They are unanimous on the observation of warming, they are not unanimous on the causes or best course of mitigation. Genuine scientific endeavor is called for, not partisan activism.
"...the political spin which attempts to assert that there is a division of opinion in the scientific community."
Politicalization of science is a serious and potentially disastrous problem. There have been several episodes of this in human history, usually with catastrophic results.
The primary hope in preparation and dealing with material crisis is scientific innovation and resolution to current and future challenges. However, POLITICALIZATION of scientific resolve threatens scientific endeavor. Under such conditions we should proceed with great caution lest the boisterous politicians, bolstered by graft and a lust for power, corrupt the course. The current granting and funding of research and development has already been politicized, making all commentary with the possible exception of the elder retired scientists, suspect. If we are to accomplish anything of value under these circumstances, cautious wisdom is essential.
Science has often been politicized into a popular politic, immune to caution or criticism, resulting in devastation.
What are some common factors?
1) Critics are dismissed or harshly dealt with.
2) The basis in fact or science is unsettled.
3) Groups with other agendas are bandwagoning the movement because it appears high-minded and provides a springboard for other issues.
4) Claims of superiority are used to justify extreme actions.
5) The abstract cause is said to be greater than any human consequences.
6) Vague terms with no agreed upon definition are employed in the service of the new crisis.
Remember 'Eugenics'? Very popular a few years ago especially in Nazi Germany but it had the attention and support of prominent politicians world wide. Supporters like Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Alexander Graham Bell, Margaret Sanger; Luther Burbank; Leland Stanford, H. G. Wells; George Bernard Shaw; and many others. The outcome was devastating.
Remember 'Vernalization'? The result was famines that killed millions, and purges that sent hundreds of dissenting Soviet scientists to the gulags or the firing squads.
"when the search for truth is confused with political advocacy, the pursuit of knowledge is reduced to the quest for power." (Alston Chase)
Regards,
gem |
