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Scientists Feel Stifled by Bush Admin.


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http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/02/21...e.ap/index.html

 

Scientists feel stifled by Bush administration

 

Monday, February 21, 2005 Posted: 2:46 PM EST (1946 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- 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."

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Bush is fucking stupid, fuck the moon, fuck mars. Fucking handle shit on one planet first you fucktard.And by the way alot of that money that is supposedly going to space and shit is really going to the military, i dont have proof or sources but its pretty clear to see, billions of dollars going to NASA and what have they done? Shit. Theyre losing probes and all this bullshit, fucking give that money to people who need it the most.

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in addition to the above, for the first tiome since i don't now when, maybe the first time ever, the budget increase given to the National Institute of Health did not keep pace with inflation.

 

 

i mean, these guys are probably in favor of 'intelligent design' over darwinism. they wanna take it back to the old school when white men ruled the world with weapons and their bitches stayed at home barefoot and pregnant.

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George Bush and our Prime Minister Tony Blair are complete fuckwits end of, they have their priorities all wrong......

They would rather spend money (and it is our money, taxes ect) messing with other countrys trying to do all these 'good deeds' and this stupid war on terrorism campaign, when they cant even get their own countrys in order to provide decent education or healthcare........ I think the sooner those 2 knobs are voted out of power so much the better, the damage they have caused will take decades to fix.

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Guest imported_El Mamerro
Originally posted by CACashRefund@Feb 22 2005, 08:49 PM

fuck the moon, fuck mars. Fucking handle shit on one planet first you fucktard.

 

I fucking hate this line of thinking.

 

That said, fuck Bush and his pseudoscience. That is all.

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Originally posted by El Mamerro+Feb 24 2005, 09:30 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (El Mamerro - Feb 24 2005, 09:30 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-CACashRefund@Feb 22 2005, 08:49 PM

fuck the moon, fuck mars. Fucking handle shit on one planet first you fucktard.

 

I fucking hate this line of thinking.

 

That said, fuck Bush and his pseudoscience. That is all.

[/b]

 

Maybe I misunderstood you but...I think he IS handling shit on this planet, he's on a quest of world domination and has been pretty successful. I think he has handled everything exactly the way his father planned. Honestly the Bush administration would get an A+ when it comes to handling shit.

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