Status Updates From Merchants of Doubt: How a H...

"Seitz, Singer, [William] Nierenberg, and [Robert] Jastrow had all served in high levels of science administration, where they had come to know admirals and generals, congressmen and senators, even presidents. They had also dealt extensively with the media, so they knew how to get press coverage for their views, and how to pressure the media when they didn't . . .

"A handful of men would have had no impact if no one had paid any attention, but people did pay attention. By virtue of their earlier work in the Cold War weapons programs, these men were well-known and highly respected in Washington, D.C., and had access to power all the way to the White House.

It wasn't just the Bush administration that took these claims seriously; the mass media did, too . . ."

"In case after case, Fred Singer and Fred Seitz, and a handful of other scientists joined forces with think tanks and private corporations to challenge scientific evidence on a host of contemporary issues . . . They claimed the link between smoking and cancer remained unproven . . . that acid rain was caused by volcanoes, and so was the ozone hole . . ."