Science in President Bush’s Administration
Posted : October 19, 2004 at 4:33 pm [America/Los_Angeles]
[via Bush vs. the Laureates: How Science Became a Partisan Issue]
Why is science seemingly at war with President Bush?
For nearly four years, and with rising intensity, scientists in and out of government have criticized the Bush administration, saying it has selected or suppressed research findings to suit preset policies, skewed advisory panels or ignored unwelcome advice, and quashed discussion within federal research agencies.
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Indeed, much of the criticism has come from private groups, like the Union of Concerned Scientists and many environmental organizations, with long records of opposing positions the administration favors.Nevertheless, political action by scientists has not been so forceful since 1964, when Barry Goldwater’s statements promoting the deployment of battlefield nuclear weapons spawned the creation of the 100,000-member group Scientists and Engineers for Johnson.
This year, 48 Nobel laureates dropped all pretense of nonpartisanship as they signed a letter endorsing Senator John Kerry. “Unlike previous administrations, Republican and Democratic alike, the Bush administration has ignored unbiased scientific advice in the policy making that is so important to our collective welfare,” they wrote. The critics include members of past Republican administrations.
And battles continue to erupt in government agencies over how to communicate research findings that might clash with administration policies.
This month, three NASA scientists and several officials at NASA headquarters and at two agency research centers described how news releases on new global warming studies had been revised by administrators to play down definitiveness or risks. The scientists and officials said other releases had been delayed. “You have to be evenhanded in reporting science results, and it’s apparent that there is a tendency for that not to be occurring now,” said Dr. James E. Hansen, a climate expert who is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Manhattan.
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Earlier this year, after continuing complaints that the White House was asking litmus-test questions of nominees for scientific advisory panels, the first question asked of a candidate for a panel on Arctic issues, the candidate said, was: “Do you support the president?”
This is nuts!
- Anand
Category: United (or not) State of American Politics 2004