Mourning the Loss of Kurt Gottfried, Co-founder of the Union of Concerned Scientists

From this:

Kurt Gottfried, physicist, professor emeritus at Cornell University, advocate for peace, and co-founder of the Union of Concerned Scientists, has passed away at age 93. Throughout his career, Kurt Gottfried encouraged fellow scientists to become involved, to speak out on issues, and to hold their leaders accountable on topics ranging from nuclear arms control to human rights and scientific integrity. He was an iconic and inspirational example of an engaged scientist, and will be sorely missed by his colleagues and friends.

It’s impossible to understate the need for the scientific community to exert its influence on policy-making.

Having said that, this wasn’t a huge deal even a few decades ago.  When Richard Nixon initiated the Environmental Protection Agency in the early 1970s, there were no political parties who routinely dug in their heels in rejecting scientific findings.  When it was concluded that lead-based paints or DDT or CFCs were toxic to human life, they were immediately banned.  There was no American Asbestos Association lobbying Congress to repudiate the truth about carcinogenic building materials like there would be today.

Now, however, as we see all around us on a near-daily basis, all bets are off.  Without groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists, congresspeople would simply thumb their noses at what got in the way of their profiting from their office.