A reporter I know sent to me a press release yesterday titled “Scientists Dispute Link Between Hurricanes and Global Warming.” The press release was disseminated by the TCS Science Roundtable. TCS – Tech Central Station – is often a very useful and informative site for analyses and opinions from a self-described perspective that values “the power of free markets, open societies and individual human ingenuity to raise living standards and improve lives.” As such TCS is very much a special interest group. People can choose to agree or disagree with TCS analyses, or share its values. But in this post I want to highlight the role that university and some government scientists play in the unhealthy politicization of science through their willing association with advocacy groups (like TCS, but also, e.g., environmental advocacy groups), and the increasing tendency for organizations that should serve as “honest brokers of policy options” to transform themselves into advocacy-like groups.

The scientists cited in the TCS press release with information on contacting them to discuss hurricanes are the following:

William Gray, Colorado State University

James O’Brien, Florida State University

Pat Michaels, University of Virginia

Anthony Lupo, University of Missouri-Columbia

Roy Spencer, University of Alabama

George Taylor, Oregon State University

Call me a rocket scientist, but it seems that these scientists in particular are included in this press release because their perspectives, which they may hold very strongly and have good support for scientifically, align in some way with the special interests of the group promoting them. Interest groups have a great deal of power in such situations, because they can selectively assemble experts on any given topic to basically support any ideological position. This is a function of what Dan Sarewitz calls an “excess of objectivity” or the not-so-tongue-in-cheek principle that for every PhD there is an equal and opposite PhD.

Let me emphasize that it would be utter nonsense to claim that this is only a phenomenon that occurs on the political right, where TCS is coming from. For instance, the Union of Concerned Scientists routinely uses university and government scientists to legitimize its views, generally viewed as coming from the political left. However, as we’ve discussed here before, the political right has been more successful at marshalling experts to their causes, but the left is rapidly closing the gap.

Let’s take a look at this behavior from two perspectives. First, from the perspective of the individual scientist deciding to align with an interest group, it should be recognized that such a decision is political. There is of course nothing wrong with politics, it is how we get done the business of society, and organized interest groups are fundamental to modern democracy. Nonetheless, an observer of this dynamic might be forgiven for thinking when they see scientists self-select and organize themselves according to political predispositions that different perspectives on scientific issues are simply a function of political ideologies. We can see how contentious political debates involving science become when filtering science through interest groups is the dominant mechanism for connecting science to policy.

It is this condition of dueling special interest scientists that leads to a second perspective, and that is an institutional approach to providing science advice in a way that is not filtered through a particular special interest agenda. It is this very condition that gives legitimacy to government science advisory panels, National Academy committees, and professional societies. But the role such groups as honest brokers is in my view endangered. For instance, consider a congressional staff briefing organized by the American Meteorological Society last fall on the subject of hurricanes and global warming (see this PDF). This briefing included the perspectives of:

Kevin Trenberth, NCAR

Judy Curry, Georigia Tech

Kerry Emanuel, MIT

All distinguished scientists, but undoubtedly a subset of scientific views (and on its policy significance) on hurricanes and climate change. The AMS took on the characteristics of TCS when putting together this briefing by selecting participants to represent a narrow perspective that was all but certainly shaped by political considerations. In discussing this general issue with colleagues and here on Prometheus, some make the claim that such unbalanced perspectives are needed from the scientific community in order to balance what is considered to be the greater ability of the political right to get its message out. Whether or not the right does in fact have a louder voice, it is important to recognize that efforts to restore some universal balance in public debate and discussions by picking a side in political debate have the ultimate effect of turning organizations like the AMS into what appears to be (or actually is) just another ideologically motivated interest group. Such threats to the legitimacy of scientific committees, assessments, advisory groups, and professional organizations are more and more common.

What we lose in this process are honest brokers. For the more ideologically motivated, such a loss may be no big deal. But for those of us who think that perspectives on science and policy are not purely a function of ideology, then there is a very real threat to the positive role of science in policy and politics.

Today, where does one go for the presentation of a comprehensive perspective on scientific views and their implications for policy? There are increasingly few outlets for such honest brokering, meaning that we all fall back on ideological filters, which means that science is increasingly subsumed to pure politics as a tool of marketing competing ideological agendas.

My advice to scientists:

1. Affiliate yourself with interest groups with open eyes. Recognize what you are doing, and if it makes sense for you then go ahead and affiliate.

2. But at the same time demand of the community’s scientific institutions that they reflect a broad perspective on science and policy. If you agree to participate in an event, a committee, an assessment, etc. look for people with different views than your own, and if you don’t seem them, demand that they be included.