I've heard colleagues say that the solution to what's happening to American science is for scientists to communicate the value of science better. That's false. Trump is doing a lot of unpopular things, including destroying the science enterprise. What's happening is not our fault.
Most people believe in the values of democracy, but those values are being assaulted by this administration every day. 1/2
This is a crisis and science communicators have been down this road before.
Science is inherently political, whether we recognize it or not. Telling politicians that oil and gas causes climate change is political, because oil and gas is political.
Saying that vaccines work is political, because vaccines became political.
Scientists must recognize that there's no such thing as political neutrality.
Scientists must recognize this and communicate in a way the recognizes how political their existence has become.
Scientists cannot sit on the sidelines. It's a political fight for survival. There is no neutrality
Here's a good example.
Scientists could have framed this entirely differently.
"Scientists fear toxic slew of chemicals found drinking water will cause long term health damage "
If we frame it differently, we get the public onside. Right now, it's been framed as "not a concern".
This issue is highly political. On one side, you have people who don't want cancer, on the other side, we have profits from big agri.
Don't be afraid to get political. Give issues the framing it deserves.
Scientists are warning that they have found traces of pesticides in the drinking water of municipalities along the Châteauguay River. While the levels found complied with Quebec regulations, the study’s authors recommend authorities make changes.
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