Tag Archives: Union of Concerned Scientists

The Union of Concerned Scientists has documented dozens of cases of corporations and politicians preventing government scientists from doing their jobs. This interference and manipulation of science has led to flawed policy decisions that put the public’s health and safety at risk.

www.ucsusa.org

Please help UCS lock in much-needed government reforms that will ensure independent science informs key decisions about our health, safety, air, and water.

www.ucsusa.org

You can help UCS stop special interests from spinning science at the expense of the American people by becoming a member today.

UCS blew the whistle on these widespread attacks on science during the Bush administration. Now, the administration has changed, but the system that allows politics to undermine science largely has not.

Fortunately, government agencies are working right now to develop forceful new policies that can protect scientists from political pressure. UCS is the only organization watchdogging the process and ensuring agencies follow through on their scientific integrity commitments. We’re meeting with agency officials and providing them with resources to ensure policies:

•Protect scientists who report political interference in agency work;

•Prevent conflicts of interest on science advisory committees;

•Allow scientists to share their research and scientific analysis with the public and the press; and

•Increase transparency so the public knows what science agencies consider when making policy decisions.

Please help UCS hold the administration and its agencies accountable for locking in much-needed reforms that will outlast their time in office, keep politics in its place, and allow government scientists to do their jobs. Become a member today.

www.ucsusa.org

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

P.S. When you join UCS, you join more than 79,000 UCS members who also believe that decisions about our health, safety, air, and water should fully consider the best available science. Please join us today and help us keep politics out of science.

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You can help stop abuse of science …Kevin Knobloch, Union of Concerned Scientists

05/23/2011 Nativegrl77

Dr. Rosemary Johann-Liang spent seven years working for the government. Her job was to make sure that the prescription drugs we take and give to our families are safe and effective.

Become a member today and help UCS hold the Obama administration and its agencies accountable for protecting science by implementing reforms that will outlast their time in office.

But four years ago, she was reprimanded by her bosses for recommending that the popular diabetes drug Avandia carry a warning label because the drug had been linked to a significant increase in the risk of heart attacks. Her superiors not only failed to act on her recommendation, but they also took away her oversight role in the safety review of the drug. Avandia is made by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline—which, according to a Senate investigation, intimidated physicians and sought ways to downplay findings that a rival drug might reduce cardiovascular risk.

Unfortunately, Dr. Johann-Liang is not alone. Thousands of scientists, across various federal agencies, have told us they fear retaliation for blowing the whistle on political interference in their work.

The Union of Concerned Scientists called attention to widespread attacks on science like this during the Bush administration. Now, the administration has changed, but the system that allows politics to undermine science largely has not.

Please help UCS lock in government reforms to protect scientists and ensure the best available science informs key decisions about our health, safety, and environment—become a member today.

www.ucsusa.org

Federal agencies are working right now to develop stringent new policies to protect scientists from political pressure by special interests. Working with government scientists and other policy experts, UCS has developed resources for agencies to draw upon and is working to ensure these policies:

Protect scientists who report political interference in agency work;

Prevent conflicts of interest on science advisory committees;

Allow scientists to share their research and scientific analysis with the public and the press; and

Increase transparency so the public knows what science agencies consider when making policy decisions.

We need your help to ensure federal agencies adopt strong policies that protect science—now and into the future.

Please become a member today. www.ucsusa.org

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

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Become a member today – UCS …The Union of Concerned Scientists

05/17/2011 Nativegrl77

For years, corporations and politicians have put the public’s health and safety at risk by manipulating government science and censoring scientists in an effort to look after their own best interests.

“The specific suggestions [UCS] has offered have been critical to the overall goal of strengthening science and protecting its integrity, including the use of science by federal agencies”

—Dr. Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Please help UCS lock in much-needed government reforms that will ensure independent science informs key decisions about our health, safety, air, and water.

The Union of Concerned Scientists blew the whistle on these widespread attacks on science during the Bush administration. Now, we’re pressing the Obama administration to ensure they follow through on their stated commitment to restore scientific integrity to government decision making.

As I write this, government agencies responsible for everything from protecting our food and drugs to our air and water are developing groundbreaking new policies to protect their scientists from political pressure by special interests. But will those policies be strong—or full of loopholes?

We need your help to ensure these agencies adopt policies that truly protect science and scientists. Please become a member of UCS today.

UCS is the only organization watchdogging the entire administration to ensure it follows through on their scientific integrity commitments. And we’re providing agencies with resources to help government scientists do their best work and avoid the abuses of science we’ve documented in the past.

But we can’t do it without you. Please become a member of UCS by making a donation today.

If we have your help we can work with agencies to ensure that independent science informs key decisions about the safety of our food and medicines, the levels of toxic chemicals in our children’s toys, the quality of our air and water, and much more.

Please help UCS lock in much-needed reforms that will keep politics in its rightful and proper place and allow government scientists to do their jobs. Become a member today.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The greenest way to support UCS -Kevin Knobloch,President

04/18/2011 Nativegrl77

Your support of the Union of Concerned Scientists has helped advance innovative, practical solutions to the problems of global warming, food safety, abuse of government science, and more.

Do you want your support of UCS to go even further? Join the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Partners for the Earth monthly giving program.

www.ucsusa.org

The Partners for the Earth program helps UCS reduce fundraising costs and paper use. It’s the greenest way to give—plus, it’s easy and convenient for you!

This is an easy and effective way for you to ensure UCS has the funds needed to advance science-based solutions to curb global warming, reduce the threat of nuclear weapons, generate clean energy, produce more fuel-efficient cars—and much more—every day of the year.

Become a Partners for the Earth member today. Simply select an amount that is comfortable for you and it is automatically debited each month from your credit card.

www.ucsusa.org

In the coming months, UCS will continue to:

•Expose and challenge corporations, front groups, and policy makers who mislead the public and misrepresent science while highlighting corporations acting responsibly;

•Press the Environmental Protection Agency to continue to work to reduce global warming emissions from cars, trucks, power plants, and large industrial polluters;

•Work to phase out coal as one of the dirtiest sources of electricity by exposing its true costs; and

•Watchdog the nuclear power industry, ensure that U.S. reactors are operated as safely as possible, and provide timely analysis of the situation at the stricken facilities in Japan.

We’ve got ambitious goals—and we need your regular support to accomplish them. Click here to join the Partners for the Earth program today.

www.ucsusa.org

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch

President

P.S. As a Partners for the Earth member, you are in control. You decide the amount of your monthly gift, and you can change or cancel your pledge at any time. Please join today.

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Climate change pushes Groundhog Day to January

04/01/2011 Nativegrl77

The Union of Concerned Scientists and the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania announced today that Groundhog Day will be pushed forward eight days to January 25 in 2012 in recognition of the impact climate change has had in the region.

Spring Comes Eight Days Earlier

Groundhog Day will be pushed forward eight days in recognition of the impact climate change has had on the region.

The change is based on analysis by UCS scientists who found that, since 1997, spring has come an average of eight days earlier to western Pennsylvania. http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=Oc_Z2zW4KEenBjrF0nMi9g..

“We hope that the change in date will bring needed attention to the consequences of climate change in Pennsylvania and the importance of investing in a clean energy economy,” said Dr. Phil DeGraeve, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University.

Read more about the analysis behind the Groundhog Day change and learn how various elected officials are reacting to the news.

http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=Oc_Z2zW4KEenBjrF0nMi9g..

Sincerely,

Michael Halpern

National Field Organizer