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Science , Fear and Politics Stuart Lieberman, Esq., Scientists should not be political. And politicians should not pretend they are scientists. After all, the concept of political science has nothing to do with pure science. And politicians should not play with science for their own purposes. The problem is that these lines are blurred all of the time. And we never know what or who we can believe. In a recently published account, much was made of a former member of the US Climate Change Science Program who apparently wrote a memo detailing the existence of global warming and the effects greenhouse gases are having on it. You know that Washington thinks little of the greenhouse/global warming issue. The story, if it is true, is that a senior member of the administration re-wrote the memo to weaken its results. In other words, the rumor is that the government re-wrote a scientific report to make it appear that global warming is not a significant problem. That , if true, improperly mixes science with politics. (By the way, it appears that that administration member since left government and is now employed by an oil company giant.) Recall that after 911 there was an investigation as to whether the federal government intentionally toned down reports suggesting that those in the vicinity of the attacks might risk future health consequences. We now know that many people within the vicinity of Ground Zero may require medical monitoring due to their acute toxic exposure . Again, if true, this is another example of improperly mixing science with politics. On the issue of much hated cell towers, the FCC now assures us that they are harmless, that the radiation cannot cause any harm to any of us (that is not exactly what the government says, but its pretty close). Many people don't believe the government because people never know whether they are hearing real science, or watered down science. So many wonder whether the cell towers are truly safe. Distrust is a natural bi-product of infusing politics with true science. The problem works both ways. A few years ago, the federal government banned the sale of arsenic treated wood. This wood was weather and bug resistant and was found in playgrounds everywhere. The fear was that the arsenic found within the wood might make kids sick. A lot of people all over the country were afraid of this and the government pulled the product off the shelves. However, the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission both concluded the wood posed no serious health risk. Playgrounds, by their very nature, are probably many times more dangerous than this wood found in some playgrounds. But public fear, be it rational or not, prevailed. The wood was banned. That seemingly baseless position is just as wrong as deliberate concealments by the government of actual dangers. Fake science, whether it results in promoting products or banning them, should never be tolerated or encouraged by government officials. The government is here to produce real science and disseminate the results: whatever they might be. The government is not hear to fabricate results or conclusions. One of governments most basic functions is to protect us. In doing so, it must be very careful to provide us with realistic data, that has not been modified one way or another for political purposes. We deserve nothing less than this from our government.
The information provided in this column is written by Stuart Lieberman,a practicing environmental attorney, and is for general information purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be used in place of legal advice.
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