Tag Archives: Union of Concerned Scientists

A Conversation on Endangered Species and Social Justice

This is a guest post from Charise Johnson, a research associate in the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. The post originally appeared on their website. Endangered Species Day was introduced as a resolution by Congress in 2006 to encourage “the people of the United States to become educated about, and aware of, threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide.” This year, Endangered Species Day (May 18) began with… Continue reading →

Tell Congress to Send Support, Not Poison Pills, to Endangered Species Protections

This is a guest post by Charise Johnson, a Researcher in the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. The Union of Concerned Scientists is an Endangered Species Coalition Member Organization. Valentine’s Day. It’s the time of year where we, as a nation, spend an exorbitant amount of money on roses, heart-shaped chocolates, and oversized teddy bears. In 2017, America spent $18.2 billion (an average of $136.57 per person) on gifts to show their affection for that special someone. In… Continue reading →

Photo credit NOAA

Protect the Science, Protect the Species

This is a guest post by Charise Johnson, a research associate in the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
As we face irreversible destruction of species and their habitats due to threats from habitat loss and fragmentation, overharvesting, pollution, climate change, and invasive species, lawmakers indicate they intend to attack the Endangered Species Act again. Under the current administration, we’ve already witnessed the introduction of several pieces of legislation intended to weaken the Endangered Species Act or specific species protections.

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Science Endangered at the Fish and Wildlife Service

A new report surveyed 7,000 scientists in 4 different agencies, NOAA, FDA, CDC and the Fish and Wildlife Service and the results were troubling. Of the scientists surveyed at Fish and Wildlife, 72% believe that too much consideration was given to political interests at their agency, and 47% of agency scientists believe industry interference in agency decision-making is concerning, the highest percentages of any other government agency surveyed.

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Don’t Like the Endangered Species Act? Try to Weaken It by Gutting the Science

This is a guest post by Michael Halpern, program manager, Scientific Integrity at the Union of Concerned Scientists and was originally posted on their blog. The Endangered Species Act has one of the strongest scientific foundations of any environmental law in the United States. And with some predictability, some members of Congress try to tear down that foundation. This year is no different. The Endangered Species Act is successful: 98 percent of species that have been listed as endangered or… Continue reading →