The case of the disappearing climate report



 

Guess what the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources did with a state-funded scientific report on the flooding, contamination, and coastal "dead zones" that climate change could bring to the state?1

They buried it. The department's politically-appointed board said it didn't want to address "the reasons for climate change, which remain under scientific debate."2

There is no scientific debate—only a political one.

When we found out about this, UCS members sprang into action—and after scrutiny from local media and people like you, state officials now say they will release the report.3

We need your help to make sure they keep their promise—and to fight the suppression of science whenever and wherever it happens.

Stand up to the political manipulation of facts. Donate now and help reach our $50,000 goal.

Why support UCS? Because attacks like these won't stop. Right now, science is under threat in state houses around the country:

In North Carolina, lawmakers are trying to repeal the state's renewable energy standards using a bill drafted by coal and oil company-backed groups.4

In Missouri, legislators are trying to force science teachers to give equal time to "intelligent design" and "destiny" when they discuss the theory of evolution.5 But the last time I checked, scientists decide what science is—not politicians.

With your support, our policy and media teams run rapid-response campaigns that inform the public about abuses of science and power. And our efforts are effective. In just the past few months UCS played a leading role in beating back an effort in Kansas—home of Koch Industries—to gut that state's renewable energy standard.

But we also go beyond the attacks—evaluating how business and government treat science and scientists. Our recent report, Grading Government Transparency, details how federal agencies allow scientists to communicate with the public. One agency immediately took notice: Just four hours after the report's release, the U.S. Geological Survey publicly adopted our recommendations.

Your support helps put groundbreaking reports in the hands of decision makers and allows UCS to respond at a moment's notice when science or scientists are attacked. We need you: please make a gift today.

I know I can count on you to stand with us. Please, Larry, contribute what you can.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch
President

1. http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/got-science/2013/got-science-april-2013.html
2. http://www.thestate.com/2013/02/26/2650685/ex-wildlife-chief-warns-of-climate.html
3. http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/got-science/2013/got-science-april-2013.html
4. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/04/04/1824171/alec-sponsored-bill-to-repeal-north-carolinas-renewable-energy-standard-narrowly-passes-out-of-committee/
5. http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/intelligent-design-missouri-evolution


The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C. To subscribe or visit go to:  http://www.ucsusa.org