The article discusses the contributions made by seven natural scientists - Paul Sears, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Paul Ehrlich, Donella Meadows, Garrett Hardin, and James Lovelock to the establishment of the contemporary environmental agenda. It argues that almost every major issue in this agenda was brought up and publicized originally by natural scientists. Social scientists interested in these issues were latecomers, mostly because they held on to the "human exemption paradigm." Sometimes they also ignore the contributions of their colleagues in the natural sciences, a flaw that affects negatively the quality of their own endeavors. The article proposes that social scientists and natural scientists should deepen their exchanges on environmental matters.
Environmental issues; Pollution; Population growth; Natural resources; Desertification; Extinction of species