The advances made by science in the last 200 years have led to dramatic changes in our lifestyle.    At the same time the public standing of science and scientists in our community has declined,  partly due to the effects of wars –atom bombs are particularly unpopular - and the pressures of modern life with short attention spans that do not leave much time for reading.     Deliberate campaigns by the Tobacco Industry and others to create doubts about science and the growth of “alternative science” has led to confusion and a general loss of confidence in science and those claiming to be scientists.    Through these articles and the science club, SCAMP, we hope to rekindle public interest and help establish a bit more confidence in science.

Science tells us how nature, the natural – not the supernatural world, which we will not discuss -- really is.    This might be different from what we would like it to be, but that is just the way it is.  
The first thing we want to do is to help you judge what the “facts” are – the starting point is to take the scientist’s approach of accepting nothing at face value from anyone or organization that has been shown to deliberately lie in the past- so we will not be relying on quotes from any politicians!     Sometimes there can be no scientific opinion because, based on the available evidence, no clear cut conclusion can be reached, this was the case with Global Warming 10 years ago.   

Over a series of articles we hope to help you to a better understanding of science and many topics of everyday interest.