I'm sure I've said it before, but I think it bears repeating: many of the societal problems that we face, which might superficially be regarded as something that we look to science to solve, are in fact not problems for natural sciences, but problems for social sciences and politics.
Looking at the horrible #meningitis B outbreak in Kent, the question to ask is not "how can science keep us safe from such things?" Scientists have already given us an effective vaccine against meningitis B.
1/2
@Talia Absolutely! In fact I think climate change is probably the best example of the phenomenon. The science was figured out donkey's years ago: pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere is going to cook us all. It's really not complicated.
Getting people to act on that knowledge is a whole other thing.
@statsguy so much this. a thousand times, this.
Not just getting people to act though, creating social and physical infrastructures that allow or even push them to action - that's what's needed. Right now, even if you want to do something, everything is stacked against you.
@Talia Totally. As a wise frog once said, it's not easy being green.
I'm currently looking very seriously at trading in my plug-in hybrid car for a fully-fledged EV, and I have discovered that not only is it expensive, but if I'm not careful I'll even get charged a punitive rate of vehicle excise duty.
It is mind boggling that road tax should be cheaper for a petrol vehicle than for an EV.
I'm in the fortunate position that I can afford to buy an EV, but I'm very aware that not everyone can
Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦
Talia Hussain