Recent pieces address EPA’s proposed rule that would devastate public health protections, the reproductive justice movement, unsafe water in rural California communities, and more.
Last year, many of us spoke out forcefully against a horrible EPA proposal that would allow the agency to ignore important studies when regulating, on the pretext of increasing transparency. Rather than using the extensive criticism to engage in a more thorough and appropriate process — or, as many of us recommended, scrap the proposal altogether — EPA has apparently made it more far-reaching and disastrous for public health.
Scientific Integrity & Ethics
Scientific Integrity Act passes out of committee with votes from both parties
Following a significant amendment, the Scientific Integrity Act passed the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 25-6.
Environmental Health
Trump’s EPA disbanded pollution advisory panel, so they’re reconvening on their own
Last year, the Trump administration EPA dismissed the Particulate Matter Review Panel, leaving the agency and its primary group of clean air advisors without the expertise they need to thoroughly update air pollution standards. The review panel’s scientists are so committed to their work that they’ve decided to meet and provide their crucial advice even without the federal government’s blessing.
Scientific Integrity & Ethics
A new low and a new danger: NOAA officials join Trump in sidelining science
We’ve become accustomed to having a president who lies blatantly, but leadership at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has reached a new low in enabling such duplicity—and has done so in a way that endangers health and safety.
Scientific Integrity & Ethics
Hearing shows bipartisan agreement on the need to protect scientific integrity
The “Scientific Integrity in Federal Agencies” hearing featured repeated reminders that scientific integrity is a bipartisan issue; that administrations from both parties have suppressed and distorted evidence; and that public health suffers when agencies disregard or sideline science.
Examples of federal agencies ignoring and suppressing science are alarmingly common these days, but Adam Federman’s investigation into the Department of the Interior’s actions regarding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is especially breathtaking.
A July 17 hearing on “Scientific Integrity in Federal Agencies” will be a great opportunity to hear more about the Scientific Integrity Act and ways to protect science from political interference.
If a study’s published in a journal but no one reads it, does it make an impact? A new POLITICO investigation suggests that might be a relevant question when it comes to studies from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.
The Trump administration’s apparent discomfort with expertise has taken an especially obvious and pernicious form: President Trump has issued an executive order instructing federal agencies to cut the number of federal advisory committees by one-third.