Science is a method for establishing truth based on observation, experiment, measurement, and syllogistic logic. As the physicist Richard Feynman said, science is a method of organizing your information so as to avoid being fooled. Science offers a reliable way of knowing about the physical world. It can establish facts, but not human values. Is that why much of today’s society—or at least today’s politics—seems to be anti-science?
Political arguments whirl regarding the solvency of Social Security, the enduring recession, the inability of congress to pass a budget, and the monetary loans intended to postpone the collapse of Spain and Greece. The arguments don’t address the sisgnificant question. In the absence of war or pestilence, why do economic systems collapse even though the physical methods to produce food, clothing, and shelter exist unchanged?
Regulation is not always an imposition of political ideology. Most regulation is adopted by governmental agencies such as a city planning commission or the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), supposedly away from elected bodies like city councils, state legislatures, and congress. Regulation– from speed limits to barber licenses or pollution control– is theoretically free from partisan ideology. That’s a nice theory, but a myth.
After she* was conked on the head by a falling acorn, Chicken Little ran around in panic, crying that the sky was falling. From that story, our children presumably learn not to exaggerate, not to make conclusions without data. Despite the moral of the story, was Chicken Little right? Is the sky falling? Continue reading
A friend wrote, “…I have soured on what can really be done. The EPA and the state Environment Department are easily bought out… .” Sounds like a rabid tree-hugging environmentalist. Actually, I think he votes with the conservative cause.
Citizens are everywhere discouraged, feeling that their governmental agencies and the people in those agencies lack integrity. “Briefcase-carrying bureaucrats” Continue reading
RCRA (reckra) exemption? Sounds like the Shawshank Redemption. But this is no movie. It’s a story with few evil villains and handsome heroes, but plenty of villainy and heroic struggle. It’s an illustration of how a self-destructive behavior emerges in our supposedly-free society. Continue reading
With the expansion of drilling for natural gas in New York through Ohio, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and the southwest, the term “fracking” (or fracing) appears repeatedly—but incompletely—in the news. Fracking means hydraulic fracturing of an oil or natural gas well, but it seems the news media is fractured, delivering incomplete stories. Continue reading
Why is it that laws, regulations, and governmental policies are rarely formed according to the reality of the situation? Rather, a person, interest group, or party creates political pressure and financial rewards for a particular action. Is that why each action creates another problem? Certainly, each new law, regulation or policy creates new interactions among the actors in a complex system—and that’s more complexity. (See Blog 3.) I’m not a Libertarian; I don’t advocate erasure of most laws solely as a matter of principle. However, I do advocate looking before leaping, assessing real causes before applying ideal solutions. Let’s consider three diverse examples. Continue reading