Veronika Wild

  Scientific integrity must be defended, our planet depends on it To conserve Earth’s remarkable species, such as the violet sabrewing, we must also defend the importance of science. Jeremy Kerr , Author provided Euan Ritchie , Deakin University ; James Watson , The University of Queensland ; Jeremy Kerr , L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa , and Martine Maron , The University of Queensland Science is the best method we have for determining what is likely to be true. The knowledge gained from this process benefits society in a multitude of ways, including promoting evidence-based decision-making and management. Nowhere is this more important than conservation, as the intensifying impacts of the Anthropocene increasingly threaten the survival of species. But truth can be inconvenient: conservation goals sometimes seem at odds with social or economic interests . As a result, scientific evidence may be ignored or suppressed fo...

    -Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay                                                                                               Brian Martin , University of Wollongong The 2017 March for Science was a powerful political statement by scientists. The marchers opposed political interference, budget cuts and lack of support for science at a government level. More commonly, though, scientists stay in their labs and avoid the public political spotlight. CSIRO scientist John Church – who initially acted as an individual (not a representative of his research institution) to “ stand up for science ” in 2015 – is cited as a recent example of the career ramifications that can flow from public activity. Actually, he’s not alone. For ye...