Nature and Society: An Imperative for Integrated Environmental Research

Abstract

everal studies have concluded that the current level of federal support for scientific research is insufficient to meet the national and international environmental challenges of the coming century. To reach a comprehensive understanding of crucial humanenvironment interactions, disciplinary analysis must be complemented by interdisciplinary research—spanning the natural, social, behavioral, and engineering sciences. Scientists must participate in setting priorities for a new interdisciplinary environmental research program, and policymakers and agency representatives must seize the opportunities for promoting such research.