Uncommon leadership is required to ensure that public opinion is based on scientific fact.
Other societal traits such as culture, religion and political philosophy often contribute to mask the
relationship between fact and opinion.
Ultimately, every individual makes a decision [in the polls]
which combines his/her [informed or uninformed] view of
science with his/her own culture, religion, and political philosophy.
Stakeholders are individuals or groups who are likely to benefit
[directly or indirectly] from a project,
or to be negatively impacted by it.
Most civil engineering projects have to be sold to stakeholders,
and the process of selling could be construed as "sociological engineering."