The Attack on Scientific Thinking and Why We Must Defend Science April 12, 2006

In the United States today science, as science, is under attack as never before. The attacks are coming at an accelerating pace, and include frequent interventions by powerful forces, in and out of the Bush Administration, who seem all too willing to deny scientific truths, disrupt scientific investigations, block scientific progress, undermine scientific education, and sacrifice the very integrity of the scientific process itself. We must refuse to accept a situation where scientific inquiry is blocked or its findings ruled out of order unless they conform to the goals of the government, to corporate interests and to the ideology of religious fundamentalists; where dogma enforced by governmental and religious authority takes the place of science; where the scientific approach of seeking natural explanations for natural phenomena is suppressed.

The scientists speaking on these attacks include (More to be announced) :

Kevin Padian ? professor of Integrative Biology and curator of the Museum of Paleontology at UC Berkeley. Kevin is the President of the National Center for Science Education.

Phil Plait ? NASA Education Resource Director (NERD) in the department of Physics and Astronomy at Sonoma State University. He is the creator of the website, badastronomy.com, where he fights myths and misconceptions people have about astronomy.

Michael G. Hadfield, panel moderator ? professor of Zoology and director of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii.

Hosted by the Berkeley chapter of Defend Science! students@defendscience.org

Defend Science! recognizes the serious danger posed to society and humanity if science is the attacks on science are not defeated. We aim to rally a broad movement to defend science and scientific thinking. Please read and circulate the Defend Science Statement (defendscience.org), help us print it in newspapers from the USA Today to the Kansas City Star. and join with us in waging this urgent battle.
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