Neil deGrasse Tyson: US must ‘sink lower’ before Congress will opt to protect the planet [View all]

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/23/neil-degrasse-tyson-us-must-sink-lower-before-congress-will-opt-to-protect-the-planet/



Neil deGrasse Tyson: US must ‘sink lower’ before Congress will opt to protect the planet
By Tom Boggioni
Wednesday, July 23, 2014 11:12 EDT

In an exclusive interview with Salon, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson talked about his role as a scientist, how the media presents scientific breakthroughs, and about how climate change will have to get worse before citizens force their elected representatives to do anything about it.

Tyson explained that he doesn’t see himself as an advocate, but as an educator whose job it is to present “emergent scientific consensus,” in the hope that the public and policy makers will use it to make informed decisions.

“I’m just trying to get people as fully informed as they can be so that they can make the most informed decisions they can based on their own principles or philosophies or mission statement,” Tyson explained. ” What concerns me is that I see people making decisions, particularly decisions that might affect policy or governance, that are partly informed, or misinformed, or under-informed.”

~snip~

“So I think maybe we have to sink lower before the pistons of Congress and the electorate align to take meaningful action, to protect the planet going forward. And this idea about being too late, well that’s defeatist of course. That’s saying, ‘Well, okay, we don’t know what to do so therefore let’s do nothing.’ ”