Science & Democracy Resources

On scientific and medical issues, from childhood lead poisoning to reproductive health to toxic mercury pollution, federal government science is being manipulated, distorted, and suppressed at an unprecedented scale.

A 2007 UCS survey of nearly 5,500 scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency which shows political interference in the scientist's work, barriers to communication of scientific results, and concern's about agency effectiveness.

A report detailing political interference in science at the EPA, combining dozens of interviews with current and former staff, analysis of government documents, more than 1,600 survey responses, and 70 pages of written comments from scientists.

In September 2005, NOAA scientist Dr. Pieter Tans was asked to cancel a conference session on energy use and the carbon cycle due to policy implications and was told that the words “climate change” could not appear in the titles of any presentations.

In February 2006, the phrase “to understand and protect the home planet” was removed from the NASA’s official mission statement. Scientists worried the change meant funding would be shifted away from studies of Earth, including climate change research.

A major study of climate change’s potential consequences for the United States was erased from official government climate science and policy discussions.

Two independent investigations revealed persistent political interference in the work of federal climate scientists.

Summary and supporting documents detailing survey of scientists at NOAA, NASA, NCAR, USDA, EPA, DOD, DOE, and USGS. The survey gives evidence for inappropriate political interference in their work.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) agreed to a politician’s request to insert a pro-abstinence speaker on a panel discussion at the 2006 National STD Prevention Conference in Jacksonville, Fla.

Several EPA scientists challenged the methodology and questioned the impartiality of the expert panel that reviewed findings of a 2004 EPA study concluding that hydraulic fracturing “poses little or no threat” to drinking water supplies.

The GW Bush administration sought to undermine the public’s understanding of the view held by the vast majority of climate scientists that human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases are making a clear contribution to global warming.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) distributed a 34-question survey to more than 460 NOAA Fisheries scientists to obtain their perceptions of scientific integrity within the agency.