Technical Controversies over Public Policy: From Fluoridation to Fracking and Climate Change

Praise for Technical Controversies over Public Policy

This study of major public, technical controversies is done by a veteran craftsman of sociological and scientific reasoning. Allan Mazur depends first and foremost on scientific and technical understanding, recognizing that experts can disagree on scientific facts and public policy while reflecting his appreciation of these controversies' dynamics as the inevitable result of progress. Mazur successfully carves out a place in the public debate neither as a partisan nor as a polemicist but rather as an honest broker and sage observer of history and the contemporary scene.

Jonathan B. Imber, Wellesley College; Editor-in-Chief, SOCIETY

In Technical Controversies in Public Policy, Allan Mazur has written comprehensive accounts of most of the major public science controversies of the past half century and shows how political, ideological, and value-based factors displace or overwhelm conclusions based on scientific evidence. He argues that although asserting correct information is unlikely to change embedded views, journalists and authoritative people can improve public understanding by setting the record straight in a manner that reduces the polarizing heat of controversy.

Rush D. Holt, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Among the diverse subjects Allan Mazur has studied during his long and productive career, technical controversies are a recurring theme. In Technical Controversies over Public Policy, he expands substantially on his earlier work explaining the roots, benefits, and costs of technical controversies - especially global climate change - and takes a less sanguine approach to the impacts of such controversies on policy in this era of truthiness and increasing political polarization. This book tells a critically important story and deserves to be read by a broad audience: the academic community, policymakers, the media, and the public.

Albert H. Teich, George Washington University