Another example of the Bush administration's manipulation of science to please their corporate sponsors was revealed today by the Los Angeles Times.
U.S. Scientists Say They Are Told to Alter Findings
More than 200 Fish and Wildlife researchers cite cases where conclusions were reversed to weaken protections and favor business, a survey finds. (LA Times (2/10/05)
More than 200 scientists employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they have been directed to alter official findings to lessen protections for plants and animals, a survey released Wednesday says.
The survey of the agency's scientific staff of 1,400 had a 30% response rate and was conducted jointly by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
A division of the Department of the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service is charged with determining which animals and plants should be placed on the endangered species list and designating areas where such species need to be protected.
More than half of the biologists and other researchers who responded to the survey said they knew of cases in which commercial interests, including timber, grazing, development and energy companies, had applied political pressure to reverse scientific conclusions deemed harmful to their business.
This revelation of manipulated science completely undermines claims by Radical Republicans like Richard Pombo (R-CA) who claim that the Endangered Species Act is "broken," and that species protection has gained an upper hand over the embattled strip-mall developers out West.
The truth revealed by the federal biologist survey is that, if the ESA is indeed broken, it is because corporate interests have pressured the Bush administration to ignore real science and pretend imperiled species are doing just fine. No problem here, please move along. Meanwhile, species caught in this Political Science mess are going extinct and America continues to watch the web of life collapse. So much for defending the "Homeland."
House Resources ranking member Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Government Reform Committee ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) sent a letter yesterday to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, exposing this lie.
"Political appointees at the Fish and Wildlife Service are suppressing some of the brightest minds in the country," Rahall said in a statement. "I do not see how Congress can effectively and responsibly address any changes to the Endangered Species Act when the statute is not receiving adequate funding and politics is muzzling science in species protection decisions."