The Scientific Activist

I don't have my copy yet of the latest edition of Chris Mooney's The Republican War on Science, but I've been told that it's on its way. And, believe me, I'll bump it up to the top of my reading list when I get it, so you can expect a review sometime soon.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I never actually read the hardcover edition, so I'm doubly looking forward to the new paperback. In his introduction to the paperback edition, Chris writes that it has more of a focus on what the reader can do to combat these attacks on scientific progress:

I often heard from readers of the hardcover edition of The Republican War on Science that the book made their blood boil but didn't explain how to constructively channel their outrage. Ever since then, I've been thinking about this problem, as my subsequent writings demonstrate (see for example here). And I've concluded that it's long past time that political attacks on science be met by an effective political response--which is going to require that scientists themselves stand up, in a concerted way, to defend the knowledge they have brought into the world.

If the hardcover edition of my book raised alarm, then, the newly revised paperback represents a call to arms. I hope you will read it in that light, and then join both the scientific community and myself in helping to restore scientific integrity to our government and public life. Imagine a world in which there are real political consequences for politicians who lie to the public about science, just as there are for politicians who lie about anything else of major policy significance. Maybe, just maybe, we can create such a world--starting with the fall 2006 mid-term elections, and then stretching to 2008 and beyond.

Did somebody say "scientific activism"? I think so, I think so.

Additional details about the book and book tour can be found on The Republican War on Science website.