scientific discipline suspensor ’ fears since Donald Trump was elected have been corroborate : staffers with political , rather than scientific , background are reject inquiry subsidization at the Environment Protection Agency ( EPA ) . Other scientific agencies may be going down the same disastrous course .
ThehostilityTrump express on the campaign lead towardsrigorously supported conclusionsacross many fields of science create plenty of alarm clock as to how science would operate if its bombastic cosmopolitan backing beginning select to interfere in inquiry . Nevertheless , while it has been vindicated Trump officials are step in with the room researchis discussed , there has been less confirmation the scientific discipline itself has been compromised .
Now , theWashington Posthas reported that all Grant at the EPA are to go through a political adjutant with no scientific ground , who has delete $ 2 million dollars of funding to universities and aid organizations . So far most canceled programs have been for pollution reduction , but like at theDepartment of Energy , research looks like in the firing line .
The grants were previously sanction by EPA faculty with finicky expertness in the areas being studied . John Konkus , on the other hand , was campaign chairman and office manager for Trump in Leon County , Florida , and has ferment as top dog of stave for Florida Governor Rick Scott , but hasno science qualificationsor background whatsoever . Even his political skills are open to question – Hillary Clinton won Leon County by 25 percent , even more than Obama , even while the rest of Florida became more Republican .
life history EPA employeestold the PostKonkus has told grant officer to look out for “ the double C - discussion ” ie mood change , and any references to it must be remove from applications . It appear the new EPA leaders simply does n’t desire to know about the consequences of the largest environmental menace America faces .
Even more scandalous , however , are reports of discrimination by area as well as by matter . Ulysses Simpson Grant for work to be conduct in Alaska have allegedly been particularly heavily studied , including a two - calendar week arrest on $ 10 million funding to America ’s largest body politic .
The Alaskan freezing has been denied by EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman , but is alleged to have begun on the daylight Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski was one of three Republican senators to link up with Democrats in voting down the Republican - frequent health tending pecker . At the metre there werereports of threatsbeing made that the states that elected these senator would stomach for these votes , but this is the first evidence of this occurring .
The behavior is unprecedented , at least in America . Although political appointees influence the priorities of government enquiry agencies , president of both party are not thought to have them screen item-by-item Ulysses Grant , since they lack the expertise to be able to value scientific virtue .
