Scientific Integrity Update - Summer 2008
Contents- Summary
- Victory on Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform
- The Fight for Scientist Whistleblower Rights Continues
- UCS Release on the EPA Sparks Congressional Investigation
- EPA Scientists Receive Your Thanks
- Protecting the North Atlantic Right Whale
- Science Idol Contest Winner is Announced, Cartoon Calendars For Sale
Program Updates
Clean Energy
Clean Vehicles
Food and Agriculture
Global Warming
Nuclear Weapons and Global Security
Scientific Integrity
This summer, UCS supporters helped pass major legislation that allows federal government scientists to better protect the public from unsafe toys and other consumer products. Together, we’ve brought significant congressional and media attention to political interference in science at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and recognized EPA scientists for their hard work. We announced the Science Idol cartoon contest winner, and the 2009 cartoon calendar is up for sale. But our work to protect federal scientist whistleblower rights and to ensure sound science is used in efforts to protect the North Atlantic Right Whale continues.
Victory on Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform
In a tremendous and precedent-setting victory for whistleblower protection and government openness, this summer, Congress overwhelmingly passed and the president signed the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act. Thanks to several months of UCS supporters’ phone calls to Congress and meetings with congressional staff, the final legislation includes many important measures to improve scientific integrity at the CPSC and better protect our communities from unsafe toys and other products.
The new law directs the CPSC to report to Congress on its efforts to encourage staff scientists to publish in peer-reviewed journals. The CPSC will also be required to offer employees a website where they can submit anonymous complaints and to report annually on those complaints to Congress. In addition, the bill gives protection to whistleblowers both in government and in the private sector who report product defects or violations of consumer safety laws. These protections will not only cover many corporate scientists and engineers, but they will also set a strong precedent that will help us build a case for extending these protections to federal scientists in the future.
The new law also requires the CPSC to establish a publicly accessible database for tracking consumer complaints. A more open and transparent commission will help loosen the bonds of secrecy that have up until now made it difficult for CPSC staff to raise important concerns about product safety.
The Fight for Scientist Whistleblower Rights Continues
Scientists must be able to speak out when the air we breathe is unsafe, endangered species are threatened, or public safety is jeopardized by senior government officials who manipulate, suppress, or otherwise politicize science. But, in surveys conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, more than 1,100 federal government scientists reported fearing retaliation for raising these kinds of concerns.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last year (H.R. 985) that would give whistleblower protection for federal scientists. The Senate passed a similar bill (S. 274) that lacked these protections. These two bills need to be reconciled into a single piece of legislation that can then be passed and sent to the president. But time is running out and the Senate is dragging its heels.
This is no time for inaction; we need to let our senators know that scientific integrity is vitally important to our health safety, and environment. Please call your senators and urge them to pass a strong whistleblower protection bill that includes specific protections for federal scientists.
UCS Release on the EPA Sparks Congressional Investigation
UCS recently partnered with Iowa State University to survey scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the state of science at the agency. The results were shocking hundreds of EPA scientists reported political interference in their work in the past five years, with much of the pressure coming from outside the agency.
When we released the results to widespread media attention, Congress reacted swiftly. “When EPA’s own scientists say Americans can’t trust the agency to protect our environment, it’s a scathing indictment of the Bush administration’s repeated efforts to twist, misuse, and ignore scientific facts in favor of special interests,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) added, “These survey results suggest a pattern of ignoring and manipulating science in EPA’s decision-making.”
Both legislators held committee hearings to air their concerns about science at the EPA, inviting UCS Senior Scientist Francesca Grifo, other public interest advocates, and senior EPA officials to testify. Dozens of members of Congress grilled EPA officials about the way science has been used in making policy decisions. While EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson repeatedly refused to answer many questions from members of Congress, EPA Assistant Administrator George Gray did admit that the 889 scientists who reported personally experiencing interference in their work “is a number that is unacceptable to me.”
EPA Scientists Receive Your Thanks
In the wake of reports of political interference at the EPA, and decreasing morale at the agency, UCS activists recently took the opportunity to remind EPA scientists that the public greatly values the work they do to protect human health and the environment. The results were spectacular: over 300 people sent in thoughtful, hand-written letters, and some even gathered multiple signatures on their notes. The letters were then hand-delivered by UCS activists to EPA regional offices in June. Read some of the letters here.
Protecting the North Atlantic Right Whale
UCS sources helped reveal political interference with a proposed rule intended to protect the critically endangered Northern Atlantic right whale from deadly ship collisions. Documents show that that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), along with the Office of the Vice President, have blocked these protections for more than a year.
Only about 300 North Atlantic right whales remain. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the death of even a single whale "may contribute to the extinction of the species." The White House is stalling by questioning the science behind the proposed limits—yet in recent months, the science linking ship speed with whale mortality has only grown stronger.
More than 3,000 UCS activists have responded by calling OMB to demand that the speed limit rule be allowed to move forward. On August 10, Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (D-ME) added their voices to the growing discontent over OMB’s obstructionism. Please continue to call the OMB and urge them to allow the NMFS to do their job in protecting the North Atlantic right whale.
Science Idol Contest Winner is Announced, Cartoon Calendars For Sale
This summer, we invited you to help choose the best cartoon in Science Idol: the Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest. After tens of thousands of votes were cast, Justin Bilicki of Brooklyn, New York, came out on top. You can see the winning cartoon here.
Justin's cartoon will grace the cover of next year's scientific integrity calendar featuring all 12 finalists plus several bonus cartoons. The calendar is a fantastic gift for scientists and non-scientists alike who want to help us ensure that the next president takes steps to stop the suppression, distortion, and manipulation of science.
Calendars are just $10 each, with discounts for UCS members and bulk orders. And all profits go directly back into our work, including efforts to restore scientific integrity to federal policy making. Pre-order your 2009 Scientific Integrity calendar today!
