One
stop shop launched to keep track of federal efforts to stifle science
Having a hard time
staying on top of changes to federal science regulations and actions? A new
website we launched has you covered.
The Silencing Science Tracker—a joint project from Columbia Law School's
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Climate Science Legal Defense
Fund—has a running tally of federal government attempts to "restrict or
prohibit scientific research, education or discussion, or the publication or
use of scientific information," since President Donald Trump was elected
in November 2016.
So far the Tracker has
96 entries, including:
- 41 of government censorship
- 11 of self-censorship
- 15 budget cuts
- 20 personnel changes
- 5 research hindrances
- 8 bias and misrepresentation
"Political and ideological attacks on science have a long and shameful history, and such attacks are the most dangerous when carried out or condoned by government authorities," said Lauren Kurtz, executive director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, in a statement.
The Tracker draws from
news stories and contains some well-known changes, such as climate change
references being deleted from multiple government websites, but also some
changes that may have flown under the radar.
For instance, the most
recent entry outlines how The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
is investigating Linda Birnbaum, the director of the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, for possible violations of anti-lobbying rules.
Birnbaum, an award-winning, highly respected toxicologist and microbiologist co authored an article on U.S. toxics regulations that concluded "existing U.S. regulations have not kept pace with scientific advances showing that widely used chemicals cause serious health problems at levels previously assumed to be safe."
Birnbaum, an award-winning, highly respected toxicologist and microbiologist co authored an article on U.S. toxics regulations that concluded "existing U.S. regulations have not kept pace with scientific advances showing that widely used chemicals cause serious health problems at levels previously assumed to be safe."
Representatives of the
House Committee said the study pushes citizens to lobby for policy changes,
which could violate anti-lobbying rules.
The Tracker labeled the
entry—logged just this week—as "government, censorship, research
hindrance."
"The vital work of
scientists must be supported, made public, and listened to. When government
officials block this, we plan to shine a harsh light, said Michael Gerrard,
faculty director of the Sabin Center and a professor at Columbia Law School, in
a statement.
Gerrard said a
government that ignores science is like "a truck driver who wears a
blindfold and drives based on what is whispered into his ear -- dangerous and
intolerable."
See the full Silencing Science Tracker here, which also has option to sign up for daily or
weekly updates.
