One of the most disturbing trends in American culture today is science denial. We are exposed to it at every level from the national to the local conversation. It is dangerous because it undermines agreement about what constitutes evidence and reality, without which we cannot be a functioning community or democracy.

 

Science denial has been characterized as exhibiting the following:

 

(1) Fake Experts

(2) Logical Fallacies (including Red Herrings, Misrepresentation, Jumping to Conclusions and False Dichotomies)

(3) Impossible Expectations

(4) Cherry Picking 

(5) Conspiracy Theories

 

Every one of these techniques has been used repeatedly by the opponents of Nordic Aquafarms. It is a not very difficult exercise to take any post or letter or article they have written which purports to convey scientific information and to see where and how these types of argument are being employed. I encourage you to try it.

 

If there are scientifically credible considerations which weigh against permitting Nordic Aquafarms I would welcome seeing them. However, convincing me is not important. What is important is that the state and local permitting agencies gather all the relevant information and make the correct decision about what is best for Belfast, Maine and the planet.

 

In the meantime I am both saddened and exhausted by the close to two year long drumbeat of bad faith argument and pseudoscience which has been battering us. It is now escalating even further as evidenced by a recent full page ad in the Free Press.

 

That ad goes well beyond science denial (which at least masquerades as scientific discourse) into full on fantasy and propaganda.

 

The ad was paid for by yet another pop-up organization whose purpose seems to be to fund legal opposition to Nordic Aquafarms. It is a tragedy that possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars which could be have been used  to help people locally have been donated basically to pay for attorneys. 

 

There is no question that whatever the outcome of the Nordic Aquafarms proposal, the big winner of this conflict will be those attorneys. 

 

The bigger loser will be our community whose cohesion and common understanding are being consistently and deliberately eroded. Science denial is pernicious because a functioning society depends on agreeing about what is real and how to know it and who to trust.

 

I worry about how long and difficult and painful it will be to reknit our bonds after this experience.