The Values and Vulnerabilities of Metaphors Within the Environmental Sciences

This article examines the use of language within the environmental sciences. The contents of a random sample of articles from three peer-reviewed environmental science journals are examined, each signifying a different field: Society & Natural Resources (sociology and policy), Conservation Biology (biology), and Ecology (ecology). Metaphorical terms were then recorded from the articles analyzed. All journals were found to employ metaphors equally (and this includes, importantly, those metaphors that make value statements about how nature should be). The article concludes by briefly discussing the merits of such an analysis, while suggesting strategies for improving upon our use of language when seeking scientific understanding of environmental problems.