A curious question that immediately popped in my head was: would it be ethical to use the fear of the public for disruption by global warming (whether it's true or not)? This fear could be used for good purposes, such as trying to increase funding for fusion. (I mean, good graces, it'll be at least 2033 before DEMO becomes productive!)
Understandably, I'd prefer all people to be scientifically (and 'engineerically') literate on these issues and be able to make good decisions for the good reasons. However, I'm also realistic enough to see that this probably won't be happening anytime soon.
(Also, on a more personal note: no, I would not consider this ethical.)
The problem with that line of thinking is that there's no monopoly on such abuses. Once the "good guys" do it then what's to stop the "bad guys" from using the same power. And now that you no longer have the backing of truth on your side how do you prove to the public that you are in the right?
How is this any different from the police planting evidence on someone they KNOW, but cannot prove, is guilty?
No. A scientist most be known to say the truth and only the truth otherwise the public wont believe them when they tell them something that they cant possibly tell is true or not.
That's probably the role of politicians or activists, not scientists directly.
The problem is that while science is content to sit and collect data, people need to decide what to do, and can't afford wait to see how it turns out. We don't know if anything bad is going to happen, but we should be prepared for the possibility.
People like the WSJ op-ed writer might as well be telling people not to save for retirement or carry insurance. You might die young, so why waste money on a 401k. You might never get in a car accident, or get sick, or have your house be flooded. So why waste money on insurance?
A curious question that immediately popped in my head was: would it be ethical to use the fear of the public for disruption by global warming (whether it's true or not)? This fear could be used for good purposes, such as trying to increase funding for fusion. (I mean, good graces, it'll be at least 2033 before DEMO becomes productive!)
Understandably, I'd prefer all people to be scientifically (and 'engineerically') literate on these issues and be able to make good decisions for the good reasons. However, I'm also realistic enough to see that this probably won't be happening anytime soon.
(Also, on a more personal note: no, I would not consider this ethical.)