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Bush administration to review scientific findings prior to publication |
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Sunday, 17 December 2006 |
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New rules announced by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior say that all scientific research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey will be subject to review prior to publication, according to an Associated Press article in the Washington Post.
While agency and administration officials say the new rules are intended to standardize the flow of research and publication, many, including agency scientists are concerned that the rules amount to possible censorship of scientific findings that could be embarrassing to the Bush administration.
From the Washington Post:
New Publishing Rules Restrict Scientists
By JOHN HEILPRIN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; 7:37 PM
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is clamping down on scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, the latest agency subjected to controls on research that might go against official policy.
New rules require screening of all facts and interpretations by agency scientists who study everything from caribou mating to global warming. The rules apply to all scientific papers and other public documents, even minor reports or prepared talks, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Top officials at the Interior Department's scientific arm say the rules only standardize what scientists must do to ensure the quality of their work and give a heads-up to the agency's public relations staff.
"This is not about stifling or suppressing our science, or politicizing our science in any way," Barbara Wainman, the agency's director of communications, said Wednesday. "I don't have approval authority. What it was designed to do is to improve our product flow."
Some agency scientists, who until now have felt free from any political interference, worry that the objectivity of their work could be compromised.
"I feel as though we've got someone looking over our shoulder at every damn thing we do. And to me that's a very scary thing. I worry that it borders on censorship," said Jim Estes, an internationally recognized marine biologist in the USGS field station at Santa Cruz, Calif.
"The explanation was that this was intended to ensure the highest possible quality research," said Estes, a researcher at the agency for more than 30 years. "But to me it feels like they're doing this to keep us under their thumbs. It seems like they're afraid of science. Our findings could be embarrassing to the administration."
Read the whole story at WashingtonPost.com
Additional story on scientists' objections to the new policy
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