“Scientist Speaking Out”: Scientists have been speaking out to the public and political leaders throughout recorded history, and some have paid a heavy price for doing so – Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno come to mind. Throughout the cold war with the Soviet Union, U.S. scientists have gone public on such matters as the H bomb, antimissile defense, arms control, test ban treaty, supersonic transport, the Vietnam war and other matters. In more recent times, scientists have spoken out on what many of us have called an “abuse of science” by the G.W. Bush Administration. So why is this matter of “scientists speaking out” worth talking about - what’s so special about scientists? In this talk, I will try to answer this question – and others that follow from it – and share some personal experiences that I hope are relevant. I will also comment on a recent book “The Honest Broker,” written by Roger Pielke, Jr., who has some advice for scientists who decide to step into the public light.

Biography of Neal F. Lane:
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~neal/mainframe.htm