To the editor: What has science given us (“The true cost of abandoning science,” Aug. 6)? The Haber-Bosch process that makes enough nitrogen fertilizer to feed half the world. Smallpox and polio vaccines, antibiotics and DNA technology that makes human insulin, all thereby saving millions of lives. Electronic devices such as computers and satellites that make modern life possible. Water treatment plants that supply drinkable water. Protections to the ozone layer that preserves all life on Earth. Solar, wind and nuclear energy that supply essential electricity. The list is endless.
There is often a positive aspect and a negative aspect to many scientific discoveries (e.g. plastics and pollution), but life as we know it is not possible without science and its methods. The main problem is not the way science works, but the way it is manipulated with pseudoscience by those who want to game the system to their own advantage.
Phil Beauchamp, Chino Hills