Influence of ideology over science very disturbing

The influence of ideology over science has become an increasingly disturbing trend. The Center for Survey Statistics & Methodology at Iowa State University has conducted a survey of the extent of political interference in science at the Environmental Protection Agency. The findings were recently released by the Union of Concerned Scientists, and can be viewed at Interference at the EPA. Examples of interference included not only pressure to change findings that were not politically correct, but editing of documents by non-scientists, delayed release of reports, blocking research from being presented or published, and ignoring expert advice from advisory committees when making policy decisions. The report included a call for solutions in five areas, including protection of EPA scientists from retaliation, instituting a transparency policy, reform of regulatory processes that currently allow for interference, better use of scientific expertise in policy development, and depoliticizing the processes of funding, monitoring, and enforcement.