Source: CNN

If there is one major disappointment with regard to the present administration, the suppression of science is ranked at the top of the list. Why? What has science done to the President or the administration officials in the past? Gone against the desires of the oil and gas industry? Well, the truth is that the era of fossil fuels is over or coming to an end in the distant future -- like it or not. Anyways, suppressing scientific results is not good for the survival of mankind and has been implemented more than once in this administration. People need to speak up and say "stop". Although, that is besides the point of suppression. Here is the latest example shown below.

US Geological Survey?

Yes, the United States Geological Survey is the latest federal agency to get reprimanded. Down at the bottom of the blog post, a list of other blog posts previously written serve as prior examples. According to a news article in the journal "The Scientist" titled " Trump Admin Restricts Federal Scientists Talking with Reporters" the USGS has been restricted from speaking to the media as shown below. Here is the entire article which I thought was worth showing:

Scientists with the United States Geological Survey will need approval from the Department of the Interior before they agree to interviews with reporters, according to a new directive from President Donald Trump’s administration, The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday (June 21).

“The clamp down on scientists at USGS comes in an environment of increasing control of scientific information by the federal government,” deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Michael Halpern, tells CNBC.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, USGS employees told The LA Times that the directive is a big shift from past media policy and will make it difficult for researchers to respond to reporters’ requests after earthquakes or other breaking news events. The Department of the Interior’s communications office can also refuse interview requests on scientific matters, according to the new directive.

“The characterization that there is any new policy or that it for some reason targets scientists is completely false,” Faith Vander Voort, a deputy press secretary for the Department of the Interior, tells The LA Times in an email. Instead, she says, the Department of the Interior’s communications office “simply asked” the USGS public affairs office to adhere to guidelines for media requests published in 2012. She did not say what forced the change in how USGS researchers interact with the media, The LA Times reports.

The 2012 guidelines, according to The LA Times, ask that researchers notify the Department of the Interior’s communications office of media requests but don’t specify the need for approval to talk to reporters. Yet, an April 25 email from department’s press secretary, Heather Swift, says standard protocol is to get approval for interviews with major media outlets, to speak about controversial topics, or to talk with regional reporters on topics that might make national news.

“This is really quite troubling. . . . In the 44 years I was with the agency, I was never required to go through anyone for authorization to speak with a reporter,” William Ellsworth, former chief scientist of the USGS’s earthquake hazards team and now a professor of geophysics at Stanford University, tells The LA Times. “The USGS is a nonpolitical science agency. . . . These new roadblocks will not help them fulfill their mission.”

The change in protocol comes just days after media outlets reported that USGS scientists need approval from a political appointee to attend two major conferences to present their work.

In the CNBC article, Halpern notes that the Department of the Interior is not the only agency reining in scientists’ interactions with the media. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told its scientists they needed permission for interviews and even to share basic data. And, he says, at the US Environmental Protection Agency, public officials are not facilitating information flow, either.

Any attempt to suppress science which might shed a negative light on the government is an extremely disappointing action and should not be tolerated by the American people. The cover photo (at the top of blog post) shows that there is an emerging momentum from the American people against such measures. Which is great since as a nation, science should be incorporated more into policy making at the government level down to the local level. This is terrible.

Conclusion...

The track record of this administration on environmental health and environmental justice is greatly lacking. More now than ever does the public need to exert a vigilant eye toward the actions of the politicians in congress and the highest office of the land (i.e. the Presidency). Unfortunately, each of cannot be trusting of the heads of states to have our backs in terms of safety. Recent events which have started to have questionable consequences are emerging in the popular news. Below are blog posts over the past year and a half which should cause each of us concern for the safety of our drinking water and other natural (and essential) resources.

Don't be afraid to reach out to pick up your smartphone and call your elected politician and request that their future votes be in your best (and safe) interest with respect to the land on which you live. Each of us should have access to safe resources provided by the government. Especially, as each of us are 'tax-paying' citizens of the United States of America. Taxes which pay the salaries of elected officials. Just a thought to be aware of.

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