensely on the
knowledge to generate new products and for knowledge to understand and man- challenges we know lie ahead. These chal-
processes, for example, to fuel technolog- age the biosphere, I propose that the sci- lenges encompass many of the earlier ones,
ical advances, provide a competitive edge entific community formulate a new Social but expand them in new directions. The
in the global marketplace, or develop new Contract for science. This contract would setting of priorities about which science to
medical treatments (2, 49). In this sense, more adequately address the problems of fund cannot be done in a social vacuum.
public funding of science is often argued to the coming century than does our cur- The needs of society for scientific knowl-
be an investment that brings monetary rent scientific enterprise. The Contract edge should be an integral part of the
returns. A different application of scien- should be predicated upon the assump- decision-making process.
tific knowledge is emerging as equally im- tions that scientists will (i) address the The Contract should also be a strong
portant in todays world: knowledge to most urgent needs of society, in propor- call for new research and management
inform policy and management decisions tion to their importance; (ii) communi- approaches. For example, innovative mech-
(4951). cate their knowledge and understanding anisms are needed to facilitate the in-
The latter focus on the role of science widely in order to inform decisions of in- vestigation of complex, interdisciplinary
in informing decisions is emerging as one dividuals and institutions; and (iii) exer- problems that span multiple spatial and
of the critical unmet needs of society at cise good judgment, wisdom, and humility. temporal scales; to encourage interagency
the end of the millennium (21, 49, 50). A The Contract should recognize the extent and international cooperation on societal
better understanding of the likely conse- of human domination of the planet. It problems; and to construct more effective
quences of different policy options will should express a commitment to harness bridges between policy, management, and
allow more enlightened decisions. Many the full power of the scientific enterprise science, as well as between the public and

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of the choices facing society are moral and in discovering new knowledge, in commu- private sectors. A number of recent reports
ethical ones, and scientific information nicating existing and new understanding have recommended ways to accomplish
can inform them. Science does not pro- to the public and to policy-makers, and in many of these goals (50, 51). The Corson
vide the solutions, but it can help un- helping society move toward a more sus- Committee of the National Research
derstand the consequences of different tainable biosphere. Council, for example, evaluated the
choices. Science alone does not hold the power U.S. environmental research establishment,
The plethora of biological, physical, to achieve the goal of greater sustainabil- found it lacking in numerous ways, and
chemical, social, and economic changes ity, but scientific knowledge and wisdom recommended a number of steps to effect
summarized earlier point to the myriad ways are needed to help inform decisions that cultural and organizational changes in the
in which societys needs for scientific will enable society to move toward that environmental research enterprise (51).
knowledge are changing. A wide range of end. A sustainable biosphere is one that is There is a concomitant requirement to
studies focusing on environmental chal- ecologically sound, economically feasible, train interdisciplinary scientists and to
lenges all point to (i) the urgent need for and socially just. Scientific understanding provide the skills and savvy to work at the
improved understanding, monitoring, and can help frame the questions to be posed, policy-science or management-science in-
evaluation to protect, manage, and restore provide assessments about current condi- terface. Changes in university curricula
the environment; (ii) more effective com- tions, evaluate the likely consequences of and the reward system for professional sci-
munication of existing knowledge to the different policy or management options, entists within and outside universities
public and policy arenas; (iii) the desirabil- provide knowledge about the world, and would greatly facilitate achieving these
ity of developing new technologies (manu- develop new technologies. The Contract goals.
facturing and waste reduction, for example) would reflect the commitment of individ- The new Contract should extend well
to minimize the ecological footprints of hu- uals and groups of scientists to focus their beyond research and training activities.
man activities; and (iv) better guidance own efforts to be maximally helpful. Each Some of the most pressing needs include
about decision-making in the face of uncer- individual, each panel, each agency, each communicating the certainties and uncer-
tainty (50, 51). congressional committee, each nation tainties and seriousness of different envi-
In summary, the roles of scienceto makes choices; these choices should re- ronmental or social problems, providing
discover, communicate, and use knowl- flect a greater focus on the most critical alternatives to address them, and educat-
edge and train the next generation of sci- issues of our day. ing citizens about the issues. In parallel to
entists have not changed, but the needs Fundamental research is more relevant initiating new research, strong efforts
of society have been altered dramatically. and needed than ever before. The Contract should be launched to better communicate
The current and growing extent of human is absolutely not a call to abandon funda- scientific information already in hand. All
dominance of the planet will require new mental research; on the contrary, it should too many of our current environmental
kinds of knowledge and applications from be a call to invest in fundamental research policies and much of the street lore about
science knowledge to reduce the rate at in a broad spectrum of areas where new the environment are based on the science
which we alter the Earth systems, knowl- knowledge is urgently needed. Just as the of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, not the
edge to understand Earths ecosystems and Manhattan Project involved a major invest- science of the 1990s. Most of our efforts to
how they interact with the numerous com- ment in fundamental research, adequately address economic and social problems are
ponents of human-caused global change, addressing broadly defined environmental as yet mostly devoid of ecological knowl-
and knowledge to manage the planet (4). and social needs will require substantial ba- edge. Clearly, the interfaces between the
sic research (50, 51). environment, human health, the econo-
A New Social Contract for Because the environment is so broad a my, social justice, and national security
Science? topic, research across all disciplines is are ripe for developing and entraining into
needed to provide the requisite knowledge the policy arena. In view of the overarch-
Recognizing that the world is changing in base. Efforts similar to those devoted to ing importance of environmental issues for
new and different ways, at faster rates and past societal wants and needsfor exam- the future of the human race, all graduates

www.sciencemag.org z SCIENCE z VOL. 279 z 23 JANUARY 1998 495


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www.sciencemag.org z SCIENCE z VOL. 279 z 23 JANUARY 1998 497


Entering the Century of the Environment: A New Social Contract for Science
Jane Lubchenco

Science 279 (5350), 491-497.


DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5350.491

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