Creative Science
The Bush Administration is tailoring science to meet their political goals, and scientists are speaking out -- including 48 Nobel laureates who signed a statement endorsing Kerry, writes Andrew C. Revkin in The New York Times:
Many career scientists and officials have expressed frustration and anger privately but were unwilling to be identified for fear of losing their jobs. But a few have stepped forward, including Dr. Hansen at NASA, who has been researching global warming and conveying its implications to Congress and the White House for two decades.Dr. Hansen, who was invited to brief the Bush cabinet twice on climate and whose work has been cited by Mr. Bush, said he had decided to speak publicly about the situation because he was convinced global warming posed a serious threat and that further delays in addressing it would add to the risks.
"It's something that I've been worrying about for months," he said, describing his decision. "If I don't do something now I'll regret it.
"Under the Clinton-Gore administration, you did have occasions when Al Gore knew the answer he wanted, and he got annoyed if you presented something that wasn't consistent with that," Dr. Hansen said. "I got a little fed up with him, but it was not institutionalized the way it is now."
Under the Bush administration, he said, "they're picking and choosing information according to the answer that they want to get, and they've appointed so many people who are just focused on this that they really are having an impact on the day-to-day flow of information."







The endorsement of Kerry by these scientists doesn't guarantee anything. Edwards, who will probably be the goto man as Gore was, is the famous junk science trial lawyer. You don't think he will be annoyed at science that doesn't fit his agenda? Are we going to see a new grant for improving hair spray maybe? The feds are an institution, they are institutional in their policies. I don't trust any administration with good science. They are politicians first, maybe only. The scientists mentioned are only spouting politics. He even admits his frustration in the text. It's the bureaucracy, stupid. Not you, Amy. The scientist.
allan at October 20, 2004 8:24 AM