Tag Archives: nature

Global Warming and Publish or Perish

Yes, I believe that man-made global warming is a fact, but I also know that the discovery of the rise in greenhouse gases was not a major scientific breakthrough, and monitoring the greenhouse effect has not required a vast amount of scientific smarts.

And I wonder, If global warming brings about a major worldwide catastrophe, will that catastrophe prevent an even worse (and so-far unseen) man-made disaster, one that perhaps looms further out in the future. After all, it is science that brings us to these deadly turning points, and our science is the product of human nature. In fact our top scientists and academics arrive at the top though brute ambition, and in the course of their ambition, often abuse their families and students. Their public sense of ethics and honor and moral imperative is not a constant: it is something they often abandon in private, both at home and at school. Ask their sons and ex-wives. Ask the wounded and disabled they all left behind. read more

Science, Ethics, and Abuse

Here is the statement I gave to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and then e-mailed to President Bush:

One of my present concerns is that science (both in government and academia) attracts (and subsequently recruits) sinister political hacks and abject academic lackeys. I recently expressed my concern to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy:

[originally addressed to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy]

In your U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy Preliminary Report you state,

“The education of the 21st century ocean-related workforce will require not only a strong understanding of oceanography and other disciplines, but an ability to integrate science concepts, engineering methods, and sociopolitical considerations. Resolving complex ocean issues related to economic stability, environmental health, and national security will require a workforce with diverse skills and backgrounds. Developing and maintaining such a workforce will rely, in turn, on programs of higher education that prepare future ocean professionals at a variety of levels and in a variety of marine-related fields.” read more