ECO FOCUS: Panelists Decry Bush Science Policies

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ECO FOCUS: Panelists Decry Bush Science Policies

Mon, 21 Feb 2005 12:58:00 -0800

 

 

 

 

 

ECO FOCUS: Panelists Decry Bush Science Policies

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/E022105Y.shtml

 

 

 

Panelists Decry Bush Science Policies

The Associated Press

 

Monday 21 February 2005

 

Washington - The voice of science is being stifled in the Bush

administration, with fewer scientists heard in policy discussions and

money for research and advanced training being cut, according to

panelists at a national science meeting.

 

Speakers at the national meeting of the American Association for

Advancement of Science expressed concern Sunday that some scientists

in key federal agencies are being ignored or even pressured to change

study conclusions that don't support policy positions.

 

The speakers also said that Bush's proposed 2005 federal budget is

slashing spending for basic research and reducing investments in

education designed to produce the nation's future scientists.

 

And there also was concern that increased restrictions and

requirements for obtaining visas is diminishing the flow to the U.S.

of foreign-born science students who have long been a major part of

the American research community.

 

Rosina Bierbaum, dean of the University of Michigan School of

Natural Resources and Environment, said the Bush administration has

cut scientists out of some of the policy-making processes,

particularly on environmental issues.

 

" In previous administrations, scientists were always at the table

when regulations were being developed, " she said. " Science never had

the last voice, but it had a voice. "

 

Issues on global warming, for instance, that achieved a firm

scientific consensus in earlier years are now being questioned by Bush

policy makers. Proven, widely accepted research is being ignored or

disputed, she said.

 

Government policy papers issued prior to the Bush years moved

beyond questioning the validity of global warming science and

addressed ways of confronting or dealing with climate change.

 

Under Bush, said Bierbaum, the questioning of the proven science

has become more important than finding ways to cope with climate change.

 

One result of such actions, said Neal Lane of Rice University, a

former director of the National Science Foundation, is that " we don't

really have a policy right now to deal with what everybody agrees is a

serious problem. "

 

Among scientists, said Lane, " there is quite a consensus in place

that the Earth is warming and that humans are responsible for a

considerable part of that " through the burning of fossil fuels.

 

And the science is clear, he said, that without action to control

fossil fuel use, the warming will get worse and there will be climate

events that " our species has not experienced before. "

 

Asked for comment, White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said, " The

president makes policy decisions based on what the best policies for

the country are, not politics. People who suggest otherwise are

ill-informed. "

 

Kurt Gottfried of Cornell University and the Union of Concerned

Scientists said a survey of scientists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service found that about 42 percent said they felt pressured to not

report publicly any findings that do not agree with Bush policies on

endangered species. He said almost a third of the Fish and Wildlife

researchers said they were even pressured not to express within the

agency any views in conflict with the Bush policies.

 

" This administration has distanced itself from scientific

information, " said Gottfried. He said this is part of a larger effort

to let politics dominate pure science.

 

He said scientists in the Environmental Protection Agency have

been pressured to change their research to keep it consistent with the

Bush political position on environmental issues.

 

Because of such actions, he said, it has become more difficult for

federal agencies to attract and retain top scientific talent. This

becomes a critical issue, said Gottfried, because about 35 percent of

EPA scientists will retire soon and the Bush administration can " mold

the staff " of the agency through the hiring process.

 

Federal spending for research and development is significantly

reduced under the proposed 2005 Bush budget, the speakers said.

 

" Overall the R & D budget is bad news, " said Bierbaum.

 

She said the National Science Foundation funds for graduate

students and for kindergarten through high school education has been

slashed.

 

NASA has gotten a budget boost, but most of the new money will be

going to the space shuttle, space station and Bush's plan to explore

the moon and Mars. What is suffering is the space agency's scientific

research efforts, she said.

 

" Moon and Mars is basically going to eat everybody's lunch, " she said.

 

Lane said Bush's moon and Mars exploration effort has not excited

the public and has no clear goals or plans.

 

He said Bush's moon-Mars initiative " was poorly carried out and

the budget is not there to do the job so science (at NASA) will really

get hurt. "

 

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