January 30, 2007: Federal Climate Scientists Report at Least 435 Incidents of Inappropriate Interference with Their Work

A survey conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Government Accountability Project (GAP) bolsters allegations that the Bush administration is pressuring climate scientists to produce material that does not contradict its position on global warming. The survey was distributed to 1,600 climate scientists at seven federal agencies. Of those, 279 responded. The survey found:
Forty-six percent of the respondents indicated that they perceived or personally experienced pressure to remove the words “climate change,” “global warming,” or other similar terms from their writings.
Forty-six percent said their writings had been changed or edited by a superior in a way that changed its meaning.
Forty-six percent said they perceived or personally experienced new or unusual procedural requirements that impair climate-related work.
Twenty-five percent of the respondents said they know of scientists who have actively objected to, resigned from, or removed themselves from a project because of pressure to change a scientific finding.
150 climate scientists said they personally experienced political interference in the past five years, for a total of at least 435 incidents.
Seventy-eight percent of the scientists who indicated that their work involves controversial climate research said that they have personally experienced at least one incident of inappropriate interference with their work. Of those, more than one-quarter said they had experienced six or more such incidents during the last five years.
Sixty-seven percent said their work environment has become less enjoyable over the last 5 years ago. This figure was the highest for scientists working at NASA (79 percent). [Union of Concerned Scientists, 1/30/2007 ; Reuters, 1/30/2007]