Investing in Tomorrow
This continued politicization has dismayed the scientific community. The Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonpartisan body, has documented the interferences and called for legislative action to restore scientific independence and integrity to policymakers. The group's petition has been signed by no fewer than 7,600 scientists, including 49 Nobel laureates.
This is not to say that science should determine political priorities, but our best scientists must have a seat at the table when there are rising concerns about health, the environment, the safety of food additives and drugs, and air and water pollution. President Eisenhower appointed a science advisory committee headed by the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, James Killian, to give him disinterested advice on science-related issues because he was unwilling to rely on government experts from agencies anxious to promote their own programs. A similar role was played in the past by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. These committees must be reformulated and attract people with the most distinguished and independent scientific minds we have. The bottom line is, the scientific community simply must educate the lay public and Congress on these issues.
A presidential tradition of leading the public and its representatives to appreciate the importance of science and professional education goes all the way back to Thomas Jefferson. It is time it was renewed.
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