I think one thing that happened is a total break down between policy makers and institutional scientists. Institutional scientists simply will not speculate pu

I think one thing that happened is a total break down between policy makers and institutional scientists. Institutional scientists simply will not speculate publicly. Normally they work with executive branches and political leaders to formulate a coherent policy. Non institutional scientists on the other hand were free to say what they believed was prudent. In the west over the last 40 years there has been a complete breakdown in the ability of governments to formulate coherent policy followed by action.