Science, Ethics and Policy Responses to the 'Organized Irresponsibility'

The environmental movement continues to stimulate democratic processes outside formal institutions. The repertoire of issues touches on science, ethics, the market place and the distribution of technological risks. A case in point is the prism of corporate interests that obscures the link of the natural environment and health to scientific and technological developments. Ecological risks, institutional organization and social distribution have become sociologically relevant variables. The configuration of a system of organized irresponsibility guarantees the application of legitimate norms that continue to perpetrate the social systems' threat, despite policy efforts to ameliorate these risks. Further eco-democratic impetus is added by the coalition among environmental, social justice and health advocacy groups. In the process, it is vital to identify the specific environmental impacts on given populations, communities and ecosystems, if a policy strategy is to be effective toward aiding a political ecological model.