Where science is involved, the problem of self-interested research by government agencies is acute, because people are inclined to assume science is apolitical by nature. In practice, however, it is not difficult for scientists to find what they look for and to persuade the public their findings are not just true but scary. Their white coats, microscopes and test tubes give them a measure of immunity from media scrutiny.
Today,the scariest scenarios involve global warming, and the research emanates from government agencies. A leading scaremonger is James Hansen, who is employed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, next door to Columbia University in New York City. The institute "works cooperatively" with local universities on a broad study of "global change," involving interdisciplinary modeling.
Notoriously, such studies become so complex and parameter-ridden that researchers on a mission can get out of their computers almost any answer they want.
Mr. Hansen, who has the ear of the media, had no hesitation in calling Steven Milloy a "hack." I would not call Mr. Hansen a hack, but he is on a mission, and has been for years. I am sure he believes, all too fervently, everything he says about the global warming crisis. Nonetheless, his models and scenarios should be re-examined by scientists, preferably not at "local universities," not on the government payroll, and without any budgetary interest in discerning a global crisis.
Perhaps ExxonMobil could fund such a re-examination? I suspect I would find it just as credible as Mr. Hansen's doom-saying.
Tom Bethell, a senior editor of the American Spectator, is the author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science" (2005). |
