Scientists Peter Hotez, a vaccinologist and dean of National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College in Texas and Michael Mann, climatologist and professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University, may have gone over the top in their assessment of the threat. They claim “Science is indeed under siege, and that’s not good for any of us. It’s not too late to do something: It’s time to get things done”. Both endured frequent personal attacks and threats to themselves and their families, on social media and in person at lectures and even at home. Climate change deniers are encouraging the rapacious exploitation of fossil fuels in a way that will push global warming far beyond the 1.5˙c limit regarded as tolerable by scientists. Hotez focuses on disinformation campaigns on false claims about side effects and efficacy of vaccines – are undermining faith in and funding for medical science. 

From pandemics to the climate crisis, humanity faces tougher challenges that ever. Whether it’s the health of our people or the health of our planet, we know we are on an unsustainable path. But our efforts to effectively tackle these existential crises are now hampered by a common threat: politically and ideologically motivated opposition to science.

The authors reveal the five anti-science forces – emboldened by far-right political movements threatening science: plutocrats (ultra-rich individuals such as the Koch brothers and Elon Musk), pros (professional who use their supposed expertise to spread disinformation), petrostates ( from Saudi Arabia to Russia and now the US too), propagandists ( fake experts promoting conspiracy theories through social media), and the press (not only the clearly right-wing media but also mainstream publications, such as New York Times, keen to be seen giving both sides of an argument). It is a call to arms and a road map for dismantling the forces of anti-science. Armed with the information in this book, we can be empowered to promote scientific truths, shine light on channels of dark money, dismantle the corporations poisoning the planet, and ultimately avert disaster. Science Under Siege is a rallying cry against what the authors, enlisting the language of The Lord of the Rings, call a “looming anti-science threat of Tolkienesque proportions … a little in this case not for middle earth but for Earth itself”.

“We choose to do battle against the forces of darkness, fighting back against a malevolent movement that represents all that is bad in the world. A movement that uses antiscientific disinformation as its preferred weapon” authors write.

Science Under Siege, proposes a tripartite strategy for winning the war against anti-science that involves better communication by many more scientists, support and protection for those who speak out, and campaigns directed at defeating disinformation. “The scientific community must provide a more open and easily recognisable public face so we are not seen as white-coated oddballs lurking in dark corners” according to Hotez and Mann.

“ The US Republican Party now represents a very real threat to human civilisation itself. Until recently the Republican were seen as powerful advocate of mainstream science and research funding – and the party many contain enough residual prescience sentiment to turn back to its previous support. Fight for a liveable planet for us, our children and future generations” they write.

Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces That Threaten Our World by Michael Mann and Peter Hotez, Scribe £20/ Public Affairs $32, 368 pages.