It seems that politics has corrupted more than we originally thought.
I believe what it comes down to is "publish or perish."
There's a mixture of motivations at play here, and the media is a part of it.
But the entities that have the most control over project funding is not oil companies. They DO have sway, and CAN fund results. But who has the most money? The most power? Governments.
It becomes terribly difficult to be successful when government grants are threatened. And colleges can only support their faculty for so long when ALL grants are threatened.
So I'm not asking you to NOT believe that oil companies fund, and therefore influence research. I'm asking you to realize that the government is much more powerful and controls much more money to fund research. And it's become quite clear that their motives are not an altruistic search for the truth.
What motivates scientists to do such a thing? Survival. And success.
It seems that politics has corrupted more than we originally thought.
I believe what it comes down to is "publish or perish."
There's a mixture of motivations at play here, and the media is a part of it.
But the entities that have the most control over project funding is not oil companies. They DO have sway, and CAN fund results. But who has the most money? The most power? Governments.
It becomes terribly difficult to be successful when government grants are threatened. And colleges can only support their faculty for so long when ALL grants are threatened.
So I'm not asking you to NOT believe that oil companies fund, and therefore influence research. I'm asking you to realize that the government is much more powerful and controls much more money to fund research. And it's become quite clear that their motives are not an altruistic search for the truth.
What motivates scientists to do such a thing? Survival. And success.