Let's refer to San Mateo's mayor as 'Dr. Lee'

If I recall correctly from my undergraduate days in Dr. Donald McCready's Scientific Methods class, science begins with questions and observations, preferably under controlled conditions that can be varied: there is the gathering and recording of relevant data; then, testing or experimentation takes place and inferences are drawn; ultimately, theories might be formulated, and predictions about interrelated phenomena or events might be broached. Verifiability and repetition of results are essential in scientific findings, or they cannot be accepted as valid. Contrary to common belief, in carrying out research and observations, experimental or otherwise, a scientist is actually not trying to prove something. A scientist is impartial.

For the last several years, environmentalist Linda MacKay has exhaustively researched documents and compiled facts relevant to the proposed SFO runway expansion plan. So far (at least to me), that seems like a proper scientific approach to answering questions and postulating expectations relating to this highly controversial project. However, in a recent public meeting, San Mateo Mayor John Lee expressed umbrage to Ms. MacKay's compilation of facts that strongly suggest that filling in significant portions of San Francisco Bay for runway expansion may have profound implications not only for the ecosystem of the Bay and its environs, but on the increasingly fragile ecological balance of the entire planet. Mr. Lee accused Ms. MacKay of using