Grizzly bears are icons of the wild high country of the American West. When Lewis and Clark explored the West, grizzlies roamed from the Great Plains to California and from Alaska to Mexico. Today, however, the grizzly population in the lower 48 states is about 1 percent of estimated pre-colonial levels, and the few bears that remain are concentrated in shrinking pockets of the northern Rockies and North Cascades.
. . . U.S. Navy’s increasing tactical dependence on marine sonar and the growing evidence that sonar is damaging, and in some cases fatal, to cetaceans. Navy sonar is very likely the most contentious issue in marine-mammal science today, and it’s a subject few marine biologists are willing to touch, perhaps because so many labs and individual scientists are dependent on navy grants.Download a PDF of Deadly Sonar.
The United States has an impressive history of investing in scientific research and respecting the independence of scientists. As a result, we have enjoyed sustained economic progress and public health, as well as unequaled leadership within the global scientific community. Recent actions by political appointees, however, threaten to undermine this legacy by preventing the best available science from informing policy decisions that have serious consequences for our health, safety, and environment. (read more ...)View cases highlighted in The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science, grouped alphabetically, by issue area, and by agency or department.
Threatened wild and natural lands in Texas urgently need funding from Congress to make sure they are permanently protected.
In Texas, two projects - Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge and the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge - are at risk and need your help. Please contact your Members of Congress today and ask them to request specific funding for these critical projects.
We have a chance, and the mechanism, to preserve some of the most beautiful and vulnerable places here and elsewhere in the country from degradation and development. But Congress must provide monies through the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and Forest Legacy program for these specific places to make that happen.
Please contact your Members of Congress today and ask them to request funding for these critical programs and projects this year. Take Action Here
Now any dog can be Dog of the Year.Visit PETA today and get your personalized cover.
Keep Our Rivers and Creeks Flowing in AmericaAmerica’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2007:
Santa Fe River, New MexicoBracken Hendricks is a Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress where he works on issues of climate change and energy independence, environmental protection, infrastructure investment, and economic policy, with a focus on broadening progressive constituencies and message framing.Jay Inslee:
Jay Inslee is a Representative in the United States House of Representatives, representing the First District of the State of Washington, in the Seattle area. He is a recognized leader in Congress on energy issues and is the prime sponsor of the New Apollo Energy Act, a comprehensive plan to build a clean energy economy in America.Thank you, Mr. Hendricks and Representative Inslee, for doing your part to make the Earth a less endangered space.
Saturday, April 14 is the day to join others in letting Congress:
People will gather in communities, large and small—at churches, in coastal towns, and on courthouse steps. These events will serve as a call to Congress to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent 1990 levels by 2050—reductions scientists say are needed in order to avoid the worst effects of global warming.
Find local Step It Up actions or organize an event in your community.
For Immediate Release: April 3, 2007
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
CLIMATE AND OCEAN SCIENTISTS PUT UNDER NEW SPEECH RESTRAINTS — Any Scientific Statements “of Official Interest” Must be Pre-Approved
Washington, DC — Federal climate, weather and marine scientists will be subject to new restrictions as to what they can say to the media or in public, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Under rules posted last week, these federal scientists must obtain agency pre-approval to speak or write, whether on or off-duty, concerning any scientific topic deemed “of official interest.”
On March 29, 2007, the Commerce Department posted a new administrative order governing “Public Communications.” This new order covers the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which includes the National Weather Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Commerce’s new order will become effective in 45 days and would repeal a more liberal “open science” policy adopted by NOAA on February 14, 2006.
Although couched in rhetoric about the need for “broad and open dissemination of research results [and] open exchange of scientific ideas,” the new order forbids agency scientists from communicating any relevant information, even if prepared and delivered on their own time as private citizens, which has not been approved by the official chain-of-command:
“This ridiculous gag order ignores the First Amendment and disrespects the world-renowned professionals who work within Commerce agencies,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “Under this policy, National Weather Service scientists can only give out name, rank, serial number and the temperature.”
The agency rejected a more open policy adopted last year by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The new policy also was rushed to print despite an ongoing Commerce Office of Inspector General review of communication policies that was undertaken at congressional request.
While claiming to provide clarity, the new Commerce order gives conflicting directives, on one hand telling scientists that if unsure whether a conclusion has been officially approved “then the researcher must make clear that he or she is representing his or her individual conclusion.” Yet, another part of the order states non-official communications “may not take place or be prepared during working hours.” This conflict means that every scientist who answers an unexpected question at a conference puts his or her career at risk by giving an honest answer.
Words to Inspire
"If we learn, finally, that what we need to 'manage' is not the land so much as ourselves in the land, we will have turned the history of American land-use on its head."
--Sen. Gaylord Nelson, founder, Earth Day
| Keep the Momentum Going by Spreading the Word About Polar Bears and Global Warming  Join me in creating a huge outpouring of support for the polar bear. Ask your friends and family to submit their Official Citizen Comments before the April 9 deadline.  |
Leonardo DiCaprio
NRDC Trustee
