New Review: The Republican War on Science

The following is a brief excerpt from a review posted on PopandPolitics.com:

If trade and economy are the lifeblood of this country, then science and technology are its heart. To be the dominant player in the global trade arena, your country must be the one that leads in all manner of invention, whether it’s in the military, medical, or technological realm. If your country is to be competitive against an ever increasing tide of hungry countries emerging out of third world status, yours must have the superior science.
The problem these days is that most people charged with keeping the American economy humming and making us competitive against rival countries often appear to treat scientific research as a necessary evil. Sure, the average CEO loves science when it births a new product that can garner millions on the open market, but you don’t see that same level of enthusiasm when science singles out their product as being dangerous to the welfare of society. Many of our corporate leaders shun science when it is discovered that their business is causing environmental degradation or health risks.

When corporate leadership finds itself under the spotlight of scientific inquiry, they call upon their friends in Washington (both parties) to come and protect them from cost-affecting legislation. The result is that whenever a company is found to be creating say, enormous amounts of greenhouse gas that then causes global warming, instead of writing or signing legislation that would curb greenhouse gas emissions and limit environmental degradation, our elected officials act as corporate guardians and either dismiss the data that points to the problem as inconclusive or write ineffective legislation.

This is the major thrust of Seed magazine correspondent Chris Mooney’s first book. “The Republican War on Science" is about the relationship between science and politics, and though its title may lead most to believe that this is some anti-Bush, Green screed written only to smear the Republican Party in an important election year, Mooney’s efforts are far from that. In actuality, this is an incredibly fair and well researched book on how politicians, mostly Republicans but some Democrats as well, abuse the scientific community in order to please their donors in the business community. Continued