scientific integrity

Interior adopts scientific integrity guidelines

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has formalized the Department’s guidelines on scientific integrity and created the new position of Scientific Integrity Officer, to be filled by Dr. Ralph Morgenweck, Senior Science Advisor at the Fish and Wildlife Service. The guidelines are the first agency effort out of the blocks after the White House Office of Science …

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White House scientific integrity guidelines — a long wait for not much

Early on in the Obama administration, promoting scientific integrity in government decisionmaking seemed to be a high priority. Less than 2 months after his inauguration, the President issued a memorandum giving the Office of Science and Technology Policy 4 months to “develop recommendations for Presidential action designed to guarantee scientific integrity throughout the executive branch.” …

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Pesticides, Science and Politics

Those three can make for a toxic environment, literally and figuratively.  Take the case of methyl iodide, a material so obviously toxic that scientists use it to induce cancer in laboratory experiments.  Arysta LifeScience Corporation has obtained a federal pesticide registration from EPA for use as a fumigant, despite a letter from 50 scientists, including five …

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Would a CO2 “monkey trial” improve scientific integrity and transparency?

As reported in the L.A. Times and Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has petitioned EPA to hold a trial-type hearing before finalizing its proposed finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. (We blogged about the proposed endangerment finding here.) The main argument in the petition is that a formal …

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Back to the future in northwest federal forests

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today announced the withdrawal of the Bush administration’s last-minute revisions of the Northwest Forest Plan. Interior will also ask a federal court to vacate the 2008 modification of critical habitat for the northern spotted owl, and will review the 2008 spotted owl recovery plan, heavily criticized by outside scientists, which was …

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Science, the public, and policy

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press today released the results of a survey (full report here) of American scientists and the public. The survey lands at a time when both scientists and politicians are actively questioning how science can play a more effective role in the policy process, so it’s not …

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Scientific integrity at EPA

Lisa Jackson was up on Capitol Hill yesterday, telling the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works how her EPA will protect scientific integrity. The webcast is available here. In her written testimony, Jackson said: While the laws that EPA implements leave room for policy judgments, the scientific findings on which these judgments are based …

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Broadening the “scientific integrity” discussion

Scientific integrity was a high-profile issue under the last administration, but only in a very negative sense, with a continual drumbeat of stories accusing the Bush White House and political appointees of interfering with the proper role of science.  President Obama has brought new positive attention to the topic, first with his inaugural address promise …

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Lubchenco on scientific integrity

Shortly after her confirmation as NOAA administrator, Jane Lubchenco sat for an interview (subscription required) with Science and Nature. Asked about her priorities, she listed science at the top (others include ending overfishing, getting NOAA’s satellite program back on track, establishing a National Climate Service, and protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems). When pressed to expand …

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An important step toward scientific integrity

Yesterday, together with his executive order on stem cell research, President Obama issued a memorandum to the executive branch on scientific integrity.  (Dan noted the news of the pending decision here.)  The memorandum is just a starting point, but it is a very good one.  It elevates the issue to a high profile, assigning the …

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