Stephen Schwartz ("Foo on Fo, an Ignoble Prize Winner," editorial page, Oct. 13) rightly criticizes the selection by the Nobel Prize Committee on Literature. It is perhaps difficult to avoid the use of political criteria in literature, and especially in the selection of the Nobel Peace Prize. It is regrettable, however, when this occurs in the field of science. For example, in awarding the 1995 prize in chemistry to the originators of the stratospheric ozone depletion hypothesis, the Swedish Academy of Sciences chose to make a political statement. Quoting from the citation: "The three researchers have contributed to our salvation from a global environmental problem that could have catastrophic consequences (emphasis added)." The selection committee evidently decided to reward global environmentalism rather than a fundamental advance in the basic science of chemistry.
In addition, an AP report quoted a member of the Swedish committee as hoping that the timing of the award would influence the decision to speed up the ban on CFC production at an upcoming U.N. meeting in Vienna. It's a sad commentary on how science is being politicized.
S. Fred Singer, Ph.D. President The Science & Environmental Policy Project Fairfax, Va.
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