title: The relationship between environmental advocacy, values, and science: a survey of ecological scientists' attitudes.
abstract: This article reports the results ofa survey of 1215 nonstudent Ecological Society of America (ESA) members. The results pertain to three series of questions designed to assess ecologists' engagement in various advocacy activities, as well as attitudes on the relationship between environmental advocacy, values, and science. We also analyzed the effects of age, gender, and employment categories on responses. While many findings are reported, we highlight six here. First, ecologists in our sample do not report particularly high levels of engagement in advocacy activities. Second, ecologists are not an ideologically unified group. Indeed, there are cases of significant disagreement among ecologists regarding advocacy, values, and science. Third, despite some disagreement, ecologists generally believe that values consistent with environmental advocacy are more consonant with ecological pursuits than values based on environmental skepticism. Fourth, compared to males, female ecologists tend to be more supportive of advocacy and less convinced that environmentally oriented values perturb the pursuit of science. Fifth, somewhat paradoxically, ecologists in higher age brackets indicate higher engagement in advocacy activities as well as a higher desire for scientific objectivity. Sixth, compared to ecologists in other employment categories, those in government prefer a greater separation between science and the influences of environmental advocacy and values.
authors: Political Science Department, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, California 93407, USA. dreiners@calpoly.edu
authors: Derek S
authors: DS
authors: Reiners
authors: William A
authors: WA
authors: Reiners
authors: Jeffrey A
authors: JA
authors: Lockwood
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003142:Communication; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D003625:Data Collection; D004463:Ecology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D058735:Environmental Policy; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011050:Policy Making; D011639:Public Opinion; D012945:Social Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires