Sci&Tech History

A pamphlet distributed recently by the Indonesian Palm Oil Commission (IPOC) states: “Compared to tropical forest, oil-palm plantations possesses several environmental advantages, it consumes more carbon dioxide (CO2) and releases more oxygen (O2) than tropical forest, which is beneficial to the environment.”

Few serious scientists would support the claim that oil-palm plantations store more carbon than natural tropical forests. In fact, several recent studies show that oil-palm plantations, when established in place of peat lands and natural forests, produce more greenhouse gas emissions relative to natural forests. If the use of fertilizer and emissions from processing are factored in, the climate impact of converting natural forests for oil palm is even greater. Jakarta Post, November 2007

A new study by Zah et al., commissioned by the Swiss government, calculates the relative merits of 26 biofuels based on relative reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions and an environmental-impact index, which includes damages to human health and ecosystems and natural resource depletion. ScienceDaily, January 7, 2008

To study the potential effects of increased biofuel use, we evaluated six representative analyses of fuel ethanol. Studies that reported negative net energy incorrectly ignored coproducts and used some obsolete data. All studies indicated that current corn ethanol technologies are much less petroleum-intensive than gasoline but have greenhouse gas emissions similar to those of gasoline. However, many important environmental effects of biofuel production are poorly understood. http://rael.berkeley.edu/EBAMM/FarrellEthanolScience012706.pdf

What make a scientist, scientist? Moreover, how can we validate one scientist is better than the other? In Epistemic Cultures, Knorr-Cetina explain what she called white knowledge, knowledge of the limits of knowing, of the mistakes we make in trying to know, of the things that interfere with our knowing, of what we are not interested in and do not really want to know (Knorr-Cetina, p.64). Does the white knowledge explain the differences which occur among scientist, or there is something beyond that? According to Bourdieu, intellectual is a form of symbolic capital whose value and possession are objects of struggle. They are in dominant class because they enjoy the power and privileges that come with the possession of considerable cultural capital (Swartz, p.222-223).

If we combine parts of white knowledge with power relation that embedded in the intellectual, scientific area become field of struggle: how to frame a phenomenon with a scientific rhetoric and also struggle against liminal condition. As Unggul Priyanto–Second Secretary of Bio fuel National Team and a researcher in BPPT–admits, information that comes from Bio fuel National Team is a mistake. According to Unggul, the prediction is based on an immature calculation. “The information comes from a scientist which plant jatropha in a small area and predict a number that can be reached in a bigger area, whereas the calculation can be wrong.” (Jurnas, Feb, 8, 2008)

What Unggul said indicate scientist position to tell the truth. Scientist can be wrong, but must not lie. The problem is how this correction made an impact?

Post to: delicious, Digg, ma.gnolia, Stumbleupon