ELISABETH GREAVES-DEN BROEDER
Waitotara
Credibility of science on the line
Frank Gibson's opinion piece in Thursday's Chronicle, December 28, defends science, and criticises leaders who oppose the political positions of activists claiming climate science justifies their positions.
The leaders, says Mr Gibson, show ignorance and stupidity. There is more to this story.
World War II showed politicians the popularity and power of science. The military-industrial complex exploited government's power. It's gotten much worse in the last decade as others, such as tobacco and pharma executives, joined in.
Yes, most senior politicians in the US are corrupt. How else can your income be a politician's salary, yet you retire very rich?
The corruption of scientists started after WWII. Scientists are thought to be "objective", "disinterested" and honest. Would that it were so.
Scientists are not more saintly or right than other mortals. Science as a process is powerful because it uncovers and corrects mistakes. Many scientists can be bought with offers of grant money and jobs with political influence.
For "warmists," here are some uncomfortable truths:
1. Science does not work by "consensus."
2. The models beloved by "warmists" cannot explain the large fluctuations in historical climate, let alone the geological record. Many scientists reject as unproven the claims about human-caused global warming.
3. The models' predictions have been wrong. Climate data used in modelling is only recent and spotty. The models ignore many important variables. Activists claiming models are reliable for predicting our complex global climate are a joke. Modelling has been abused.
4. Researchers are very competitive. They have very strong incentives to only find and report studies that support the positions of funders.
5. There have now been far too many cases of dishonesty by climate researchers and agencies. We know research results paid for by big businesses must be taken sceptically. So must research and agencies paid for by politicians. Do not denigrate all who disagree with the "warmists". Some are legitimately sceptical. And be sceptical of US media reports. Finally ...
6. Science itself is very much in danger of losing its credibility. It deserves to if it does not harshly sanction dishonesty. What a loss to humanity that would be.
PS: I heartily approve of Frank Gibson's local efforts to promote science and rationality. But I understand he was not trained to be a research scientist. How can he know US politics?
ROBERT L. HAYS PhD (Stanford, biology)
Castlecliff
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