Atmosphere of Pressure: Political Interference in Federal Climate Science
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists

Congress and agency leaders must act to end political interference in science. Federal agencies should adopt communications policies that promote a free and open exchange of information and include the following points:

• Scientific freedoms—Federal scientists have a constitutional right to speak about any subject so long as the scientists make it clear that they do so in their private capacity. Scientists must also have a “right of last review” on agency communications related to their research.
• Scientific openness—Scientists should not be subject to restrictions on media contacts beyond a policy of informing public affairs officials in advance of an interview and summarizing the interaction for them afterward.
• Communication of scientific findings—Federal agencies should support the free exchange of scientific information in all venues.
• Whistleblower protection—Scientists who speak out when they see interference or suppression of science should be protected from retribution. Agencies should affirmatively educate their employees of their rights under these statutes.

+ Executive Summary (PDF; 322 KB)
+ Full Report (PDF; 2.6 MB)
+ FAQs (PDF; 41 KB)

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 8th, 2007 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Environment, Ethics, Government and politics, Science, Weather and climate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.