ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES

AUBURN, May 21---Widespread concerns about chemicals in the environment are not only overblown but also reflect a major deficit in science training among Americans, says an Extension environmental specialist.

Recently, millions of Americans were convinced steep increases in deformed frog populations were signs of an impending environmental disaster caused by chemicals.  As it turns out, the cause of most of these deformities may be linked to parasitic worms know as trematodes.

“This may turn out to be another disturbing sign that most Americans lack even a basic grasp of chemistry,” says Dr. Jim Hairston, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System water quality scientist.  “Few Americans can relate to science, statistics and to the amount of time it takes to carry out a real study.”

Several factors are contributing to this misunderstanding of science, Hairston says, including the Information Revolution and its accompanying “informational overload.”

“There is more information than ever before at our fingertips,” he adds.  “But because of time constraints, most Americans have to be very selective with what they choose to learn and, unfortunately, science typically ranks very low on the list of priorities.”

In addition, Hairston believes popular media, especially movies, contribute to widespread fears about chemicals.

“How many movies have been made within the past few decades based on some monster created by misbegotten science, such as a failed military experiment,” he asks.

“These kinds of things play to people's most basic fears, and they’re not forgotten quickly,” Hairston says.  “And these fears stem directly from the lack of science training in the schools.

“We’ve got to keep in mind that just because we hear something on TV or read something in a newspaper doesn’t mean it’s absolutely reliable or, in some cases, even credible.”

Ironically, Hairston says, movies and other forms of media are both sensitizing and desensitizing people in a variety of ways.  For example, just as the media have been blamed for desensitizing people to violence, Hairston believes some sensationalized movie accounts of environmental pollution have sensitized some people to an irrational fear of chemicals.

Unfortunately, Hairston says, this isn’t likely to change.  Movie and even news producers have every incentive to focus on the sensational.

“Sensationalism serves the entertainment and news industry in a variety of ways,” he says. “Truth, after all, is boring to many people, and emotion drives ratings.”

“Also, with movie producers and networks facing increasingly stiffer competition, there’s every incentive to appeal to these baser emotions.”

The problem with this approach, Hairston says, is that science simply can’t be treated like any other political debate in which one elicits opinions from each side of the debate then proceeds to formulate an opinion.

“The end result would be pseudo-science,” he says.  “And while pseudo-science is harmless in itself, it can lead to dangerous results when it’s incorporated into politics.”

Under the circumstances, Hairston says there is rising concern among scientists in America and throughout the Western world that sensationalized reporting in the form of “infotainment” is undermining accurate information.

As an immediate solution, Hairston advocates a coordinated effort among scientists to combat what he calls the “politicization” of science that even appears to be threatening academic areas.

SOURCE:  DR. JIM HAIRSTON, Extension water quality scientist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System (334) 844-3973.