Further to yesterday’s item, “The journal Nature defends its right to cover politics,” our physics color commentator Rob Sheldon writes to say,
This is a totally fact-free politicized attack on a presidential candidate. Look at the smokestack picture–emitting steam darkened by framing the shot against the sun—with the caption “rolled back greenhouse-gas emissions”. Steam is not a greenhouse gas–according to the EPA. But in the climate models it is 99.5% of the greenhouse effect, all from natural sources. Which is why it isn’t regulated by the EPA. So this caption is doubly ironic.
And that is the whole theme of the article–doubly ironic. They claim that Trump has politicized science (when of course, he is attempting to de-politicize it), which is why they politically oppose Trump, because only by being overtly political can they regain their objective neutral status.
As with many things done today, I always wonder are they extreme cynics or just very stupid? But whatever they are, science will never again regain the status they covet so intensely.
Yes, the folk at Nature will come to miss objectivity when no one thinks of it in connection with them. They can still be self-righteous but then they will just sound out of touch.
See also: The journal Nature defends its right to cover politics. No one says Nature can’t be active in politics and publish screeds of this type. What its staff can’t do—because nobody can—is be both a participant and a referee. They’ve chosen to be participants, fine. Then, “Listen to science” has as much clout as “Listen to the union boss” and “Listen to the corporate head office.” Which is to say, the next time they bellyache that people don’t listen to science, all one can respond is, “Take a number and wait. Meanwhile, suck it up.”
and
Scientific American breaks with 175-year tradition, endorses Joe Biden for US President.