Defending the Environment Requires Understanding Science

Does everyone at top levels of the federal government need a rock-solid understanding of science?  Of course not.  Nobody cares if the postmaster general flunked chemistry.

The same isn’t true of the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).   One could say that this is purely an administrative position, but it’s hard to imagine how one could make solid decisions regarding the defense of the environment with no understanding of biology, chemistry, physics, climate science, toxicology and the rest.

A collective groan came over the country last week when EPA chief, climate denier and former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler revealed that he didn’t know what a double-blind study was. Sure, the whole country is becoming both more scientifically illiterate and apathetic with each passing year, but this level of ignorance is dangerous when it applies to people in positions with extreme power, whose jobs depend on the application of scientific principles.