Last night the policy team attended a debate organised by the Centre for Evidence-Based Policy at King’s College London. Taking place as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, the motion proposed was: “Research should count for more than other kinds of evidence in making public policy”.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the panellists put forward their views for and against the motion. Professor Roger Jowell, Director of the European Social Survey at the School of Social Sciences, City University argued in favour of the motion, stating that the only alternatives to using research to inform policy-making were a) ignorance, b) conviction: strict adherence to a manifesto or ideology or c) guesswork. He was supported in his arguments by Jacque Mallender, Chief Executive of the Matrix Knowledge Group, who argued that in the context of public policy, society may be taking actions which we think are for public benefit when in fact they are causing harm: something only a well-evidenced and researched study can show us.

Opposing the motion were Louise Shaxson, Director of the Delta Partnership consultancy and Gary Kass, Strategy and Futures team, Natural England. Gary Cass argued that although research should support and inform policy-making, it should not count more than other inputs in determining policy. Giving the example of the level of Benzene acceptable in the air, he stated that science could show us how the incidence of cancer would increase with the increase in ambient Benzene concentration, but only policy-makers could determine what an acceptable level of risk would be, and design a policy accordingly.

A speaker from the National School of Government, from the floor, argued that policy-makers often need a decision now, whilst science could deliver research at a later date. Policy too was about promoting consensus, and a research-based decision which took no account of public sentiment would surely fail.

Overall, Professor Jowell summed up his position by saying that those opposing the motion were giving examples of other kinds of evidence informing policy – all of which included research. Policy can be value-driven, based on the needs and desires of society, but these values come from our knowledge of society: experiential and based on information gathering over time. Therefore, values are not research-free.

The motion was supported by 66 votes to 32.

Today sees the start of an international scientific congress in Copenhagen which aims to pave the way for talks to determine the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Climate researchers from around the world will gather in Denmark over the next two days to present the results of their studies. The outputs from the conference will be turned into a book, which will be presented to policy-makers at the UN Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change (COP-15) in Copenhagen in December 2009.

The conference aims to provide an update on the scientific position with respect to climate change, two years after the publication of the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as act as a stimulus to policy-makers to take action. Many scientists see policy-makers as slow to react, given the growing body of evidence suggesting the severity of climate change impacts which can be expected in the future.

The Guardian reports today that three researchers from Bristol University will this afternoon reveal results at the conference showing that ocean acidifcation is occurring at an unprecedented rate, comparable to the effects of a mass-release of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere 65 million years ago. This caused mass extinction in the deep ocean and the researchers conclude that it is ‘more likely’ than not that this will be seen once more if ocean acidification continues at the current pace. They say that future deep sea acidification must be limited to 0.2pH units if such significant extinction is to be avoided.

Other scientists at the conference are expected to outline their projections for sea-level rise. The IPCC report is widely seen to have underestimated the impact of the melting of the Greenland and Arctic ice sheets on sea-level rise as results and models concerning this were poor at the time of the panel’s consideration. Now that further experiments and observations have been done, some scientists project that sea-level will increase by 1m by 2100, causing mass devastation across many of the coastal and low-lying parts of the world.

For more information see the official website of the Climate Congress.
See the Guardian and Observer for further details of announcements expected at the Congress.

National Science and Engineering Week 2009 has begun! This annual event is organised by the British Science Association, supported by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, and the Engineering and Technology Board. This year it runs from 6 – 15 March, with hundreds of events around the UK to celebrate the excitement of science, engineering and technology.

Large events happening around the country include the annual Cambridge Science Festival and the Great Plant Hunt; an event for state-run primary schools around the UK, sponsored by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. The ‘Save our Bees’ initiative is also guaranteed to generate a buzz this week, with events around Britain educating the public in honeybee identification, encouraging bees to back gardens and encouraging recognition of the importance of these pollinators.

Search for events happening near you and find out more about National Science and Engineering Week at the British Science Association website.

New research in Current Biology suggests that bio-engineering crops for greater reflectivity could result in a reduction in temperature across some regions of the globe, although at a price.

Researchers examined the impact on regional temperature of growing crops with a greater albedo – surface reflectivity – in areas already under cultivation. They conclude that by choosing crops with extra-reflective surface foliage; eg. barley with waxy leaves or sorghum with a hairy coating, temperature in Europe, Central Asia and North America could be reduced by 1 C in the summer. This could amount to a reduction in regional warming by one fifth of the level projected.

However, altering the climate across this latitudinal band may have a negative impact on other areas of the globe. A regional reduction in temperature will reduce water loss from plants, and soils which are therefore more moist. It could however also result in a shift in rainfall patterns, and increased instances of drought in Australia and the sub-tropics.

Bio-engineering in this way has the potential to offer a cheap and relatively simple way to reduce regional warming, and its associated health impacts. Selective breeding could lead to increased albedo in crops, therefore amplifying this effect. However, it is clear that this does not offer a realistic alternative to efforts to tackle warming on a global scale and decision-makers considering this as an option would have to think extremely carefully about the impact of this policy on other regions.

Ridgwell, A., Singarayer, J.S., Hetherington, A.M., Valdes, P.J. (2009). Tackling Regional Climate Change By Leaf Albedo Bio-geoengineering. Current Biology. 19: 1-5.

The government has pledged £25 million to help eradicate the plant diseases Phytophthora kernoviae and Phytophthora ramorum, which are spreading across the UK.

Phytophthora kernoviae and Phytophthora ramorum are fungus-like pathogens which cause potentially lethal infections in oak and beech trees, as well as infecting and damaging other trees and shrubs which make up Britain’s woodlands.

The pathogens were first discovered in the the UK in 2003 and 2002, respectively. The scale of the outbreak was significant enough for emergency measures against the introduction and spread of Phytophthora ramorum to be introduced throughout the EU in November 2002 and a ‘Phytophthora kernoviae Management Zone’ was established in the UK in 2004. Whilst the number of outbreaks subsequently decreased, 69 sites in England and Wales are still affected by the disease.

The extent of the damage these Phytophthora species cause to trees and shrubs, and the speed at which symptoms develop, mean that they pose a potentially serious threat to woodland and heathland environments. A major epidemic in the UK could have potentially devastating consequences on the landscape, biodiversity, tourism and horticulture.

Rhododendrons, a carrier of both diseases, will continue to be removed in woodland to tackle the problem. The government also plans to invest a significant portion of the £25million into new research and development, and there will be a campaign to make landowners aware of the threat.

Read more about this story on the BBC News website

Visist Defra’s Plant Health home pages

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce ambitious new targets for science and maths education when he delivers the Romanes Lecture at Oxford University later today (27 February).

In the lecture, the Prime Minister will explore how the UK can capitalise on our scientific and intellectual heritage to make Britain the best country in the world in which to practice science. The Prime Minister will signal his desire to move the country away from a reliance on financial services, instead placing science and technology at the heart of the UK economy as the country emerges from recession.

Within five years, the PM will announce, 90% of state schools will be expected to deliver triple science (single subject biology, physics and chemistry) at GCSE level; up from 32% currently. The Government aims to at least double the 8.5% of state school pupils studying triple science within this time period.

The lecture follows Lord Drayson’s comments earlier this month, regarding whether Government should set the priorities for scientific research as a means to achieve delivery of the innovation and scientific advance needed to strengthen the UK economy. The scientific community reacted angrily to Lord Drayson’s remarks.

Speaking on the Today Programme this morning, academics Professor Don Braben and Lord Krebs discussed the need for scientific endeavour to operate at arm’s length from Government: the so-called ‘Haldane Principle’. The Prime Minister’s speech this afternoon is bound to stimulate questions on whether, in a time of recession, the Government does plan to direct funding for scientific research more stringently; with an emphasis on targets and deliverable outcomes and away from ‘blue skies’ endeavour.

More on this from BBC News

Tomorrow (26 February) sees the formal launch of the POSTnote written by the 2008 BES POST Fellow, with a seminar in Westminster. Laura Spence has spent the past few months working at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, researching and writing a briefing note for parliamentarians (POSTnote 325) on “Wild Deer”.

Wild deer populations are increasing in number and geographic range in the UK. Deer are a valuable natural resource if managed sustainably, but when occurring at excessive densities, they can have negative effects on biodiversity, the rural economy, human health and
safety, and animal welfare. The POSTnote examines the current status of wild deer in the UK, their ecological, economic and social impacts and legislation on their management.

The seminar will take place in the Jubilee Room, Westminster Hall, from 3.30 – 5pm. To find out more see the Event Flyer.
If you would like to attend, please contact POST@parliament.uk or telephone Emma Kearney on 020 7219 2840.

To apply for the 2009 BES POST Fellowship, visit the BES website. Applications must be received by 6 April.