Science And Politics

Today there are many complaints over the politicization of science.  Many   people believe politics should not play a role in science, but  once government   funds science, the funding decisions become political.  In most social   institutions, disagreements are settled by debate.  Science in contrast, uses   experiments to prove or disprove theories.  Science is testable, and is   self-proving. If a better explanation for a  phenomenon is found, it will replace   other explanations. This is why  careful distinctions must be made between   Frontier Science, Consensus  Science, and Junk Science. 

Many difficult controversies surround the environmental problems we  face in   the world today. Problems include: Air and water pollution,  global warming,   species and ecosystem biodiversity, energy, hazardous  waste, population, and   food supply issues. Politics control the  financing of scientific research and   development to help solve these  issues. In politics passion wins over logic. 

Science is not politics and cannot be debated in the same way  politics are.   Mixing politics with science produces bad science.  Government efforts to fund   research interfere with the maintenance of  high scientific standards. The   current Congress consists of 535  members. Of these members, 7 (1.3%), are   scientists, and 21 others are  healthcare professionals.

 

References    

Use these references along with resources from your own research to help   answer the questions that follow. 

Lamb, G. (2005, September 27). Science and politics: a   dangerous mix. Christian Science Monitor97(213), 11-13.   Retrieved April 10, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Link to article 
Pielke Jr., R. (2006, Spring2006). When Scientists   Politicize Science. Regulation29(1), 28-34. Retrieved April   10, 2009, from Business Source Complete database. 
Link to article 
 

Questions

Do you feel that scientists should be cut out of the policy making  process,   particularly on environmental issues, when their research is  proven and widely   accepted and is being ignored and disputed?  Politicians ultimately make the   decisions, but shouldn’t the  scientists have a voice?

Do you feel that lobbyists and special interest groups exert too  great of an   influence and act as an impediment to finding solutions  to, and providing the   funding for, research for the environmental  problems we face?