The Union of Concerned Scientists has a statement on scientific integrity denouncing the various abuses of the scientific process perpetrated by the Bush Administration. If you’re a scientist, and you’re concerned about the politicization of the science used for policy-making, you might want to sign on to the statement by going to their site.
This has already been linked a million other places, but it’s still worth passing on.
I worry about politicization of science from the other end. While I believe in global warming, worry that extinction of species will inevitably have harmful unforeseeable consequences, and hope that the therapeutic potential of stem cells is fully explored, I’m concerned that scientists who work in these fields need to be extra scrupulous in not allowing their political biases to show through in their work. Global warming in particular holds potential and peril for the public perception of science. If scientists can convince the public that we have been careful and impartial about global warming, perhaps they will listen to us about nuclear power, careless antibiotic use and the importance of habitat preservation to our own survival. The current public view of scientists as just another clamoring faction is not only bad for science, it’s bad for society as a whole.
If the UCS really wanted to help science, they’d call out liberals who mix science and politics as well, and they’d name names. While the actions of the Bush Administration have been especially egregious, I suspect that there are offenders on both sides.