EPA Blatantly Suppresses Scientific Results Regarding Climate Change?

With the succession of each new presidential administration comes changes to policy which are motivated by the comments made on the campaign trail.  I understand that.  Further, I understand if the new administration would like to "hide" any comments made on federal agency websites regarding climate change.  Alright, I admit that I really do not understand the logic behind that, but I understand if that is a motivation.  Fine, but the results cannot be removed -- just hidden behind new language which suits the new administration's goals.



What recently baffled me was for the Environmental Protection Agency to completely suppress scientists from attending a scientific conference.  The main objective at such a conference is to update the scientific community on new scientific results.  By restricting the scientists from attending, the EPA Administration is effectively suppressing the dissemination of science.  Yes, these results had to do with climate change.  Below is the brief summary of the suppression on behalf of the EPA and the results which were suppressed.  This is not good and should not continue in the future.

Scientific Results?

Recently, the results of a scientific study were suppressed as mentioned above.  In an article titled "EPA Keeps Scientists from Speaking About Report on Climate" from the trade journal "Laboratory Equipment" comes the news regarding the EPA preventing their staff from speaking at a conference:

The Environmental Protection Agency kept three scientists from appearing at a Monday event about a report that deals in part with climate change.

The scientists were expected to discuss a report on the health of Narragansett Bay, New England’s largest estuary. The EPA didn’t explain exactly why the scientists were told not to.

“EPA supports the Narragansett Bay Estuary, and just this month provided the program a $600,000 grant,” agency spokeswoman Nancy Grantham said in a statement Monday. “EPA scientists are attending, they simply are not presenting; it is not an EPA conference.”

Thomas Borden, program director of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, which published the report, told The Associated Press that Wayne Munns, director of EPA’s Atlantic Ecology Division, called him Friday afternoon to say two staffers who work out of its research lab in the town of Narragansett had been advised that they could not attend. Munns did not give him an explanation, but Borden said he understood that the decision came from EPA headquarters in Washington.

One of the staffers, Autumn Oczkowski, was scheduled to give the keynote at an afternoon workshop session. Another, Rose Martin, was scheduled to speak on a panel.

“We’ve been working with more than five researchers in that lab who have contributed substantial elements to our report,” Borden said.

WOW!! This should stand out in anyone's mind who is affiliated with a scientific organization as a dangerous act by the government.  Evidently, the EPA Administration is allowing the scientists to attend the conference.  Although, the scientists are not allowed to present or attend a specific session on climate change.  Take the paragraph taken from above shown below regarding funding and the conference:

“EPA supports the Narragansett Bay Estuary, and just this month provided the program a $600,000 grant,” agency spokeswoman Nancy Grantham said in a statement Monday. “EPA scientists are attending, they simply are not presenting; it is not an EPA conference.”

This is deceptive on part of the EPA Administration.  The EPA is playing on the fact that a majority of the public does not understand that science (scientific data - scientific results) is presented at "non-EPA" conferences.  Any EPA Scientist could give a talk or present results at any scientific conference -- as long as the conference was in the specific field.



For instance, a conference regarding the field of atmospheric chemistry would be a perfect place for a scientific talk by the EPA on environmental issues regarding the atmosphere.  For instance, possibly a talk on regulating industries which contribute large amounts of greenhouse gases.  The conference does not necessarily have to be funded or hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency itself.

Conclusion...

In the case above, the EPA is clearly overstepping its ethical boundaries by suppressing the dissemination of science.  Especially, since the science is funded by tax-payer money.  Meaning that any attendees who pay their taxes are entitled to the results of the study which are funded by the tax money paid to the U.S. government.  This act is very dangerous and should be sounding alarms among the public.  Simply for the reason that in the current situation the research is regarding an estuary.  What happens if future research is suppressed which contains scientific results regarding a disaster at a chemical plant which the EPA did not properly regulate?  Your health could be at stake potentially by the suppression of scientific data.  Generally speaking, keeping a transparent channel of dissemination of scientific results regardless of outcome is a great idea for a democratic society.