We mean you no harm
Should Earth Scientists Take a ‘Hippocratic Oath’?: “Earth scientists should take a do-no-harm oath like doctors do, suggest two researchers, in light of climate change and proposed massive geoengineering projects.
(Via Wired News.)
Wow, what a brilliantly stupid idea. After hundreds of years of helping plunder the planet for monetary gain, we all should step back and say “my bad! I’ll go climb under a rock now”.
The problem of course isn’t with the earth scientists and what they study. It is how those studies are applied and payed for. Generally we pay for studies that allow us to utilize the earth’s resources in the most efficient and profitable way possible.
While that may be good for profits, it usually isn’t so good for humanity or the biosphere.
The whole goal of earth sciences from its inception has been to better understand the earth, so we can utilized its resources more efficiently.
Yes, it would be more noble to study the earth just so that we can understand it better. But being noble doesn’t pay the bills. Trust me on this.
So it is fine and dandy to make statements like this, but the sad truth is that all research funding is tainted by our exploitive economic system.
To get to the position of where you can say to others “You will do no harm”, you have already done harm.