Those days are long gone for me; the best I can do now is use the fruits of scientific research and offer opinions on science and its place in our lives. But even if I were at the start of a career in science I’d hesitate due to the intense politicization of scientific work that contradicts the world views of those in power or seeking power.
Ken Cuccinelli is the Attorney General of Virginia. Since being elected, he has pursued an aggressive social conservative agenda in his advisories. For instance, he has endeavored to modify the state seal to obscure a woman’s breast from view. He has also supported the governor in eliminating sexual orientation as a category for non-discrimination policies at the state’s colleges and universities.
Now he is using the power of his office to bear upon a controversial climate scientist, Michael Mann, co-author of the famous (or notorious) “hockey stick” graph, indicating a drastic rise in global temperatures in recent times. Mann’s work has been cited in support of human-caused global warming. Most conservatives deny the existence of or at least the importance of human-caused global warming effects.
Mann worked at the University of Virginia from 1999-2005 and Cuccinelli has ordered the university to turn over all documents concerning state funds he received for his research. Presumably, if Ken Cuccinelli were to find any whiff of impropriety, he could take Mann to the cleaners for legal fees, return of the research money (approx. $500k), and damages. The larger body of scientific work on the subject would still be strongly in favor of global warming, but it would be a PR coup for the deniers. And PR is is the gold standard for politicians.
The recent hacking of emails at the University of East Anglia was supposed to yield a mother lode of evidence proving that scientists in the field of climate research were engaged in a worldwide conspiracy to perpetuate the fraud of global warming in order to … to .. well, the opponents didn’t really say what exactly, but I guess it had something to do with promoting communism, socialism, and attacks on defenseless multinational energy companies. Instead, the emails revealed only that in private conversation scientists can be just as catty and assaholic as say, the average Facebook poster. ALL OF MY FINE FB FRIENDS EXCEPTED, OF COURSE.
AG Cuccinelli has taken the game to a new level. Today, the far Right is using political intimidation to skew scientific findings to fit their agenda. Of course at other times, the far Left has done the same thing. See Lysenkoism in the USSR.
There are a few climate scientists who are true, honest skeptics. Being in the minority now does not mean one turns out to be wrong (cough)plate tectonics(cough). But it does mean they’ve got a harder row to hoe.
Science is far more self-correcting than politics will ever be. Yet politicians continue to believe that they can bend reality to their will. Ken Cuccinelli’s transparent intimidation tactics do nothing but make us more ignorant. And endear him to his political base.
Today, political bullies are ascendant. Still wanna be a scientist? In the words of TV’s Dr. Gregory House: “Wear a cup.”
