Canadian Politics: The Harper Era

Learning science from President Bush

February 10, 2006

By David Suzuki

With a new conservative prime minister in office, there's been plenty of talk about how much Stephen Harper will try to emulate American-style policies. We can only hope he doesn't follow the Bush administration's confused and confusing take on science.

Most people are probably aware of the official American government position on climate change, which has ranged from it isn't happening; to it may be happening, but it has nothing to do with people; to, okay, maybe it is happening, but there's nothing we can really do about it. American diplomats even walked out of talks during the December climate negotiations in Montreal because they simply were not prepared to discuss any plans that would call for future reductions of heat-trapping emissions.


Meanwhile, the prime minister of the country Mr. Bush calls "America's closest ally," Britain, recently wrote in the foreword to the new report Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change, that "the risks of climate change may well be greater than we thought." Mr. Blair called the current growth in greenhouse emissions "unsustainable," and noted: "Action now can help avert the worst effects of climate change. With foresight such action can be taken without disturbing our way of life."

But back in the United States, the top climate scientist at NASA has accused the Bush administration of trying to silence him. James Hansen says that after he gave a lecture promoting the necessity of reducing heat-trapping greenhouse emissions, the public affairs headquarters at NASA in Washington, D.C. ordered a review of all his upcoming lectures, papers, Internet postings and interview requests. Dr. Hansen told the New York Times that nothing in his 30 years with NASA compares to the scrutiny he now faces in his daily activities.

And he's not the only scientist to complain about the Bush administration's unofficial policies of censorship. The Union of Concerned Scientists has gathered a list of more than 8,000 researchers asking the White House to stop politicizing their disciplines. A preface to the list claims that: "Across a broad range of issues - from childhood lead poisoning and mercury emissions to climate change, reproductive health, and nuclear weapons - political appointees have distorted and censored scientific findings that contradict established policies."


Science should not be a partisan issue. In fact, perhaps the best criticism of the American government's politicization of science comes from Republican Representative Sherwood Boehlert, who is also Chair of the House Science Committee. In a letter to NASA administration, he condemned Dr. Hansen's censorship, writing, "Political figures ought to be reviewing their public statements to make sure they are consistent with the best available science. Scientists should not be reviewing their statements to make sure they are consistent with the current political orthodoxy."

I could not agree more. I obtained my PhD from the University of Chicago in 1961 and shudder to think of what would have happened to my emerging discipline of genetics had the government of the time deemed that it did not conform to established policy. It's ironic that the current government of a country that prides itself on innovation and the quality of its research should be trying to censor the same people responsible for America's continued technological and scientific success.

Not all of Mr. Bush's actions on science are off base. In his recent State of the Union address, he committed to a doubling of federal funds for basic scientific research. At a time when more and more research funds are dedicated to applied research, usually with some kind of industrial application, it's refreshing to see an emphasis on the basics that form the backbone of scientific knowledge.

Perhaps Mr. Bush's recent announcement signals a change of tune. But unless we see a radical shift, the best advice I can give Mr. Harper is that if he hopes to learn anything from Mr. Bush's scientific record, it's what not to do.

Happy National Flag Day, Canukistanis!

National Flag Day

Now if only they'd make it an actual mid-winter holiday.

Guys ! I love Canada !!

Our new minister Gordon O' Connor put his own website online
and decided to entrust the french translation to some automatic translator ...

Ha! Ha! Ha ! Like the bilingual product translation,
that move is always good for a laugh or two !!

BTW, don't try going there now because, as of last night, the site is "under reconstruction" ...

which they translated in french by "sous la reconstruction" ... Under the ... !!

Before they shut down the site, we were invited to take a look at the "map of riding"
which was translated as the "carte de l'équitation" (map of horse riding) ... ;D

We also learned that the guy received "56 % of the votes cast in Carleton-Mississippi Mills"
«Gordon a obtenu 56 % des voix moulées dans des moulins du Carleton-Mississippi» ...

cast (moulées) as in moulding and Mills (moulins) as in windmills !! - moulded in windmills of ...

"Press Releases" became «Dégagement de Nouvelles» (Clearing of News)where they talked about
le «nouveau haut-parleur du Sénat» "loudspeaker" (Senat Speaker),
au «fouet en chef du gouvernement» "flogging" (Government Whip in Chief)
et le «paquet de séparation» "package of separation" (severance package) de Dingwall.

Funny stuff !!

United North America ... ??

www.unitednorthamerica.org/home.htm

A distinct probability before the end of this century ...

[edit]

ÔÔPS ! Should have written "possibility" instead of probability ...

Read in today's newspaper that it will cost ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS
to repair the submarine "british rust-bucket" Chicoutimi
that was damaged by a fire last year ...

25 million dollars have already been spent to evaluate the damages
and take out the broken/burned stuff ...

Brilliant !!

Eagerly awaiting the full deal on “changes to the DND”
This better be good.