Politics and Science
cmooney | June 22, 2007 This is a very open ended post. I'm interested in a little futurism--and some feedback from all of you.
Let's postulate, shall we, that the next president does in some sense "resolve" our two current hottest science policy controversies--stem cells and global warming.
Then, the question is, what's next? What topics at the science policy interface will all the talking heads be shouting about during the next presidency?
Nanotech?
Genetic engineering?
Something on nobody's radar?
To answer this question, I think we need to bring out the crystal balls--the long range forecasts. To me, the…
cmooney | June 18, 2007posted by Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
I promised to provide the run down of what went on in DC during Capitol Hill Oceans Week (CHOW) 2007.. three days when the biggest players in the oceans game gathered to discuss current ocean and coastal issues. The usual suspects ranged from marine scientists to fishermen to members of Congress with representatives from federal and state governments, executive agencies, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the mix. Even ocean celebrities Jean-Michel Cousteau and Sylvia Earle were involved.
But why settle for my recap of CHOW when you can now watch…
cmooney | June 15, 2007posted by Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
Have you heard of OCEANS-21 (H.R. 21) The Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act?
Rep. Sam Farr introduced this Big Oceans Bill in January aka the 'ocean health' bill. With 50 cosponsors, it's building momentum in the House and over 20 members have signed on in just the last 6 weeks.
For those outside the political tinderbox, what does this mean? OCEANS-21 would become the first national oceans policy if passed. It would strengthen NOAA, promote ecosystem-based management, enhance education, information collection, and…
cmooney | June 5, 2007posted by Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
..back in the District that is, for Capitol Hill Oceans Week (CHOW). And the city is just as hot and sticky as ever while folks now bustle about Metro Center around me. I'm sitting in the Cosi on G street, where long ago I discovered that I do indeed enjoy hummus.
Though I no longer reside here, DC is still the same surreal town I remember - despite a few new buildings and the ever-expanding boundaries of gentrification in my old NW neighborhood. The soccer and kickball players have returned to the Mall and this week's protesters are already in full force on…
cmooney | June 4, 2007posted by Sheril R. Kirshenbaum
Tell people you're a marine biologist and they usually react one of two ways.. 'I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was little!' or 'You probably never hear this but, ever seen that episode of Seinfeld with George?' [Before I go on, for future reference, Yes, I've seen it. And on the Seinfeld note, please stop telling me I look like Elaine.]
It's encouraging that people remember something from pop culture relevant to what I do. I don't realistically expect friends to reference the 2003 Pew Oceans Report, so this collective interest in my field for…
cmooney | May 25, 2007What are the appropriate roles of the defense and intelligence establishments in understanding and responding to global warming? In a recent op-ed, my colleague Mark Drapeau and I reviewed a study by the CNA Corp. that highlighted the natural security threats posed by unchecked climate change. The CNA report observed (rightly, in our view) that the predicted impacts of climate change - among them, critical shortages of food and water in some regions - could act as "threat multipliers" in some of the least developed, but strategically important parts of the world. In light of this, we argued…
cmooney | May 24, 2007Dr. Montgomery McFate, a noted anthropologist and Pentagon consultant currently based at the U.S. Institute for Peace, has pointed out an historical military role of her academic field in understanding the local populace during the Colonial period. Despite this intermingled history of anthropology and the military, however, modern-day defense policymakers and academic researchers rarely play well together in the proverbial sandbox. In general, a Cold War-era preoccupation with technological superiority, combined with the negative aftereffects of poor cultural understanding of opposing forces…
cmooney | May 21, 2007Exciting news out of my very own little North Carolina town..
Last week, Dr. Peter Agre announced he'll evaluate a run for the Senate in 2008 as a Democrat from Minnesota. (The seat is currently held by Republican Senator Norm Coleman).
Well everyone loves a Renaissance man and Dr. Agre has that 'IT' factor! He won me over by being outspoken on the need to improve science and math education and advance and strengthen science. After more than 25 years at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he became Vice Chancellor for Science and Technology and James B. Duke Professor of…
cmooney | May 19, 2007 Not that it hasn't been noticed already...but I was fortunate enough to contribute to the latest issue of Harper's magazine, for a feature section entitled "Undoing Bush."
In the piece, I lay out some suggestions for what the next president can do to restore scientific integrity to the apparatus of the U.S. government (assuming that is indeed a priority for the new administration). The piece isn't online unless you're a subscriber, but the Cliff Notes version is that the approach to reform on this issue must be guided from the top--and facilitated by a strong presidential science adviser--…
cmooney | May 18, 2007POLITICS Where are we headed? Do party loyalties mean much in the big picture?
SCIENCE Will science solve our problems? Perhaps the very nature of all conflict is a necessary aspect of humanity? Is it true environmentalists are a dying breed?
POP Does public opinion matter? Do films with a message like An Inconvenient Truth and Flock of Dodos open the dialog or are progressive ideas as fickle as the latest pop culture marriage?
COCKTAIL Who really influences our beliefs, actions, and ideals? What is moral obligation and does religion have a role? How might scientists inform policy to…
cmooney | March 29, 2007During the new Congress so far, we've seen multiple investigations related to the (mis)treatment of climate science by the Bush administration. These, I'm sure, will be ongoing. But as I've frequently said in public talks, perhaps the most pervasive abuses have occured on local endangered species issues, which have garnered less media coverage.
Now it's time for the Democratic Congress to start digging around here as well.
A new report from the Interior Department's inspector general, covered in the Times today, makes that clear. Substitute for Philip Cooney an Interior Department official…
cmooney | March 28, 2007Later today I'll be heading to the Hill--but probably not blogging til I return. This afternoon action shifts to the House Committee on Science and Technology, and more specifically, to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. The chair, Rep. Brad Miller of North Carolina, has been a dogged exposer of science abuse, and that's the focus of the hearing today:
Shaping the Message, Distorting the Science: Media Strategies to Influence Public Policy
Witnesses:
Dr. James J. McCarthy, Harvard (a leading expert on climate change impacts, he blurbed The Republican War on Science)
Sheldon…
cmooney | March 27, 2007My column from the latest issue of Seed just went up. It's a rather ambitious one, laying out a five step plan for restoring scientific integrity in Washington, D.C. You can read the piece to see all of the steps that I propose, but so far, it's clear that Congressional Democrats are excelling at one above all others: Investigations and oversight. By contrast, when it comes to the final step that I suggest--"Learn From Their Mistakes"--I don't see as much evidence as I would like that Democrats really get it.
My own view is that if the Democrats are really going to save science from rampant…
cmooney | March 20, 2007Finally my first reflection on yesterday's revealing hearing is up--at HuffingtonPost.com. I've been hoping to write there more frequently, and some of the material that came out yesterday was so juicy that I devoted an entire entry to it. I have merely pulled one of many threads from the latest hearing, but I think you'll enjoy it. Hint: It involves James Hansen and George Deutsch....
UPDATE: This is currently a top post at HuffingtonPost, there are already 23 comments, including a lot from conservatives who are slamming Hansen and have weirdly come up with some absolutely bizarre talking…
cmooney | March 19, 2007I just got back from Capitol Hill. The hearing is ongoing, and you can watch it here. I had to leave if I was going to get anything written today. The upshot: There were a lot of new revelations and developments, and there is really a ton to say. I'm on the case, but it may take a while to process everything....
cmooney | March 16, 2007
At least according to a report I just read from E&ENews (unfortunately subscription only), Henry Waxman's politics and science oversight hearing on Monday is going to feature:
* NASA's James Hansen
* Philip Cooney, formerly of the American Petroleum Institute, currently of Exxon Mobil, accused of editing climate reports while working at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
* James Connaughton, director of the Council on Environmental Quality
* George Deutsch, NASA public affairs appointee accused of blocking Hansen's media access
* Roy Spencer, University of Alabama,…
cmooney | March 15, 2007
I just got the press release from the Union of Concerned Scientists: Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a whistleblower bill (H.R. 985; PDF) that lays out explicit protections for scientists in government who expose abuses. The UCS release (for which I do not have a link) notes some interesting details when it comes to how people voted and how this debate went down on the floor:
The bill passed by a 331 to 94 vote, with 229 Democrats and 102 Republicans voting in favor.
Hmm...partisanship on this issue clearly remains a significant factor, although the picture is not…
cmooney | February 9, 2007Jonathan Adler replies to my reply, and I am now replying. Or something.
Because Adler is keeping things civil, I am going to strive to do so also--but I still don't get his take on the stem cell issue. Adler says he stands by his statment that I claim "the number of cell lines, rather than ideological opposition to the destruction of embryos, drove Bush policy." For goodness sakes, no. With the stem cell example, I'm trying to show how cynical the Bushies are with scientific information, whatever the issue. In my reading, the impetus behind the Bush policy was actually to find a compromise…
cmooney | February 8, 2007
I've been extremely gratified by the huge response to the Mooney-Sokal op-ed in the L.A. Times, and there's been still more response since last I posted. In particular, sci-fi novelist David Brin, whose books I read as a kid, posted a very strong endorsement at Daily Kos. I don't agree with everything that Brin says, but believe me, he says it powerfully. Worth checking out.
BTW: Brin's fairly critical review of my own book can also be read here, on his website. I think he likes me a bit more when I'm paired with Sokal....
cmooney | February 7, 2007Well, I just got back from the Hill, where I attended the Senate Commerce Committee's hearing on Climate Change Research and Scientific Integrity. You are supposed to be able to get a Webcast of the hearing from the link above, but I haven't gotten it to work yet. [UPDATE: Now it works, click here, go to around minute 2:14:45.]
The hearing ended on a very strong note, as Senator John Kerry essentially eviscerated a hapless representative of the Bush administration, acting Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) chairman Bill Brennan [pictured at left]. With Kerry terming the administration's…