Science and the Public

What should the role of scientists be when it comes to policy debates regarding complex scientific matters like climate change? Can they offer context and clarifications to scientific discussions without sacrificing their objectivity? How far can they wade into the public debate before they are considered advocates as opposed to impartial authorities? Given the scope and urgency of the crisis, do they owe it to the public to step forward and call it as they see it? Or are they to remain cloistered in their labs, a mysterious priest class that only dispenses wisdom in the form of arcane scientific literature? This, roughly, is the subject of discussion over at Real Climate, where real scientists have been blogging and arguing about the finer points of climate science since December 2004.