Which statement best captures Demeritt's view of environmental knowledge?

Which statement best captures Demeritt's view of environmental knowledge?

• A. Environmental knowledge is entirely objective, grounded only in empirical observation.
• B. Environmental knowledge is produced only through social discourse with no material basis.
• C. Environmental knowledge is neither purely objective nor purely social; it arises from interaction of empirical data and social context.
• D. Environmental knowledge is primarily determined by political power, with science irrelevant.

Answer: (C)

Environmental knowledge, in Demeritt’s view, comes from the interplay between what we can observe and measure in the environment and the social contexts in which those observations are made, interpreted, and used. Data from experiments, field measurements, and models provide the factual content, but the questions asked, the methods chosen, how results are framed, and how they are applied in policy are all shaped by social values, institutions, and power dynamics. Because of this, knowledge is not simply objective nor is it purely a social construct; it arises from their ongoing interaction. This balanced perspective helps explain why environmental knowledge can vary across different places and times, reflecting both empirical evidence and the social worlds that frame it. The other views—claiming knowledge is entirely objective, or entirely socially constructed with no material basis, or dominated by political power with science being irrelevant—ignore that real-world understanding of the environment depends on both data and context.

Environmental knowledge, in Demeritt’s view, comes from the interplay between what we can observe and measure in the environment and the social contexts in which those observations are made, interpreted, and used. Data from experiments, field measurements, and models provide the factual content, but the questions asked, the methods chosen, how results are framed, and how they are applied in policy are all shaped by social values, institutions, and power dynamics. Because of this, knowledge is not simply objective nor is it purely a social construct; it arises from their ongoing interaction. This balanced perspective helps explain why environmental knowledge can vary across different places and times, reflecting both empirical evidence and the social worlds that frame it. The other views—claiming knowledge is entirely objective, or entirely socially constructed with no material basis, or dominated by political power with science being irrelevant—ignore that real-world understanding of the environment depends on both data and context.