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Bush and EPA Wage War on Science
We all Lose When Scientists Are Asked to Hide Inconvenient Truths
A child's biopsy shows early-stage cancer, with a high survival rate if treated in time. But his parents secretly pressure the doctor to alter the results because they don't want to pay the medical bills.
Criminal? Immoral? It's not so different from what's been happening at the Environmental Protection Agency these days. Except that the health of all of us, as well as our planet, is at stake.
Evidence has been mounting for some time of growing dangers to our environment from ozone, mercury, carcinogens, and, the most cataclysmic of all, global warming. But the EPA has been pressuring its scientists to withhold inconvenient truths, and thus the need to do something about them.
The list of alleged falsehoods and manipulations is long and outrageous. Here are some lowlights listed by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., before Senate hearings held last week:
* The EPA "falsified data and fabricated results" about the safety of the air around Ground Zero in New York City following the Sept. 11 attacks.
* The EPA edited reports on climate change, including a 2003 report on the environment, to counteract scientific data confirming the reality of global warming.
* EPA has "hidden, delayed, or suppressed" scientific findings that displeased certain industries. For example, it sat for nine months on a 2002 report on the effects of mercury on children's health -- and then released it only after it was leaked to the media.
The Bush War on Science has been overt for years now, and a survey released last month by the Union of Concerned Scientists provides more evidence of how deeply corrupt EPA has become.
In a questionnaire sent to more than 5,000 EPA scientists last summer, 889 of them -- about 60 percent of those who responded -- said they had personally experienced political pressure geared to favor government policy rather than the facts.
Government officials publicly misrepresented their findings, the scientists said. Information was used selectively to justify less-stringent regulations. Scientists were pressured to alter or exclude information from scientific documents.
Nearly 500 scientists said they fear retaliation if they express concern about what's happening within the agency.
Many also faced difficulty sharing their findings with other scientists or publishing them in scientific journals, let alone speaking out publicly to the news media.
The situation has deteriorated in recent years because the Bush administration -- as part of its claim to "unitary executive" power that trumps that of Congress and the courts -- has allowed the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to make environmental regulations. Time after time, scientists say, the OMB has ignored the data to favor private industry. Congress needs to ensure that the politicization of EPA doesn't continue beyond January 2009. The first step is to re-assert its power to delegate work to federal agencies without White House interference.
Another safeguard: Include federal scientists in whistle-blower-protection legislation now in conference. If, in 1970, the government had pressured scientists to downplay the danger from unhealthy air quality, Congress might never have passed the Clean Air Act. The effect would have been catastrophic: the Union of Concerned Scientists says 200,000 more people would have died prematurely and millions more cases of respiratory and cardiovascular disease would have developed over the next two decades. Oh, to again have a president with the ethical compass of Richard Nixon!
© Copyright 2008 Philly Online, LLC.
8 Comments so far
Show AllTaxpayer financed elections could help stop the political bribes underlying our government's corruption of agencies like EPA until Global Online Democracy (G.O.D.), direct and decentralized, arises.
Good article. Its all true in spite of Fox News calling Global Warming "hysteria" or "a liberal agenda" and citing how scientists are regularly harassed for defying "global warming orthodoxy".
Its not fair to compare Nixon and Bush. Nixon was crazy and a crook, but in his heart of hearts he wanted to be a good president. Bush is nothing but a slimey front man for the neocon agenda of conquest and empire for big business.
Yet another high crime or misdemeanor – And these idiots are breathing the same air (save for Ground Zero) as the masses they condemn. Everything bad and anything bad, thy name is neo-con… Fascist pigs…
Global warming "skeptics" always point to a petition supposedly signed by something like 19,000 scientists who say there isn't any evidence that man has caused it if it indeed exists at all. A little digging into what is known as the "Oregon Petition", reveals that many of the people that signed it were not verified as having scientific credentials, and do not provide affiliations, and some give company names, no first names, etc., in other words the number is greatly exaggerated and the methods sloppy. Also the petition was first circulated in the early 90's and many of the original signers would not sign it today. In almost all cases those scientists who are the loudest skeptics have financial ties to oil companies.
The EPA? How about NASA? Falsifying data and fabricating results, or just plain making up reams of paper work isn't just what we'd expect from Raytheon, or other DOD mafia. No, it'll be from scientists who want to be team-players and not rock the boat. Keep your mouth shut and do what you're told, no one gets hurt.
That's about what it comes down to, playground bully stuff from grownups. Fortunately, lots of highly gifted men and women ignore the knuckle dragging antics of the corporate pigs, and slow progress is eventually made, if not here in the US, then elsewhere.
EPA scientists are paid by the US public, and their reports are the property of the US public. If not released, they all should be leaked.
On environmental issues, I'd like to see some local DAs react by filing criminal charges in cases where pollution is expected to cause unnecessary deaths.
The U.S. of A. is the laughing stock of the world scientific community with it's refusal to accept global warming (oh yes, I forgot-climate change)as a disaster that needs a Manhattan project full court press to address. And beyond that the States like kansas wanting to eliminate evolution from it's school curriculum. And we have the constant pressure in the U.S. to give at least equal time to some form of whako creationism to the school curriculums. And we have the Administration suppressing stem cell research leaving the U.S. to fall behind the rest of the world in this invaluable research and life saving products.
Then we have repression of birth control Nationally and, through our funding Internationally.
The U.S. is the ultimate hypocrite with our puritanical talk and more money spent on pornography in the U.S. than our National opiate-Sports events. We have the worst death rate of newborns second only to a few third world nations, just under 50 million with no access to health care other than showing up to an overburdened ER to wait for hours for care.
Every agency of the Government has to be sued to perform their duties-what a mess.
Not to mention Canada but even Mexico has a better health care system than the U.S.
I honestly don't know how GWB looks himself in the mirror. So selfish. A disgrace to the Oval Office.
Thomas J. Comer