Science, Politics, and Global Warming
When policy and science collide in the Bush administration, it's like an 18-wheeler smashing into a Yugo. Science doesn't survive, as witnesses (including Rick Piltz, formerly of the federal Climate Change Science Program) told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform yesterday.
Part of his job, Mr. Piltz said, was to compile periodic assessments of government climate research for the Congress. “This report has essentially been made to vanish by the Bush administration,” he said.
The testimony coincides with the release of a report that documents and criticizes the administration's "widespread political interference in federal climate science." The Union of Concerned Scientists surveyed climate scientists, with disturbing results.
The scientists who responded reported experiencing at least 435 occurrences of political interference in their work over the past five years. Nearly half of all respondents (46 percent) perceived or personally experienced pressure to eliminate the words "climate change," "global warming," or other similar terms from a variety of communications. Forty-three percent of respondents reported they had perceived or personally experienced changes or edits during review of their work that changed the meaning of their scientific findings. And nearly half (46 percent) perceived or personally experienced new or unusual administrative requirements that impair climate-related work.
The report offers a suggestion to Congress.
"The new Congress must act to prevent the continued interference with science for political purposes," said Maassarani. "A good first step would be for Congress to amend current whistle blower protections to specifically protect the rights of federal government scientists."
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