Union of Concerned Scientists

Photo credit NOAA
endangered species act

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.
endangered species act

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.