The Republican War On Science

by Mooney, Chris

• ISBN13: 9780465046751
• ISBN10: 0465046754
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-30
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

Science has never been more crucial to deciding the political issues facing the country. Yet science and scientists have less influence with the federal government than at any time since the Eisenhower administration. In the White House and Congress today, findings are reported in a politicized manner; spun or distorted to fit the speaker's agenda; or, when they're too inconvenient, ignored entirely. On a broad array of issues-stem cell research, climate change, missile defense, abstinence education, product safety, environmental regulation, and many others-the Bush administration's positions fly in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus. Federal science agencies, once fiercely independent under both Republican and Democratic presidents, are increasingly staffed by political appointees and fringe theorists who know industry lobbyists and evangelical activists far better than they know the science. This is not unique to the Bush administration, but it is largely a Republican phenomenon, born of a conservative dislike of environmental, health, and safety regulation, and at the extremes, of evolution and legalized abortion. InThe Republican War on Science, Chris Mooney ties together the disparate strands of the attack on science into a compelling and frightening account of our government's increasing unwillingness to distinguish between legitimate research and ideologically driven pseudoscience.

Author Biography

Chris Mooney, a journalist specializing in the relation of science and politics, is a Washington correspondent for Seed magazine. He has written for the American Prospect, Mother Jones, Wired, the Washington Post, Slate, and many other publications. The Republican War on Science is his first book. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
PART ONE WHERE IT BEGINS
The Threat	2	(12)
Political Science 101	14	(11)
From FDR to Nixon	25	(10)
``Creation Science'' and Reagan's ``Dream''	35	(14)
Defenseless Against the Dumb	49	(16)
Junking ``Sound Science''	65	(13)
PART TWO THE BUSINESS OF SCIENCE
``The Greatest Hoax''	78	(24)
Wine, Jazz, and ``Data Quality''	102	(19)
Eating Away at Science	121	(21)
Fishy Science	142	(22)
PART THREE SCIENTIFIC REVELATIONS
``Creation Science'' 2.0	164	(21)
Stemming Research	185	(20)
Sexed-Up Science	205	(19)
PART FOUR THE ANTISCIENCE PRESIDENT
Bush League Science	224	(24)
Epilogue: What We Can Do	248	(9)
Interviews	257	(8)
Credits	265	(2)
Notes	267	(62)
Index	329