Science is not politics, policy is not science

"ClimateGate and the Cost of Blurring Science and Politics"

Jonathan H. Adler via Volokh

Daniel Sarewitz and Samuel Thernstrom, of Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes and the American Enterprise Institute respectively, co-authored an op-ed in today’s Los Angeles Times on how the debate over leaked e-mails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, and climate change more broadly, is colored by the mistaken idea that science can resolve contentious policy questions that implicate fundamental values. As the note, “If ‘pure’ science dictates our actions, then there is no need to acknowledge the role that political interests and social values play in deciding how society should address climate change.” It also leads to excessively politicized conflict over scientific findings and prevents honest debate over the underlying policy questions.

Read the whole article for quotes, links:
http://volokh.com/2009/12/16/climategate-and-the-costs-of-blurring-science-and-politics/