White House Science Suppression

Regular readers of my Bad Astronomy Blog know that I have been more and more vocal of late about the attacks on science coming from pretty much every direction -- religion, government, business, and elsewhere. But there is a prevailing wind, so to speak, that blows from the White House. The sheer breadth and depth of the attacks on science by the Bush Administration are astonishing, including scientific studies in the fields of health, climatology, astronomy, ecology, energy, and so many more that I'd include them here if I were paid by the word.

Global warming has been receiving more attention lately, thanks, ironically, in part to an Administration apparatchik at NASA who tried to gag climatologist James Hansen. Said politico, George Deutsch, was appointed as a Public Affairs Officer at NASA by the Bush Administration, and later wound up having to resign his position when a blogger revealed Deutsch lied on his resume. Dr. Hansen has been quite vocal about what happens to scientists who try to promote reality when it flies in the face of the White House desires. Most recently, he appeared on 60 Minutes just last night about this very topic.

Congresscritters are not deaf to these problems. Well, some of them are, but not all. Cue Rep. Brad Miller (D- NC), who has made a public call for scientists to come forward and talk about any and all acts of political suppression they have suffered. He was discussing the Hansen/Deutsch situation with Sherwood Boehlert (R- NY), head of the House Science Committee, and Boehlert was not sure if the scientific suppression going on with Hansen was an isolated case or something more nefarious, so Miller is looking for people to speak up. Miller has written about this on his diary at DailyKos.

As a scientist and an advocate for science, I'm thrilled to see our lawmakers taking notice of this. I will do my part to support Rep. Miller's effort, and I hope he will be able to bring this serious issue to light.