'Draconian' Trump gag on scientists could affect legislation, experts warn

Source: The Guardian

'Draconian' Trump gag on scientists could affect legislation, experts warn

‘Oppressive’ approach to federal agency communications could
result in misinformation on climate change, former presidential
science advisers said

Hannah Devlin science correspondent in Boston
Thursday 16 February 2017 17.34 GMT

Two former US science advisers have warned against restrictions on scientists’ freedom to speak out on contentious issues like climate change, which they say could result in laws being made on the basis of false evidence.

John Holdren, who was science adviser to Barack Obama until last month, said that Donald Trump’s team already appeared to be taking “a more comprehensive, more draconian and more oppressive” approach to vetting scientists’ communications than previous administrations. According to Holdren, a series of memos and public statements by administration officials has amounted to a clear message: “Nobody talks to anybody without permission from the team at the White House.”

Neal Lane, who was acting science adviser during the Clinton administration, said that if early indications of a clampdown on federal agency communications are indicative of a long-term strategy, the public could be misled about evidence on politically sensitive issues.

“It looks like this administration plans to control everything that goes out,” said Lane, who is now senior fellow in science and technology policy at Rice University in Houston. “I’d be fearful that we’ll get wrong statements about science, false information about science.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/16/science-advisers-climate-change-trump-gag-rule-john-holdren