FW: Update - Restoring Scientific Integrity

[Belinda Wong-Swanson]

-----Original Message-----
From: Union of Concerned Scientists Action Network
[mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 3:52 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Update - Restoring Scientific Integrity




      UPDATE - RESTORING SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY CAMPAIGN

      Two weeks ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) launched an
important campaign to restore scientific integrity to federal policymaking.
The Bush administration?s unprecedented suppression and distortion of
scientific analysis on a wide range of issues?from childhood lead poisoning
and mercury emissions to climate change, reproductive health, and nuclear
weapons?presents a serious threat to our health, environment, and security.
In the few weeks since the launch of our campaign, we have seen an
overwhelming response and we wanted to share our results and let you know
what to expect in the coming months.

      On February 18, we released a statement signed by 62 of the nation?s
leading scientists?including 20 Nobel laureates and 19 recipients of the
National Medal of Science?condemning the administration?s abuse of science.
In addition, UCS issued a report investigating the integrity of science in
federal policymaking, and launched an online information center to help
scientists and concerned citizens learn about this important effort. In the
first few days alone, our campaign site received more than 50,000 visitors,
over two thousand scientists added their name to our statement, and
thousands more downloaded our report.

      Congress has also heard the scientists? call to action. On March 9,
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) will hold a hearing on this issue in the Senate
Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee that he chairs. Three
prominent members of the scientific community will testify:

      Kurt Gottfried is emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University.
As a leading authority on fundamental particle physics, Dr. Gottfried has
served on the senior staff of the European Center for Nuclear Research in
Geneva and is a former chair of the Division of Particles and Fields of the
American Physical Society. He is the chairman of the UCS Board of Directors.

      F. Sherwood Rowland is Bren Research Professor of Chemistry and Earth
System Science at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Rowland is a
specialist in atmospheric chemistry and radiochemistry and was, with
colleague Mario Molina, the first scientist to warn that chlorofluorocarbons
released into the atmosphere were depleting the earth's ozone layer. In
1995, Rowland shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Molina and Paul
Crutzen for this work. Dr. Rowland has served as president of American
Association for the Advancement of Science, and was a member of the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel convened at the request of President Bush
when he entered office to assess the science of climate change.

      Bruce Alberts is president of the NAS and chair of the National
Research Council, which with the National Academy of Engineering and the
Institute of Medicine form the National Academies.

      We hope to contact you shortly after the hearing and inform you of
actions you can take to help us in this effort. In the meantime, you can get
involved in several ways:

      * Get informed. Visit our website to learn more about the Restoring
Scientific Integrity (RSI) campaign.
      * Scientist Statement. If you are a scientist, engineer, doctor, or
graduate student in the sciences, please read and sign the statement.
      * Spread the word. Whether you are a citizen or scientist, you can
help us by telling a friend or colleague about our campaign.
      * Watch the hearing. Details from the McCain hearing will soon be
posted on the Senate website.

      And finally, we wanted to share just a few of the press reports on
this issue:

      * Read the New York Times article
      * Read the New York Times editorial
      * Listen to the National Public Radio story
      * Read the USA Today article
      * Read the Washington Post article


      Thank you again for all your support. Together we can help restore
scientific integrity to the policymaking process and better safeguard the
health and safety of all Americans.

      Sincerely,
      Kevin Knobloch
      President




      Your Personal Account: Edit or update your personal information and
interest areas.


     We are committed to protecting your privacy, so your email address will
NEVER be sold or exchanged. To unsubscribe from all mailing lists
originating from [hidden email] , send an email to
[hidden email] from [hidden email] with the word "remove" in the
subject line.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://constantinople.hostgo.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/attachments/20040304/1957a748/attachment-0001.htm