Daniel Sarewitz, who received his Ph.D. in geological sciences from Cornell University in 1986, has been working in the field of science policy since 1989. Currently the director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes@Arizona State University, he also worked as a staffer on the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology. This essay draws from the fuller discussion of these ideas in Sarewitz's scholarly article "How science makes environmental controversies worse," published in Environmental Science and Policy in 2004. Address: Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 874401, Tempe, AZ 85287-4401. Internet: cspo@asu.edu