Moral Obligation

Latour reminds us that “Society (as well as Nature) is a consequence of settling controversies and thus cannot be used as an explanation for how or why controversies end.” Global warming is an issue where science and politics intersect and sound science is vital in matters of fact where future generations are concerned.

In our argument for or against the cause of global climate change, we are driven to ask who the scientists and statisticians are and who their allies are. Also, we ask, ‘who are the dissenters?’ More often, we find the naysayers are special interest groups with strong ties to the oil and gas industries who are looking to protect their pocketbooks, thwarting public policy in the direction that favors the contributors of global warming. Science has a vital role to play in global climate research by offering the best, most accurate data possible to help inform the policymaking process. This is where the Bush administration could uphold integrity in a forthright manner and welcome any new scientific evidence showing that the earth is, in fact, warming as a result of human-made greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, the current administration continues to censor and falsify information which undermines scientific and technical expertise. The earth has been warming at an unprecedented rate and there is almost unanimous scientific consensus about global climate change, yet the current administration is more concerned about the economic impact on the United States. President Bush said, “most reasonable people will understand that [the Kyoto Protocol is] not sound public policy.”