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Politicization Of Science, Causes And Essay

Because of the politicization of science, however, Revelle's questions were not made public before he died. The article that he authored reached only a small audience, and that after a fight with politics (Sheppard). Revelle's remarks at a conference about global warming that contradicted the politically correct view were similarly stricken from public record, and many scientists who did not agree with the politically correct consensus have been harassed during trials (Coleman, Sheppard). Thus, even today, the politicization of science has made asking scientific questions difficult for the members of the scientific community, as they fear being either ignored or even called out on their dissent. This issue hinders progress, as the ability to ask real questions about the issue may lead to new and different answers. When scientists cannot ask the right questions for fear of political retaliation, an entire body of work, discovery, and change can be lost. The reason for this lays in the fact that the scientific community determines in what direction science will focus, partially, based on popularity. For instance, Orsekes writes that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change "[evaluates] the state of climate science as a basis for informed policy action, primarily on the basis of peer-reviewed and published scientific literature" (1686). This means that only what is acceptable steers policy because only acceptable questions can be asked and only acceptable publications will be granted. Thus, by politicizing science, large amounts of policy innovation and even consequences for global climate change have been ignored while those reports claiming that global climate change will, indeed, cost a great deal of money in prevention and damages have been embraced. This hinders progression greatly, as Duffy states: "Money devoted to climate change is money not devoted to other problems. So the right question is this: given our current state of knowledge, which of the problems facing humanity deserves most of our attention?" Because it does not allow scientists to ask this and other questions, the politicizing of science prevents progress.
Works Cited

Coleman, John. "The Amazing Story Behind Global Warming." KUSI News San Diego.

11 February 2009. 23 April 2009.

Duffy, Michael. "In age of reason, the brouhaha over global warming can leave you cold." The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 March 2007. 23 April 2009.

"Galileo: The Challenge of Reason." You Tube. 17 October 2007. 23 April 2009.

Halsall, Paul. "Modern History Sourcebook: The Crime of Galileo: Indictment and Abjuration of 1633." The Modern History Sourcebook. 1999.

Oreskes, Naomi. "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change." 21 Jan. 2005. 23 April

2009. Science.

Sheppard, Marc. "Gore's Grave New World." American Thinker. 29 June 2006. 23 April

2009.

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Coleman, John. "The Amazing Story Behind Global Warming." KUSI News San Diego.

11 February 2009. 23 April 2009. <http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/38574742.html>

Duffy, Michael. "In age of reason, the brouhaha over global warming can leave you cold." The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 March 2007. 23 April 2009. <http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/brouhaha-over-global-warming-can-leave-you-cold/2007/03/30/1174761750896.html>

"Galileo: The Challenge of Reason." You Tube. 17 October 2007. 23 April 2009.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcHgfjAs-0w>
Halsall, Paul. "Modern History Sourcebook: The Crime of Galileo: Indictment and Abjuration of 1633." The Modern History Sourcebook. 1999. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1630galileo.html>
2009. <http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/06/gores_grave_new_world.html>
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