Letter to the Editor pubs.acs.org/est
Scientists Duty to the Truth
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Scientists must speak fully and completely on that which they know to be true as determined through the appropriate and valid application of their science. Once a scientist is beyond their expertise, they must also reveal that fact, and are then fully entitled to the same passions, opinions, and protestations of every other citizen. No more and no less. It is perhaps most important during a time when science itself is under attack that scientists have an obligation to speak even more loudly and more forcefully than all other citizens.
ne of the most prescient quotes from Albert Einstein is now to be found on the front of the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, DC.It is appropriately carved in stone. It states: “The right to pursue the truth also implies a duty, to reveal all that one has found to be true.” If one adheres to this admonition, it informs the debate that is currently being conducted about the appropriate role of the scientist in the public arena (see “Crossing the Imaginary Line” editorial http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est. 6b04432). If a scientist has determined through proper and appropriate methodologies that given a set of factors, there will be certain results, the scientist is obligated to reveal them, regardless of the popularity or politics of the findings. For example, if a climate scientist were to simply report data on the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere without also revealing the consequences of those concentrations that they know to be true, that would not be meeting their obligation as a scientist. Of course, the findings need to be reported like any others with the necessary caveats and uncertainties of all scientific findings. This extends to the wide range of topics where scientific findings have a direct impact on public health and well-being. If a scientist possesses data on food-borne contaminants in the food-supply and verifiably determines with some level of certainty that the levels would cause harm to humans, it would not be meeting the scientist’s obligation to refrain from revealing this. This is equally true of pollutants in drinking water, toxic chemicals in consumer products, etc. Once this scientific knowledge is effectively revealed, they have met their obligation as a scientist. The resulting debate about what actions need to be taken in light of the new knowledge needs to be undertaken by individuals with expertise that the scientist may or may not possess. The complex skills of decision-makers and policy formulators are different but no less valuable than that of the scientist and should not be undervalued. Scientists, if they do not possess this policy expertise, should not claim special status in policy-making merely because of their knowledge of science. Scientists draw these distinctions in the ordinary course of their work by acknowledging their domain of expertise when choosing to peer review a paper or a proposal or participating in conferences closely aligned with their expertise. Just as a scientist recognizes their role in a specific field within the scientific community, but does not claim to be an authority across the entire scientific endeavor, the same should be true for policy-making. In 2012, the U.S. Government undertook an initiative to strengthen scientific integrity at all of the federal agencies. The U.S. Environment Protection Agency released a comprehensive scientific integrity policy which among many other provisions ensured rights a scientist speaking within their area of expertise to never be impaired from communicating with the press. Implicit in this right to communicate was the responsibility to only represent oneself as a expert in one’s genuine area of scientific expertise. © XXXX American Chemical Society
Paul T. Anastas*
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Center for Green Chemistry and Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. ORCID
Paul T. Anastas: 0000-0002-0865-1946 Notes
The author declares no competing financial interest. Biography Paul Anastas is Teresa and H. John Heinz III Chair in Chemistry for the Environment, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University and previously served in the U.S. government, including as Assistant Administrator for Research and Development as well the agency’s Science Advisor at the U.S. EPA.
Received: December 15, 2016 Revised: December 18, 2016 Accepted: December 18, 2016
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DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b06373 Environ. Sci. Technol. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
