Spreading the message. Building a general consensus on the environment.

Abstract

In communicating an environmental message to society at large, it is useful to distinguish between decision-makers and the general public. The influence of decision-makers on public debates is as significant as their ability to implement decisions; in democratic societies, the two functions are inseparable. Proceeding from an environmental consensus, physicians can provide a source of impartial medical/ecological wisdom, and serve as mediators of public debates. For those purposes, a network of physicians and/or scientists can be useful; three examples are provided. Communicating to the general public can only be achieved economically through the mass news media, which operate under conditions very different from those of physicians and scientists. There is considerable room for improvement in environmental journalism, and physicians can make a useful contribution to any such process. It is an important issue, since the mass media constitute the 'ecology textbook' of the general public.