There is a difference between science and the application of science. There is also a difference between science and the pursuit of research grants. It is thusly ironic that the same process which has caused scientists to claim that global warming exists and is man-made could be contributing to man-made global warming.
When one does business in Nevada the phrase “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” means it doesn’t go to Carson City the way what happens in San Diego goes to Sacramento. My business trips to Las Vegas are tax-deductible, but I do not get a tax credit and nobody else is funding my travel so I minimize expenses. When I travel to Las Vegas alone I utilize dog and cat transportation; it costs less to take the Greyhound than to drive to Las Vegas, and the Citizens Area Transit bus lines run frequently and run late. A pass which includes the Strip buses costs $8 for 24 hours and $20 for 72 hours.
Stick with me, I’m getting to the point.
All this public transportation I’m taking doesn’t completely placate the environmentalists – since a 24-hour or 72-hour bus pass allows me additional travel for the same price I can buy non-perishable goods at the Wal-Mart in Las Vegas, which doesn’t charge for plastic bags, and take those plastic bags back to San Diego County for subsequent use. Economics rather than environmental considerations merit utilizing bus travel rather than car travel, but bus travel in Las Vegas is more cost-efficient for me than renting a car or taking one from San Diego County.
Government research grants are the result of proposals which include a costing element. The costing has a subtotal for labor, overhead (building costs, administrative staff time, etc.), and travel, and then a profit percentage is added for the total cost amount.
The travel portion includes air fare, lodging, rental car, and meals. Thus, the use of a rental car rather than public transportation creates a higher subtotal and the profit based on that subtotal will be greater. Government or other research grants thus provide an incentive to drive alone rather than to take public transit and thus the pursuit of government research grants increases carbon emissions.
Research grants are often awarded to validate a certain hypothesis. Many of the research grants involve the development of theoretical technology, but other research grants are to analyze fatalities, epidemics, and other threats. In many cases, the organization seeking the research grant will work with the issuing agency to have a proposal issued. Thus, the problem the grant truly solves is the funding needs of the entity awarded the grant.
In many cases research from past grants is used to seek subsequent grants. That is applied in the proposal’s section on capabilities and knowledge of the situation rather than in the costing section.
Now, I’m just guessing here, but I’d say that because more profit can be obtained by renting a car than by taking public transit, the pursuit of research dollars actually contributes to increased carbon emissions.
Seeking research grants to validate the claim that global warming is man-made does in fact validate that carbon emissions are man-made, but the pursuit of research funding does not provide a solution to the problem.
