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GLIN==> Restrictions on climate scientists
- Subject: GLIN==> Restrictions on climate scientists
- From: "Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <ajs@sagady.com>
- Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:42:30 -0400
- Delivered-to: glin-announce-archive@glc.org
- Delivered-to: glin-announce@great-lakes.net
- List-name: GLIN-Announce
From Public Employees for Environmental Protection
For Immediate Release: April 3, 2007
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
CLIMATE AND OCEAN SCIENTISTS PUT UNDER NEW SPEECH RESTRAINTS Any
Scientific Statements ?of Official Interest? Must be
Pre-Approved
Washington, DC Federal climate, weather and marine scientists will be
subject to new restrictions as to what they can say to the media or in
public, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees
for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Under rules posted last week,
these federal scientists must obtain agency pre-approval to speak or
write, whether on or off-duty, concerning any scientific topic deemed ?of
official interest.?
On March 29, 2007, the Commerce Department posted a new administrative
order governing ?Public Communications.? This new order covers the
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which includes
the National Weather Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Commerce?s new order will become effective in 45 days and would repeal a
more liberal ?open science? policy adopted by NOAA on February 14,
2006.
Although couched in rhetoric about the need for ?broad and open
dissemination of research results [and] open exchange of scientific
ideas,? the new order forbids agency scientists from communicating any
relevant information, even if prepared and delivered on their own time as
private citizens, which has not been approved by the official
chain-of-command:
- Any ?fundamental research communication? must ?before the
communication occurs? be submitted to and approved by the designated
?head of the operating unit.? While the directive states that approval
may not be withheld ?based on policy, budget, or management implications
of the research,? it does not define these terms and limits any appeal to
within Commerce;
- National Weather Service employees are allowed only ?as part of their
routine responsibilities to communicate information about the weather to
the public?; and
- Scientists must give the Commerce Department at least two weeks
?advance notice? of any written, oral or audiovisual presentation
prepared on their own time if it ?is a matter of official interest to the
Department because it relates to Department programs, policies or
operations.?
?This ridiculous gag order ignores the First Amendment and disrespects
the world-renowned professionals who work within Commerce agencies,?
stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. ?Under this policy, National
Weather Service scientists can only give out name, rank, serial number
and the temperature.?
The agency rejected a more open policy adopted last year by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The new policy also was
rushed to print despite an ongoing Commerce Office of Inspector General
review of communication policies that was undertaken at congressional
request.
While claiming to provide clarity, the new Commerce order gives
conflicting directives, on one hand telling scientists that if unsure
whether a conclusion has been officially approved ?then the researcher
must make clear that he or she is representing his or her individual
conclusion.? Yet, another part of the order states non-official
communications ?may not take place or be prepared during working hours.?
This conflict means that every scientist who answers an unexpected
question at a conference puts his or her career at risk by giving an
honest answer.
==========================================
Alex J. Sagady & Associates
http://www.sagady.com
Environmental Enforcement, Permit/Technical Review, Public Policy,
Expert Witness Review and Litigation Investigation on Air, Water and
Waste/Community Environmental and Resource Protection
Prospectus at:
http://www.sagady.com/sagady.pdf
657 Spartan Ave, East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 332-6971; (517) 332-8987 (fax); ajs@sagady.com
==========================================