

The G.O.P.’s War on Science Gets Worse - ScottyE
http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/gop-war-on-science-gets-worse

======
anigbrowl
This was posted the other day but rubbed some people the wrong way because
it's nakedly political (though I think it has a sound empirical basis):
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9500233](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9500233)

It would be good if we could discuss it without it being flagged again. In the
interests of political balance, I'd like to mention that I find Democratic
hostility to free trade policy quite as benighted as GOP hostility to certain
lines of economic inquiry.

~~~
thaumaturgy
Good luck. The vocal majority on HN are still opposed to the findings of
climate science.

As to the article: I fear I'm getting a bit burned out on political topics
(which it mostly is). It seems impossible for me, personally, to change any of
it for the better, and so much of political news is disappointing, especially
when it involves science. As you correctly pointed out in the other thread,
it's just as bad on left-leaning sites with regard to GMO topics.

The U.S. has held a position of technological and economic prominence through
most of the 19th and 20th centuries, but we are far, far behind now on
education -- a problem which will be punishing us for the rest of the century
at least -- and funding for scientific research, which drives technological
advancement, has been under assault from so many directions for decades now.
Switzerland won the biggest discovery in physics so far this century, but it
could have been done years ago in Texas
([http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/how-texas-lost-worlds-
larg...](http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/how-texas-lost-worlds-largest-
super-collider)). Our most realistic hopes and dreams for space exploration
now rest on a single company. Other countries are starting to take their first
steps towards space ([http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/07/uae-plans-to-
fly-s...](http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/07/uae-plans-to-fly-
spaceship-to-mars-because-they-have-run-out-of-things-to-spend-money-
on/374561/)) while NASA still tries to do the best they can with shamefully
little funding. (I'm not yet willing to give them even odds of getting there
on time though.) Germany's leading the world in development of renewable
energy
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_Germany)),
France has the best nuclear reactors in the world
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_France)),
Canada has some of the best health care in the world
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada))
... all things the U.S. has the resources to compete in, but doesn't because
of politics.

So there are political groups that are strangling our future for the sake of
present interests. There doesn't seem to be much that can be done about it
because they represent the desires of a large number of people. Maybe the
enormous wealth and other remaining advantages in the U.S. will keep things on
a more or less even keel for a long time to come; maybe the U.S. will slide
behind the rest of the world and there will be another diaspora of science and
technology to other countries. Who knows.

~~~
anigbrowl
Hmm, maybe I'll do a poll over the w/e - my impression was that a majority of
people on HN take anthropogenic climate change seriously as an issue.

I agree with the rest of your post about an excess focus short-term interests
hurting our long term strategic position.

~~~
thaumaturgy
A majority may, but the ones that show up in related threads or vote on
comments and so on overwhelmingly believe that climate science isn't science.

It's a battle I've had on HN from time to time for years ever since the big
email leak that proved "fraud" years ago.

I don't bother much anymore though. HN is not influential at all in terms of
climate policy and there's already plenty of information available to anyone
that would consider changing their position anyway.

------
karmakaze
Is there ever a case to preface a statement with the disclaimer "I'm not a
politician..."?

