Trump administration's war on science has hit 'crisis point', experts warn

[Judi Lynn]

Nonpartisan taskforce of ex-government officials reports ‘almost weekly violations’ of norms meant to safeguard objective research

Oliver Milman in New York
@olliemilman
Thu 3 Oct 2019 05.00 EDT

The treatment of science by the Trump administration has hit a “crisis point” where research findings are manipulated for political gain, special interests are given improper influence and scientists are targeted for ideological reasons, a nonpartisan taskforce of former government officials has warned.

Safeguards meant to ensure that government research is objective and fully available to the public have been “steadily weakening” under recent administrations and are now at a nadir under Trump, according to a report released on Thursday by the National Task Force on Rule of Law and Democracy.

There are now “almost weekly violations” of previously cherished norms, the report states, with the current administration attempting “not only to politicize scientific and technical research on a range of topics, but also, at times, to undermine the value of objective facts themselves”.

The report echoes complaints by a number of former federal government officials who claim their work on areas such as the climate crisis and pollution standards was either sidelined or subverted by the Trump administration as part of its zeal for environmental deregulation.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/03/science-trump-administration-crisis-point-report

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Science is a human birthright. tRump will sell for personal gain anything belonging to others. . .nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. I predict some tRump granddaughters will shit on his grave, even in metaphor if not actually. nt