To be, or not be, an advocate?

This is a question with which many scientists grapple. The answer is, of course, not a simple yes or no — but so many scientists and others through the years have attempted to make it so. Earlier this week, Tamsin Edwards of the University of Bristol wrote an opinion piece for the Guardian provocatively entitled, “Climate Scientists Must Not Advocate Particular Policies.” Edwards made the claim that scientists should be above the fray, but she got it wrong in several ways.