Posted by
m0t0r1zed on Monday, June 23, 2008 1:07:01 PM
Simple question - what kind of person decides to go into the environmental sciences as a career?
For the most part, I believe many are already "converts" to the environmental cause, so it is wise to be a bit more cautious about their objectivity. As an undergrad, I bumped into someone studying environmental science at a big name university. His opinions were already set, and he was (can you believe it?) an ardent Chomsky-ite.
I suspect that different professions attract different types of people. It's no surprise that journalists tend to be liberal and many of their stories are built around the premise of "why isn't gov't doing something about this problem?" Similarly, I doubt many pacifists decide to join the military or atheists choose to become priests. I'd even venture that business majors probably desire money more than the average person, and devout churchgoers don't usually become exotic dancers. It's just common sense.
I'm not saying that scientists who study the environment can't be objective, but I tend to be more cautious about their findings and conclusions. For example, was Hansen just a brilliant and prescient mind who could foresee these climatic patterns coalescing within his mind without the benefit of powerful computer models, or was he just a zealot who hitched his wagon to anthropogenic global warming early in his career and was gonna whip that horse no matter what?
Heheh, ok, so I phrased that question pretty cynically, but it's a legitimate question, given some of the statements he's made. Hmm, I wonder if someone did a survey of the political, social, and economic beliefs of environmental scientists, what the results would be?
Meh, I could be wrong, of course.