Ecology and social responsibility: the re-embodiment of science

As global environmental problems intensify, ecology is increasingly drawn into the social arena, and many ecologists feel caught between two competing models of science: a science apart from society and a science directly engaged with society. Interdisciplinary research and integrative theories are helping resolve this conflict by providing a common framework for both biophysical and social sciences. The incorporation of the human dimension into ecology is reversing a century-old trend of separation and reintegrating science into the human experience.