aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Thursday, May 26, 2005

For federal scientists, it’s 1984

Guest post by Jen.

War is peace, black is white, wild and zoo-raised organisms are equivalent.  The New York Times tells us about the growing gap between government policy and scientific facts.

The southwestern regional director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has instructed members of his staff to limit their use of the latest scientific studies on the genetics of endangered plants and animals when deciding how best to preserve and recover them.

PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) Program Director Rebecca Roose said

Telling biologists not to consider genetic factors is like telling engineers they cannot use mathematics.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is mounting a petition drive.  Environmental Sociology and Guns, Germs & Steeled have been monitoring this since UCS’s (dismaying) February survey of USFWS employees.