Ronald Reagan: No Friend of Science

Despite his undeniable virtues, the late Ronald Reagan was not a friend of science. During his presidency basic research was cut back and the morale of government scientists suffered. That was false economy; but worse, to him pure science was something alien. When Reagan allowed James Watt to run the Interior department as if Apocalypse was near, and when he used Edward Teller's impossible "Star Wars" concept to pour tens of billions down a rathole of sham science, he undermined rational governance itself. The Reagan legacy is a long Republican siege against science, usually to favor corporate welfare over the general welfare. His heart and best intentions may have denied this, but the facts and evidence are plain. As high-stakes policy debates go on today over climate change, energy policy, hazard mitigation and environmental issues—all geology-intensive problems—our grave national colloquy is distorted and poisoned by forces Reagan set in motion.