I've been reading this paper, produced by the Royal Society of New Zealand, on creating a "green economy" for NZ. The Royal Society is long-established, widely respected, and could be considered very 'Establishment'. The paper is clear and thoughtful, and I don't disagree with any of its proposals. Why is it, then, that I read it and doubt that any of these sensible policies will be implemented?

The problem is that this mild and optimistic paper, if presented as the policy proposals of a political party, would be considered radical. Reducing car use and imposing energy-saving measures on homeowners are uncontroversial goals when stated in the abstract, but when rules that would actually be effective are suggested they face fierce opposition.

Likewise, the report has as one of its beginning premises that social and economic inequality are undesirable and hamper efforts to achieve sustainability; that measures to reduce energy use need not be economically harmful; and that alternative measures of national well-being may be preferable to measuring a nation's success by GDP. In New Zealand, which considers itself an environmentally aware and socially progressive nation, most people would in theory agree with these premises; but I would suggest that the parties currently in power discard them, unapologetically, in favour of immediate economic gain whenever there is a choice to be made.

What I'm trying to get at is this: there is a gap between mainstream discourse in science and mainstream discourse in politics. I think this gap arises because scientists present facts, which lead to suggestions about what we 'should' do; the 'should', though, is a course of action which will always -- when presented as an actual course of action -- conflict with existing interests. The problem is that facts do not win political arguments, people do. The 'should' of science is an abstraction which has little political substance when weighed against everyday economic concerns, and that is true regardless of how thorough and how important the science is.