US politicians 'meddling' with scientists

According to figures released by the Union Of Concerned Scientists - which, as a name, is surely up there with the Federation Of Annoyed Librarians - political interference in the scientific realm is rampant. Nearly 900 scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency claim that they can't get a moment's work done without some government-type chipping in.

Okay, okay ... so things aren't that bad. The findings still make for surprising reading, though: 889 of the scientists polled claimed that they had experienced at least one instance of political meddling within the last five years. Shocking, really - Westmonster thought that report about global warming being caused by Santa's reindeer emissions was wholly accurate.

According to Concerned Scientist spokesperson Francesca Grifo:

"Our investigation found an agency in crisis. Distorting science to accommodate a narrow political agenda threatens our environment, our health and our democracy itself."

The main culprit behind these shenanigans? The White House Office of Management and Budget. One scientist ranted that:

"OMB and the White House have, in some cases, compromised the integrity of EPA rules and policies; their influence, largely hidden from the public and driven by industry lobbying, has decreased the stringency of proposed regulations for nonscientific, political reasons.''

All sounds like a stormcloud waiting to burst. Expect Michael Moore to make a film about the issue very soon. And expect "Flint, Michigan" to be mumbled in a slightly sad voice approximately 67,854 times per minute.

Now those figures are reliable.

Written by C J Davies on 23 Apr 2008 11:37 PM. Permalink