Union of Concerned Scientists Publish List of 120 Attacks on Science by Trump Administration

The Union of Concerned Scientists has collected and published a searchable list of 120 attacks on science by the Trump Administration. It's categorized by federal agency and type of attack on science ["censorship" or "studies halted, edited, or suppressed", for instance].

The Union of Concerned Scientists [UCS] is a nonprofit science advocacy organization founded by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] in 1969. It was formed to influence public policy by providing science based solutions to national and global problems.

The publication of their "Attacks on Science" list comes as more information leaks out of the White House concerning efforts to whitewash President Trump's Hurricane Dorian blunder and cover-up. But lying about the weather is just the latest example of the administration's assault on science.

Jacob Carter, UCS, via the Hill: "Communicating with the public in an accurate, honest way is what we should all be able to expect from federal scientists — but it’s becoming more difficult under Trump. The Department of the Interior rebuked a National Park Service employee for scientifically accurate tweets about climate change and canceled studies looking into the safety of offshore drilling and mountaintop removal mining."

"The Environmental Protection Agency tried to bury reports on the risks of PFAS chemicals and formaldehyde. And the Trump administration issued an executive order demanding agencies dismiss many of their scientific advisory boards. These kinds of actions deprive our leaders and our communities of the information they need to make good decisions, putting us all at risk."

"This anti-science culture is bleeding out beyond government agencies under the watch of Trump appointees. NPR found that academics have also begun to self-censor themselves in public summaries of grants funded by the National Science Foundation. In comparison with data from 2009-2016, there was a steep drop in the number of public summaries that used “climate change” during 2017."

The UCS has also established the "Science Protection Project" to allow administration scientists to securely share information about scientific integrity abuses. It's sad to even contemplate the necessity of such a program.

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By: Don Lam & Curated Content