To the editor: What has science given us (“The real cost of abandoning science “ August 6)? The Ha-Bosch process that produces sufficient nitrogen fertilizer to feed the middle of the world. Smallpox vaccines and polyomyelitis, antibiotics and DNA technology that makes human insulin, everything that saves millions of lives. Electronic devices such as computers and satellites that make modern life possible. Water treatment plants that supply drinking water. Protections to the ozone layer that retains all life on Earth. Solar, wind and nuclear energy that supplies essential electricity. The list is endless.
There is often a positive aspect and a negative aspect for many scientific discoveries (for example, plastics and pollution), but life as we know is not possible without science and its methods. The main problem is not the way science works, but the way in which pseudoscience is manipulated by those who wish to play the system for their own benefit.
Phil Beauchamp, Chino Hills
