Science Left Behind: Rise of the Anti-Scientific Left

Alex B. Berezow, Ph.D. Editor, RealClearScience.com

Oct. 10, 2012

“So, Who Are You?”

• From southern Illinois

• 2004: Univ. of Washington

– Go Huskies!!!

• 2010: Ph.D. in microbiology

• 2010: Editor, RealClearScience

My Personal Science Philosophy • If you’re not an expert, it is best

to accept mainstream science

• Science should always come before politics

• No ideology (or political party) is beyond criticism

• We should purge anti-scientific thinking, even if it comes from our political allies

• I play for Team Science, not Team Blue or Team Red

Why “Science Left Behind”?

• Why pick on the Left?

• Media is quick to cover anti-scientific beliefs from conservatives

• Several books already published covering the topic

• Progressive anti-science beliefs are underreported, yet just as dangerous

Who Are “Progressives”?

An adaptation of David Nolan’s chart

Myths Commonly Held by Today’s Progressives

1. Natural things are good.

2. Unnatural things are bad.

3. Unchecked science will destroy us.

4. Science is only relative, anyway.

5. Science is on our side.

What are the results of these myths?

Protests against basic science. (Lots of protests…)

Basic Technology Opposed

Scientific Research Opposed

Energy Production Opposed

Let’s Review…

• Progressive protesters don’t want: – Vaccines

– “Chemicals”

– Genetically modified crops

– Research into genetically modified crops

– Animal research

– Gender-based biology research

– Nuclear power

– Fracking or natural gas

– Wind power

– Hydroelectric power

• Can someone be opposed to all that, yet still be “pro-science”?

• How exactly do progressives think of scientists…?

Like This?

Objection, Your Honor!

• Progressive activists are silly

• Progressive politicians are pro-science!

• Are they really?

Credit: Photobucket

President Barack Obama

“We’ll restore science to its rightful place…” --Inaugural Address, January 20, 2009

That’s a lofty goal for a politician. How did he do?

Barack Obama vs. Embryonic Stem Cells

• Remember when GW Bush banned embryonic stem cells?

– Well, he didn’t

– He limited federal funding to pre-existing cell lines

– 21 ESC lines were eligible for funding in 2001

• Obama promised to fix this

– Executive order issued March 9, 2009

– What did it do?

Barack Obama vs. Embryonic Stem Cells

• Lifted the “ban” on federal funding – Today, 178 ESC lines

– But, ~760 lines available globally

• Must be derived from “leftover” IVF embryos Permission from donors required

• So, it does little to address the hundreds of thousands of embryos sitting unused in freezers all over the country

Barack Obama vs. Embryonic Stem Cells

• What is still not eligible for federal funding?

– Creation of embryos only for research purposes

– Derivation of hESCs from SCNT

– Injection of hESCs into non-human primate blastocysts

• Many bioethical issues at play

• Bottom line: Obama’s policy is not revolutionary; it is a marginal improvement

Barack Obama vs. Vaccines We’ve seen just a skyrocketing autism rate. Some people are

suspicious that it’s connected to the vaccines. This person included. The science right now is inconclusive, but we have

to research it.

--Candidate Barack Obama, April 21, 2008

• Wrong

• Science was “settled” in 2002 (if not earlier) – Vaccine-autism link

declared a fraud (2011)

• Did things improve when he became President?

Barack Obama vs. Vaccines

• 2009: H1N1 influenza pandemic

– Vaccine shortage in U.S.

• Why?

• Overly cautious FDA

– Adjuvants in H1N1 vaccine are not allowed in the U.S. (but they are used elsewhere)

– Switch from multi-dose to single-dose vials because they have less thimerosal

Barack Obama vs. Vaccines

• Outcome of 2009 H1N1 influenza:

– 61 million Americans infected

– 274,000 hospitalizations

– 12,470 deaths

• How many of these illnesses and deaths might have been prevented if FDA had better policies?

Sidebar: President George W. Bush

• Regularly accused of manipulating scientific data… often by Barack Obama

“[Promoting science]… is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political

agenda – and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”

--President Barack Obama, March 9, 2009

Barack Obama vs. BP Oil Spill

• April 2010: BP oil spill

• One of the worst oil spills in world history

• How did the Obama Administration respond?

Barack Obama vs. BP Oil Spill

Taken together, two of the reports paint a picture of a government that was as unprepared to deal with a

catastrophic spill as BP. And the portrait of an administration that withheld information from the public and, more specifically, scientists, about how

much oil was getting into the water, how much remained and how such estimates were calculated appeared to contradict Obama's pledge to make government more transparent and trustworthy.

--Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2010

Barack Obama vs. Environment

• The Good: – Eliminated corn ethanol

subsidy • Nitrous oxide

– New limits on carbon emissions from coal power plants

• The Bad: – No comprehensive climate

change legislation • Many Democrats opposed

• E.g. Joe Manchin

– Has not waived ethanol mandate for fuel

• Causes high food prices

Barack Obama vs. Environment • The Ugly:

• “Cash for Clunkers” – New cars were 0.23 mpg more

efficient (than if program didn’t exist)

– Saved US 12,000 barrels of oil per day (but we use 9 million barrels)

– Short-term boost in sales, but no long-term economic benefit

– Taxpayer cost: $24,000 per car

• Ignored EPA’s recommendation for smog levels – Reason: It would be bad for business

– Isn’t that what he criticized for Bush for doing?

Barack Obama vs. Nuclear Waste

• Yucca Mountain

– Political football for years

– Studied for 25 years

– Facility already built

– Cost: $13.5 billion

– Safer to store waste here than scattered around the country

• NRC Chair Gregory Jaczko

– Former aide to anti-Yucca Sen. Harry Reid

– Withheld information from his colleagues on NRC

Barack Obama vs. Nuclear Waste

“The U.S.’s top nuclear-power regulator ‘strategically’

withheld information from his colleagues in an effort to stop

work on a controversial proposed waste dump,

according to a report by the agency’s internal watchdog…”

--Wall St. Journal, June 10, 2011

• Obama essentially cancelled Yucca Mountain merely 4 months after taking office

• Now what?

Barack Obama vs. Solar Power • Obama says he wants to

promote green energy

• Bad Policy #1: Playing “venture capitalist” with taxpayer money – Solyndra

• Made “CIGS” panels

• Copper indium gallium diselenide

• Expensive, more efficient

– Business model: • Price of silicon will go up

• Solyndra can compete w/ “thin-film” silicon panels from China

– But, price of silicon came crashing down…

• Along w/ Solyndra Bankrupt

Barack Obama vs. Solar Power

“…Obama’s green-technology program was infused with politics at every level, The Washington Post found in an analysis of

thousands of memos, company records and internal e-mails. Political considerations were raised repeatedly by company

investors, Energy Department bureaucrats and White House officials.

“…when warned that financial disaster might lie ahead, the administration remained steadfast in its support for Solyndra.”

“…[The documents] give an unprecedented glimpse into high-level maneuvering by politically connected clean-technology investors.

--Washington Post, December 25, 2011

Barack Obama vs. Solar Power

• Bad Policy #2: Obama slapped a 31% tariff on cheap solar panels from China

– This will increase the cost of solar panel installations for your home

• If you can’t beat ‘em, tax ‘em!

Is President Obama “Pro-Science”?

Did Barack Obama “restore science to its rightful place”?

Or…

Is he just another politician?

Progressive Cities of the Left Coast

• Seattle

• Portland

• San Francisco

• Are they bastions of good science policy?

Silliness in Seattle: “Snowmageddon”

• December 2008: Snow! – Heaven forbid, don’t use salt!

• It’s bad for Puget Sound (???)

– Instead: Pack snow down and use 9,000 tons of sand

• Dirty ice rinks w/ “ice potholes”

• This is actually worse for environment

• How did that work out? – Police couldn’t patrol the city

– Schools, businesses cancelled

– Greg Nickels lost his job

• Surprise! Now we use salt!

Silliness in Seattle: Plastic Bag Ban

• Does little to nothing to help environment

– Animals don’t usually choke on plastic bags

– Lost fishing nets used at sea are a much bigger problem

• Plastic bags are energy-efficient

– Must use a cotton bag 173 times to “break even” from energy standpoint

Keep Portland Weird (Note: That Shouldn’t Be a Problem)

• Water fluoridation – 1945: Grand Rapids, MI

– Helps prevent tooth decay

– Benefits the poor

– 200 million Americans get fluoridated water

• Portland – Rejected fluoridation in 1980

– Oregon ranks near bottom in children’s dental health

“Many Portlanders treasure their city’s quirky distinctiveness.”

--New York Times, Sept. 12, 2012

Keep Portland Weird (and Toothless?)

• Last week, city council approved fluoridation… in 2014

• Welcome to the 20th Century?

“It isn’t just time for Portland to enter the 21st century — we have some business to make up from the 20th century,” said Randy

Leonard, the public safety commissioner, who was

interrupted several times by shouts from the audience. “This is not an issue for the faint of heart.”

--New York Times, Sept. 12, 2012

“If You’re Going to San Francisco…”

• Be sure to bring a plunger

• Low-flow toilets are causing sludge to back up in city sewers

– Mission Bay neighborhood smells like “rotten eggs”

• Spent $14 million to dump bleach into the sewer

Who Are We Supposed to Trust?

• Who can we trust? – Scientists, medical doctors,

and (usually) gov’t regulatory bodies

• If anything, FDA and EPA are overly cautious

• E.g., E-cigarettes

– RealClearScience!

• Major science journals – Nature

– PNAS

– Science

– JAMA

Example: Who to Trust on GMOs?

PRO-GMO

• American Medical Assoc.

• National Academy of Sciences

• World Health Organization

• Food & Ag. Organization (UN)

• Chief Scientific Adviser to the European Commission

• USDA

• EPA

• FDA

ANTI-GMO

• PETA

• Sierra Club

• Union of Concerned Scientists

• Environmental Working Group

• Friends of the Earth

• Whole Foods

Final Thoughts

• I’m not into “keeping score” – No political party or ideology can claim being “pro-science”

– Most politicians prioritize good politics over good science

– Play for Team Science, not Team Blue or Team Red

• Data is data: It doesn’t have a political agenda – Learn to distinguish “science” from “policy”

• Scientists are imperfect, but science works – Academia, gov’t, and industry: All have good scientists

– Mistakes and fraud are eventually rooted out

• If people can put aside their ideologies and preconceived beliefs, we should all be able to agree on the lessons science teaches us

In Other Words…

You CAN handle the truth! (With apologies to Col. Jessup)

Thank You!

• AEI

• Kenneth Green

• Jon Entine

Topics Covered in Our Book

• Progressivism

• Obama Administration

• Organic Food

• Genetic Modification

• Future of Food

• Environmentalism

• Clean Energy

• Solar Power

• Vaccines

• Pharmaceutical Companies

• Animal Research

• Science in Europe

• Gender Research

• Science Education

• Science Journalism

• “False Equivalence”

• War on Excellence

• Science Issues for 2012 and Beyond

Questions?

Common Objections

• Progressive activists aren’t mainstream

– Greenpeace, PETA, Union of Concerned Scientists, celebrities, some Democrats

– They strongly influence the culture

• E.g., animal research isn’t as popular as it once was

– Airlines refuse to fly animals used for research

• Whole Foods exists

• Precautionary principle (Better safe than sorry)

– Nothing can be proven safe; it can only be proven unsafe

– What’s the risk of NOT implementing the technology?

– Why do we fear small risks while simultaneously ignoring the much bigger risks of everyday life?

– If a “chemical” is unsafe, what are we going to replace it with? How do we know if the replacement is safe?

– The difference between medicine and poison is the dose.