Can scientific staff at the US Department of the Interior rest easy knowing that their colleagues at other agencies have it worse when it comes to political interference?
Survey says: Nope. Read more >
Science and Democracy
The partnership between science and democracy has played a huge role in U.S. history. But misinformation and attacks on science have strained that partnership. UCS science and democracy experts keep you informed on the latest developments, from Capitol Hill to local communities.
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Latest Science and Democracy Posts
UCS Survey Shows Interior Department is Worse Than We Thought—And That’s Saying Something
Joel Clement, Senior Fellow, Center for Science and Democracy
August 14, 2018 2:14 PM EDT
Photo: Valentina Powers/CC BY 2.0 (Flickr)
Happy 10th Birthday to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act!
Genna Reed, science and policy analyst, Center for Science and Democracy
August 14, 2018 12:30 PM EDT
Since the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) became law, it has done a number of things to protect children from exposure to lead in toys and other items, improved the safety standards for cribs and other infant and toddler products, and created the saferproducts.gov database so that consumers have a place to go for research on certain products or reporting safety hazards and negative experiences. Today, along with a group of other consumer and public health advocacy organizations, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the passage of this law. I am especially grateful that this act was passed a decade ago, as both a consumer advocate and an expecting mom. Read more >
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: The Results of Our 2018 Federal Scientists Survey
Jacob Carter, research scientist, Center for Science and Democracy
August 14, 2018 10:34 AM EDT
In February and March of this year, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) conducted a survey of federal scientists to ask about the state of science over the past year, and the results are in. Scientists and their work are being hampered by political interference, workforce reductions, censorship, and other issues, but the federal scientific workforce is resilient and continuing to stand up for the use of science in policy decisions. Read more >
Photo: Will Fuller/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 (Flickr)
Science Prevails in the Courts as Chlorpyrifos Ban Becomes Likely
Genna Reed, science and policy analyst, Center for Science and Democracy
August 9, 2018 5:36 PM EDT
Today, children, farmworkers, and the rest of us won big in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, as the court ordered EPA to finalize its proposed ban of the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Ultimately, the judge determined that EPA’s 2017 decision to refuse to ban the chemical was unlawful because it failed to justify keeping chlorpyrifos on the market, while the scientific evidence very clearly pointed to the link between chlorpyrifos exposure and neurodevelopmental damage to children, and further risks to farmworkers and users of rural drinking water. Read more >
Photo: KOMUnews/Flickr
As States Target University Students for Voter Suppression, Student Groups are Fighting Back
Michael Latner, Kendall Science Fellow
August 7, 2018 5:11 PM EDT
As the 2018 general midterm election approaches, college student voting rights are under attack. Students are being specifically targeted for voter suppression in a number of states by excluding student identification as an acceptable form of voter identification, tightening up residency requirements, and selectively spreading misinformation. Fortunately, in several states, campus-wide and student-led movements are organizing and mobilizing college voters in a recognition of the historic role that students have played in the civil and voting rights movements in the United States and abroad.
