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Martin et al,
There's an interesting sounding book just out on this very topic in Science.  The author looks specifically at the case of why law enforcement resists science and and fail to adopt scientific evidence.  The book reviews author writes

... "the phenomena of unwarranted skepticism toward science, ...lies in Harris's detailed account of social and psychological factors that cause police and prosecutors to resist science-based reforms.  Merchants of Doubt located the roots of such skepticism in the coordinated efforts of ideologies committed to a particular economic vision.  Failed Evidence traces it to more mundane sources––in criminal justice, a mindset that arises from the roles that polices and prosecutors play in a complex institutional structure and the incentives that structure provides.  Where we stand is said to depend on where we sit.  Harris suggest this be particularly true when we assess scientific evidence."

I love the observation.  I suspect the only way any movement will happen on climate change, etc. will be when where we sit changes.  No one takes this stuff as seriously as it needs to be taken because it's not where we are.

C

On Jan 16, 2013, at 10:12 AM, Martin Weiss <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> New York Times, Jan 15, 2013
> 
> To our great peril, the scientific community has had little success in
> recent years influencing policy on global security. Perhaps this is because
> the best scientists today are not directly responsible for the very weapons
> that threaten our safety, and are therefore no longer the high priests of
> destruction, to be consulted as oracles as they were after World War II.
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/opinion/deafness-at-doomsday.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
> 
> This is an alarming assessment of the difficulty scientists are having in
> getting a hearing by policy makers on nuclear proliferation.
> 
> If we replaced nuclear proliferation with global climate change would the
> message me ny different?
> 
> This is a very serious problem that we have discussed a number of times in
> the past; who of our policy makers understand enough of any science to be
> able to and be willing to listen to scientists and take their advice?
> 
> Martin
> 
> 

Charles Carlson
Senior Scientist
exploratorium
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