 |
INTRODUCTION
This report contains the recommendations of more than
450 scientists and decisionmakers who participated in the first
National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment
on December 7 and 8, 2000.The conference was sponsored
by the National Council for Science and the Environment
and was held at the National Academy of Sciences in
Washington, DC.
The conferees included individuals from more than 45
states and the District of Columbia, as well as Canadians
and Europeans.They came from a broad range of disciplines
and perspectives in the natural sciences, social sciences, and
engineering (from agriculture to zoology), as well as the
information technology and policy sectors. Among those
participating were:
- 200 academics, including administrators, faculty, staff
and students from a diverse set of universities and colleges
- 100 government employees, including Democratic and
Republican elected officials, scientists, administrators,
and managers at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels
- 50 representatives of environmental and community
organizations working at local, state, regional, national,
and international levels
- 25 individuals representing a diverse set of private businesses
- 60 self-identified as “others,”including journalists, school
teachers, and representatives of scientific organizations.
The overarching theme of the recommendations is the need
for this nation and the world community to achieve a level
of sustainability that integrates three basic elements: economic
security, ecological integrity, and social equity. The concept
of sustainability is typically viewed as having simultaneous
and interdependent scientific, economic, social, political,
psychological, ecological, ethical, and technical dimensions.
In this regard it is noted that both the conference agenda
and its resulting recommendations are consistent with a
recent Council of Scientific Society Presidents’ policy
statement on achieving a sustainable future:
As a national priority, we must make public investments in all
areas of fundamental research that can lead to more sustainable
systems.The nation’s top political and corporate leaders, working
closely with scientists, must develop and implement an action
plan to achieve a sustainable future that involves all levels of
government, academia, NGOs, and the private sector.*
*see http://www.science-presidents.org/ for the full statement
| |
back