Defend Science

Suppression of Science and Destruction of the
Environment

Federal Gulf Oil Report: A Flawed Abuse of Science - Gulf Crisis Is Not Over

The federal government's National Incident Command has released it's report on the gulf oil spill “BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Budget: What Happened To the Oil?” The main message of this report – and certainly the main spin it has been given in statements by government spokespeople and the major media is - “it's all but over, we've accounted for most of the oil, most of it's gone and what's left is disappearing fast”.

But the report's conclusions are at best premature, based in many respects on guesswork, and evidence that didn't fit its conclusions was suppressed. The conclusions drawn from the report and being pushed out broadly to the public are wrong. Leaving aside the dangerous implications this report may lead to in terms of governmental policy, this report is itself an attack on and abuse of science.
read the entire article...

BP Attacks Science and Scientific Integrity - Attempts to Buy Scientists' Silence

BP has been caught attempting to employ scientists engaged in (or likely to engage in) study of the Gulf oil spill under contracts that would "...restrict the scientists from publishing research results, sharing them with other scientists, or even talking about them for up to 3 years". In one case, BP attempted to hire the entire marine science department at one Alabama university.

BP, Scientists, and Gag Agreements (blog from Mike the Mad Biologist)...

Oil's Stain On Science

by Linda Hooper-Bui (from The Scientist - re-published by LibraryThing)

Functioning as an independent researcher in and around the Gulf of Mexico these days is no simple task. I study insect and plant communities in near-shore habitats fringing the Gulf, and my work has gotten measurably harder in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. It's not hazardous conditions associated with oil and dispersants that are hampering our scientific efforts. Rather, it's the confidentiality agreements that come with signing up to work on large research projects shepherded by government entities and BP and the limited access to coastal areas if you're not part of those projects that are stifling the public dissemination of data detailing the environmental impact of the catastrophe. read the entire article...

Minerals Management Service (MMS) Suppresses its Scientists
"Managers at the agency have routinely overruled staff scientists whose findings highlight the environmental risks of drilling, according to a half-dozen current or former agency scientists.
"The scientists, none of whom wanted to be quoted by name for fear of reprisals by the agency or by those in the industry, said they had repeatedly had their scientific findings changed to indicate no environmental impact or had their calculations of spill risks downgraded.
'You're simply are not allowed to conclude that the drilling will have an impact,' said one scientist who has worked for the mineral agency for more than a decade. 'If you find the risks of a spill are high or you conclude that a certain species will be affected, your report gets disappeared in a desk drawer and they find another scientis to redo it or they rewrite it for you'." (New York Times, May 13, 2010)
Except for this one article, news of this suppression is itself being suppressed. And while the MMS is being re-organized, there is no mention of dealing with this suppression of science and scientists.

Attacks on Climate Scientists - National Academy of Science members publish letter of protest
The letter begins: "WE ARE DEEPLY DISTURBED BY THE RECENT ESCALATION OF POLITICAL ASSAULTS ON SCIENTISTS in general and on climate scientists in particular".
read entire letter...

Defend Science started with the Defend Science statement - a statement from scientists sharply calling out the attacks on scientific thinking and method which unfolded under the Bush administration. Nearly 3000 scientists and members of the scientific community signed the statement, and we raised funds to run it as a paid ad in the New Republic, the Nation, and the New York Times. join the Defend Science supporters email list...
sign the statement...
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The Statement begins:
IN THE UNITED STATES TODAY SCIENCE, AS SCIENCE, IS UNDER ATTACK AS NEVER BEFORE.

“The signs of this are everywhere. The attacks are coming at an accelerating pace, and include frequent interventions by powerful forces, in and out of the Bush Administration, who seem all too willing to deny scientific truths, disrupt scientific investigations, block scientific progress, undermine scientific education, and sacrifice the very integrity of the scientific process itself -- all in the pursuit of implementing their particular political agenda. And today this dominant political agenda is profoundly allied and intertwined with an extremist (and extremely anti-science) ideological agenda put forward by powerful fundamentalist religious forces commonly known as the Religious Right. These fundamentalists now have extensive influence and representatives in major institutions of the U.S. government, including Congress and the White House. This itself goes a long way towards explaining why science itself is under such unprecedented attack.

”This excerpt is from the Defend Science Statement. To read the full Statement, click here.

The welcome verdict in the Dover lawsuit over teaching intelligent design clearly does not mean an end to the attacks on evolution, let alone scientific thinking. In Kansas, the State Board of Education changed the very definition of science to open the door to supernatural causes. What is centrally and crucially involved in Kansas and in relation to the overall attacks on science is a battle over the whole question of the scientific method and whether that is going to be upheld and applied, or whether--even in the realm of science itself--that method is going to replaced by something else, which is antagonistically opposed to the scientific method. The need to mount powerful and determined defense of science is greater than ever.
Your signature and support for this Statement will make a great difference at this dangerous time in our history. There are many ways that people can help in addition to signing the Statement, which are outlined here on the website, and we encourage you to send your suggestions and thoughts on this by emailing us at mail@defendscience.com