Good Science & Snake Oil: How Sound Is The Science Of Agriculture In Australia?

Good Science & Snake Oil: How Sound Is The Science Of Agriculture In Australia?

Submission to the
PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION INQUIRY INTO THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT RURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS MODEL

Carbon Coalition Against Global Warming, 25 June, 2010

CONTENTS
How This Submission Responds To The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference
Good Scientists
The Problem of Scientific Objectivity
The Soil Carbon Solution
Science’s Achilles Heel: Urgency
A Plea For ‘Sounder’ Science
The Problem of Scientific Objectivity
How “Sound” Science Can Be Unreliable
Case Study 1: Design of Research Methodology
Case Study 2: Selection of Data Sets
Case Study 3: Interpretation of Results
Tug-of-war
Trapped between Paradigms
“Scientific” Propaganda
Models Unreliable
Free Nitrogen
Potential of Australian Soils to Sequester Carbon
Science Lagging Practice
Biofertilisers next victim?
Gap growing wider
The Anti-Soil C Trading Scientist
Farmers lead on climate change

Appendix 1: GRDC on the Potential of Australian Soils to Sequester Carbon
Appendix 2 – GRDC Consistent Opposition in Publications
Appendix 3: The Bucket Theory
Appendix 4: The Anti-Science of Soil Carbon
Appendix 5: Collaborative Science in Agriculture
Appendix 6: Paradigms are Political
Appendix 7: Presenting Data - Imposing A Pattern In Defence Of The Dominant Paradigm
Recommendations
We’re all in this together
Carbon Coalition