I got an email today form the Obama campaign organization OFA exhorting me to “call out” legislators because they are “climate deniers”.  Read the list here.

When I see this, I am reminded of the story ofGalileo Gililei.

Galileo illustrates the point that science is never “settled”.  Good science is about a search for truth, and good scientists are always looking for ways to overturn the established order.  For some things, that established order has stood so well, for so long, that it is rare that anyone makes advances.  In others, like subatomic physics and computational sciences, therevolutions are constant – and highly beneficial.

Climate science, like it or not, is young, and poorly understood. There are lots of scientists, and lots of opinions.  There is disagreement on everything from the quality of the data, to the mechanics of the atmospheric interactions, to the internals of the computer models, to the role of the sun. Read http://www.skepticalscience.com and note all the disagreement they mention, while struggling to debunk the skeptics.  The debate is not over.  (Also, see my post here and links toeconomist article.)

It is ridiculous to suppose that we have achieved such a solid consensus in climate science that anyone who disagrees with current fashion is “against science”.  To condemn our officials, and those scientists who are searching for the truth as “deniers” is no different from the inquisition Galileo endured.

Galileo came to believe that the sun was the center of our solar system.  The scientific establishment at the time was allied with the Catholic church.  “Science”, such as it was in Galilo’s time was largely funded by the church. Scientists who wanted to work didn’t argue with the church.  In fact, what got Galileo in trouble was that he was too outspoken about his theories, and the pope was offended.  The pope had him arrested, and he spent the rest of his life under house arrest.

Does this sound familiar?  Do the words “denier”, “skeptic”, and “anti-science” evoke an image of robust scientific inquiry, or of an establishment suppressing dissent?

Organizations such as Barack Obama’s that condemn dissent are the ones who are “anti-science”.  They are the current fashion, the “establishment”, and the ones suppressing a real search for scientific advance.  Our nation is founded on the idea that Big Questions should be answered in the marketplace of ideas, not by bullying and intimidation.  Let’s condemn theinquisitors, not those who dissent.