News from the Union of Concerned Scientists

Political interference in science has been all over the news recently. We thought you’d like to be aware of the following developments:

Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona reported he was muzzled from speaking about topics like stem cell research and sex education.

Vice President Dick Cheney was accused of personally interfering to change the science around endangered salmon.

A federal judge blocked the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from implementing new cattle grazing regulations because they were based on manipulated science.

Tuesday, a presidential executive order went into effect that would place political appointees deeper inside federal scientific agencies where they could more easily prevent inconvenient science from ever seeing the light of day.

During the past several weeks, the UCS invited the public to help choose the winner in Science Idol: the Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest. And after almost 20,000 votes were cast, Jesse Springer of Eugene, Oregon is the contest winner -> see the cartoon.