The Interplay of Science, Policy, and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

SOCIOLOGICAL ESSAY There is a unique relationship between science and government policy. Science is a tool that tries to prove or disapprove hypotheses to reach sound decisions. Today the world is dependent on science. Policymaking in the current world requires substantial evidence, facts, and adequate evaluation. There is a need for scientific advice to draw sufficient conclusions. Quality scientific evidence is a tool for better policymaking and regulation by a government. Decisions involving evidence from the scientific literature are a stepping stone for good governance. Many impending challenges a nation faces require intervention by experts to provide accurate and ideal solutions. It is realistic to say that science covers many aspects of life. The many departments include agriculture, climate change, fishing, disease outbreak, transport industry, solving food shortages, and the health sector. The emergence of the Covid 19 pandemic proved the importance of science. The global disease has been managed through scientific research and techniques. Science is like the air we breathe; the government needs to tackle almost every aspect that touches the economy. Policymakers are responsible for analyzing in-depth to provide the government with sufficient evidence to institute domestic and international affairs plans. According to (Jasanoff 2005), Policymakers need a set of ‘technologies of humility’ for systematically assessing the unknown and the uncertain. The concept of science has been faced with lots of controversies. Many governments globally desire government policies that are based on evidence. Policymakers are faced with uncertainty in making decisions as they are forced to conform to a narrowed perspective by politicians and prolific policymakers. This problem dilutes scientific evidence leading to poor decision-making. This paper will discuss the controversy of science and how it has influenced covid-19 and Climate change decisions. Climate change affects the ecosystem, human health and hinders economic growth and development. The potential effects of climate change are difficult to ascertain, hence incorporating science by policymakers. Climate change is an ongoing process; adapting to its possible effects requires a reliable network between the government, scientists, international agencies, and communities to make effective decisions. According to (Jasanoff 2005 ), technologies of humility encompass experts, decision-makers, and decision-makers in governing science. Decision-making ought to be an articulate process as it influences how climate change will be mitigated in the future. According to (Sarewitz 2004), climate change affects various environmental, social, and health sectors including, agriculture, forestry, water resources, air quality, ecosystems and biodiversity, and cultural resources. The IPCC considers climate change as one of the significant challenges of sustainable development. The government is responsible for protecting its citizens from the hazards of climate change. The government depends on science on the necessary steps to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and the actions to be taken to adapt to the changing climate. The government invests in scientific systems to monitor and monitor climate change's potential effects to facilitate efficient policymaking. According to (Grundmann &Stehr 2010), the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988, the global impacts of climate change have captured the scientific research community's attention, making it a top international policy-making agenda. Climate change is the heartthrob of the future planet. For a long time, this concept of climate change has been politicized due to methodological differences with scientific techniques. The question is, who can take part in the decision-making to curb climate change? Government policymakers entail a team of experts to justify their decisions. Sociologists are of importance in contributing scientific literature to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere and curb global warming. Government and science acknowledge that human activity and social behaviors are the main reason for climate change globally. The government is responsible for building sociologist researchers' capacity, networking, and funding scientific research projects on climate change issues. The linear model of expertise explains knowledge as an essential aspect in decision making. It ascertains science as a deterministic influence in deciding policies. According to (Beck 2011), the IPCC report 2007 purports that scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports global warming and human activity as a significant cause of climate change. Human activities lead to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to climate change, impacting various communities. The linear model of expertise explains the existence of scientific and political controversies hence influencing government decision-making. The famous IPCC gave rise to FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. The linear model of expertise ascertains that government decisions based on scientific knowledge are inevitable. The linear model of knowledge upholds the scenario-based approach to perfect scientific information of climate on government policies. However, according to (Grundmann 2020), the United Kingdom’s argument on being led by science evokes the linear model of policy which is more of a myth than a reality. Environmental conditions contribute immensely to climate change. According to (Verweij et al. 2006), Most climatologists agree that by burning fossil fuels and engaging in other forms of consumption and production, we increase the number of greenhouse gases that float around in the atmosphere. Science and the environment are interrelated. Environmental threats depend on scientific research to be ascertained. According to (Salzman James and Thompson 2003), environmental science and policymaking promote interaction and communication among the government, business and industry, and non-governmental organizations to find lasting solutions to environmental problems such as climate change, biodiversity, environmental pollution and wastes, renewable and non-renewable natural resources, and the interactions between these issues. The government is responsible for protecting its soil, air, water, flora, and fauna from any extremisms or any human distraction. Science is the origin of environmental degradation. The adoption of scientific techniques through various innovations pollutes the environment. According to (Moltoke 191), the great magnification of the human presence through technologies, ranging from fossil fuel combustion to organic chemistry, from medical and biological interventions to electronics, is a precondition of threats to the environment that are qualitatively different from the historical impact of humans on the planet. Pollution of the environment is adamant and experienced worldwide from the extraction of natural resources, the transport system, and waste disposal. This triggers government intervention who will enact environmental policies. Industrialized countries such as the United States experience the consequences of emissions and significantly affects biodiversity. Risks associated with waste disposal to the environment have led the government to respond to curb this environmental crisis. The US has adopted laws to regulate emissions to the air and water; it has established scientific procedures for environmental management and adopted legislation to ensure hazardous wastes and toxic substances are not emitted into the atmosphere. An environmental crisis is a sensitive matter that affects the ecosystem, human life, and water bodies; hence an immense contributor to climate change. The Signal Act of the United States leadership dates back to the 1960s and 1970s where there was a significant surge of environmental legislation through modern and scientific interventions (Moltoke 191). Through technology, the government has enhanced the treatment of waste material and toxic substances before emitting them into the water and air. The government has adopted environmental policies such as the clean air Act, Toxic Substances, Control Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act to ensure the environment's safety and problematic issues resulting from the environmental crisis. According to (Ali 2020), environmental problems are the bioconcentration of toxins in food chains, the causes and consequences of eutrophication, the effects of acid deposition, and the links between human health exposure to toxins were brought to the public's attention by the biological research community. This analogy validates the necessity of scientific research by the government in deciding policies regarding the environment. Some environmental problems are difficult to deduce despite being harmful and destructive to the public—for instance, acid rain. This has paved the way for policymakers to engage in scientific research to find solutions for such occurrences. The government can curb environmental problems more than any other agency to mitigate climate change. Most industries are interested in profit-making at the expense of environmental problems they are causing. According to the risk society model,...