Tuesday, January 23, 2007
SCIENTIFIC FREEDOM
This is from a supporter of global warming:
Would junior scientists feel compelled to mute theirIf this is what thoughtful supporters say it is obvious howmuch pressure is being felt by opponents. It has been noted before who many of the prominent skeptics are emeritus professors (ie retired) & thus not in need of approval for grants let alnoe being subject to loss of tenure.
findings, out of concern for their careers, if the research contradicts
the climate change consensus?
"I can understand how a scientist without tenure can feel the community
pressures," says environmental scientist Roger Pielke Jr., a colleague
of Vranes' at the University of Colorado.
Pielke says he has felt pressure from his peers: A prominent scientist
angrily accused him of being a skeptic, and a scientific journal editor
asked him to "dampen" the message of a peer-reviewed paper to derail
skeptics and business interests.
"The case for action on climate science, both for energy policy and
adaptation, is overwhelming," Pielke says. "But if we oversell the
science, our credibility is at stake."
