Scientific Method to Study Environmental Issues, Essay Example

Using the scientific method to perform experiments gives the environmental scientist a number of advantages. For instance, it gives him standards by which he may compare his results to the work of other scientists. It also provides other scientists with a means by which to judge his work. When all scientists use the same methods, it is easier for them to understand and draw insight from one another’s works. This makes cooperation easier and more efficient. Using the scientific method also helps scientists maintain accuracy. Using controls, for instance, helps ensure that outside influences are not responsible for the results of an experiment. Furthermore, using the scientific method helps environmental scientists ensure consistency.

When scientists do not follow a consistent method, it hard for an experimenter to understand exactly what has gone wrong or why certain results may be achieved during one experiment, but not in another. Using the scientific method has become especially important to environmental scientists because of a recent scandal, in which e-mails between prestigious environmental scientists showed that some scientists were willing to suppress the findings of others in order to advance a political agenda (Delingpole, 2009). This has led others to view environmental science and scientists with some suspicion. Using the scientific method will allow hard environmental science to withstand scrutiny. It will allow those who are skeptical to perform the exact same experiment in order to test the accuracy and legitimacy of the results for themselves. The method will also lend credibility to scientists who use it correctly.  Environmental scientists who do not use the scientific method run the risk of inaccuracy, loss of credibility and, ultimately, the rejection of their work.

Works Cited

Delingpole, J. (2009, November 20). Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of ‘Anthropogenic Global Warming’?Retrieved July 27, 2010, from The Telegraph: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100017393/climategate-the-final-nail-in-the-coffin-of-anthropogenic-global-warming/