[Phys-L] integrity +- climate change

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

I quote from:
  Suzanne Goldenberg
  "Climate sceptic researcher investigated over funding from fossil fuel firms"
  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/11/cclimate-sceptic-researcher-willie-soon-investigated-funding-fossil-fuel-firms

> Willie Soon [....] a Harvard-Smithsonian researcher known as a 
> climate sceptic is under multiple ethics investigations arising from 
> his hidden financial relationships with fossil fuel companies.

> In his correspondence with the energy companies, Soon described 
> publication in such journals as “deliverables” against the funding.

Perhaps most disturbing of all:

> A number of the journals to which Soon contributed have no conflict
> of interest policies, the CIC said in a report. That stands in
> contrast to policies for journal articles for medicine and other
> scientific disciplines.

I recommend reading the whole article.

==============

As James Randi is fond of saying, scientists are easier to
fool than children.  And he ought to know;  he's a renowned
expert in the arts of deception.

The point is, children expect to be lied to all the time.
Scientists do not expect Mother Nature to be dishonest.
Sometimes surprising, sometimes confusing, but not 
systematically deceitful.

As for the scientists themselves, scientific integrity is 
a bit of a catch-22.  We expect it, but only because we 
do *not* take it for granted, i.e. only because we are 
*not* complacent about it.  Eternal vigilance is required.

For example:  It is very, very rare for anybody to get 
fired from Bell Labs, but there is one sure-fire way:
  https://www.google.com/search?q=%22fired+from+bell+labs%22

Scientific training gives people the tools to find out the
truth and tell the truth /if they want to/.  It does not 
guarantee that they always want to.  Any institution 
(scientific, academic, industrial, governmental, social,
or otherwise) that wants to survive has to set up and
vigorously defend a culture that does not tolerate bad
behavior.

Whenever there is a scandal, investigators ask the victims
why they didn't report it sooner.  The answer is always 
the same: victims say they felt they had no-one to turn 
to.  The usual *wrong* reaction is to set up some sort of
ombudsman in the HR department, so there is "somebody" to
turn to.  I insist that's the wrong reaction, because in 
a healthy organization there is not "some" one designated 
person who opposes evil.  Victims should be able to turn 
to ANYBODY and EVERYBODY for support ... long before it 
gets to be a scandal.  That is, anybody and everybody who
sees something sketchy should take the perp aside and 
explain "that's not how we do things around here."

Every worker-bee in the community needs to take ownership
of this idea.  Eternal vigilance is required.