By Orrin H. Pilkey & Linda Pilkey-Jarvis, 2006, 221 pages, amazon
Or why environmental scientists can't predict the future?
The answer given by the authors is simple. Because the scientists are trying to find exact answers to quantitative questions using models in which many parameters and interactions are still unknown. They demonstrate this using various examples from fishing industry, sea-level rising, weather prediction to very interesting one about nuclear waste depository. They also suggest a remedy – ask qualitative questions and adapt the models on the go.


