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Politics : The Environmentalist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James Calladine who wrote (4504)	2/21/2005 5:03:04 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36917

Panelists Decry Bush Science Policies The Associated Press Monday 21 February 2005 Washington - The voice of science is being stifled in the Bush administration, with fewer scientists heard in policy discussions and money for research and advanced training being cut, according to panelists at a national science meeting. Speakers at the national meeting of the American Association for Advancement of Science expressed concern Sunday that some scientists in key federal agencies are being ignored or even pressured to change study conclusions that don't support policy positions. The speakers also said that Bush's proposed 2005 federal budget is slashing spending for basic research and reducing investments in education designed to produce the nation's future scientists. And there also was concern that increased restrictions and requirements for obtaining visas is diminishing the flow to the U.S. of foreign-born science students who have long been a major part of the American research community. Rosina Bierbaum, dean of the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, said the Bush administration has cut scientists out of some of the policy-making processes, particularly on environmental issues. "In previous administrations, scientists were always at the table when regulations were being developed," she said. "Science never had the last voice, but it had a voice." Issues on global warming, for instance, that achieved a firm scientific consensus in earlier years are now being questioned by Bush policy makers. Proven, widely accepted research is being ignored or disputed, she said. Government policy papers issued prior to the Bush years moved beyond questioning the validity of global warming science and addressed ways of confronting or dealing with climate change. Under Bush, said Bierbaum, the questioning of the proven science has become more important than finding ways to cope with climate change. One result of such actions, said Neal Lane of Rice University, a former director of the National Science Foundation, is that "we don't really have a policy right now to deal with what everybody agrees is a serious problem." Among scientists, said Lane, "there is quite a consensus in place that the Earth is warming and that humans are responsible for a considerable part of that" through the burning of fossil fuels. And the science is clear, he said, that without action to control fossil fuel use, the warming will get worse and there will be climate events that "our species has not experienced before." Asked for comment, White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said, "The president makes policy decisions based on what the best policies for the country are, not politics. People who suggest otherwise are ill-informed." Kurt Gottfried of Cornell University and the Union of Concerned Scientists said a survey of scientists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that about 42 percent said they felt pressured to not report publicly any findings that do not agree with Bush policies on endangered species. He said almost a third of the Fish and Wildlife researchers said they were even pressured not to express within the agency any views in conflict with the Bush policies. "This administration has distanced itself from scientific information," said Gottfried. He said this is part of a larger effort to let politics dominate pure science. He said scientists in the Environmental Protection Agency have been pressured to change their research to keep it consistent with the Bush political position on environmental issues. Because of such actions, he said, it has become more difficult for federal agencies to attract and retain top scientific talent. This becomes a critical issue, said Gottfried, because about 35 percent of EPA scientists will retire soon and the Bush administration can "mold the staff" of the agency through the hiring process. Federal spending for research and development is significantly reduced under the proposed 2005 Bush budget, the speakers said. "Overall the R&D budget is bad news," said Bierbaum. She said the National Science Foundation funds for graduate students and for kindergarten through high school education has been slashed. NASA has gotten a budget boost, but most of the new money will be going to the space shuttle, space station and Bush's plan to explore the moon and Mars. What is suffering is the space agency's scientific research efforts, she said. "Moon and Mars is basically going to eat everybody's lunch," she said. Lane said Bush's moon and Mars exploration effort has not excited the public and has no clear goals or plans. He said Bush's moon-Mars initiative "was poorly carried out and the budget is not there to do the job so science (at NASA) will really get hurt." -------

To: James Calladine who wrote (4504)	2/22/2005 7:48:36 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36917

saveourenvironment.org great site to get other sites to keep in tough with what is going on.... The Arctic Wildlife Refuge is under attack -- a sneak attack. We need your help right now to stop oil drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge before it's too late. In the next two weeks, President Bush and his pro-drilling allies in Congress may try a sneaky backdoor trick to pass their controversial proposal to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by inserting it in the must-pass federal budget bill. Click here now to stop the oil industry from destroying the Arctic Refuge - send a message to your members of Congress demanding that they do everything in their power to keep drilling revenues out of the budget bill. Or if you're a registered user, simply hit "reply" and then hit "send" and we'll automatically send the message below to your members of Congress. In March, some members of Congress will try to approve Arctic drilling by hiding their proposal in the federal budget bills -- the only bills that are exempt from filibuster or extended debate. This sneaky attempt not only defies the democratic process, but it reveals the fundamental weakness of the push for drilling: proponents of drilling know they cannot pass this through the normal legislative process, so they are resorting to a procedural tactic to prohibit an open and honest debate. A lot is riding on this decision. This incomparable wilderness is home to more than 250 animal species, including wolves, grizzlies, caribou, and millions of migrating birds. Unfortunately, it is also the target of an intense, relentless lobbying campaign by the oil industry. Unless we stop them, this world-class wilderness will become a vast oil development field. We need you to help make some noise! If we can draw enough attention to this issue, we can stop oil industry allies in Congress from getting away with this attempt to slip Arctic drilling into the budget bill. Please click here to contact your members of Congress about preventing drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

To: James Calladine who wrote (4504)	2/23/2005 1:57:49 PM
From: Skywatcher	Respond to of 36917

A decisive moment is now at hand in our year-long battle to defeat President Bush's Dirty Skies bill. The closely divided Senate Environment Committee has promised to vote on this pro-polluter legislation in the next two weeks. Few Americans grasp the terrible toll this bill would take on their health and the health of their families. Once you know what's at stake, I know you'll want to join me in defending the very air we breathe against the nation's biggest polluters. We can win this fight, but only if we immediately marshal more resources, buy more ads and mobilize even more public pressure on the U.S. Senate. Please go to nrdcactionfund.org to make an Emergency Contribution that will help defeat President Bush's Dirty Skies bill over the next two critical weeks. While you're at our website you can also send messages to your two senators. This bill's central provisions were developed by some of America's worst polluters to give them a stranglehold on our right to clean air. The bill would be responsible for more than 100,000 additional early deaths and more than two million additional asthma attacks through 2020. That's compared to enforcing the existing Clean Air Act. It would allow power plants to spew nearly seven times as much mercury into our air until 2017 -- as compared to existing Clean Air Act requirements. Mercury from power plants and other industrial polluters causes brain damage in children and has poisoned America's freshwater fish. It would excuse aging power plants and potentially thousands of other industrial polluters from installing modern pollution controls required by the Clean Air Act. It would repeal Clean Air Act protections against haze and pollution in our national parks. And yet, President Bush has the nerve to call this bill the "Clear Skies" bill! Three of my own kids -- and millions of others -- already struggle to breathe on bad air days because they suffer from asthma. Should our children suffer even more to enrich President Bush's corporate campaign contributors? Most of us live in the 45 states that already post warnings about eating fish from mercury-contaminated lakes and streams. Should our families run an even greater risk of ingesting this terrible poison so that a few corporate fat cats can boost their profits? If your answer is no, then now is the time to fight back! The upcoming vote in the Senate Environment Committee is too close to call. Your financial support can literally help make the difference between victory and defeat. Please go to nrdcactionfund.org right now and donate whatever you can. Your gift will enable the NRDC Action Fund to arm millions of Americans with the damning facts about the president's Dirty Skies bill and mobilize massive grassroots pressure on key senators. Together we're going to break the polluters' stranglehold on Congress and on our right to clean air. Thank you. Sincerely, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. NRDC Action Fund