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Some PHYSOC'ers may be interested in an LA Times report by Hamburger
& Miller [HM] (2004a) titled "Halliburton's Interests Assisted by
White House: The administration has lent support to a lucrative
drilling technique. Some in the EPA consider it an environmental
concern."
HM wrote [bracketed by lines HM-HM-HM. . ."]:
HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM
Over the last four years, the Bush administration and Vice President
Dick Cheney's office have backed a series of measures favoring a
drilling technique developed by Halliburton Co., Cheney's former
employer.
The technology, known as hydraulic fracturing, boosts gas and oil
production and generates $1.5 billion a year for the company, about
one-fifth of its energy-related revenue. In recent years, Halliburton
and other oil and gas firms have been fighting efforts to regulate
the procedure under a statute that protects drinking water supplies.
The 2001 national energy policy report, written under the direction
of the vice president's office, cited the value of hydraulic
fracturing but didn't mention concerns raised by staff members at the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Since then, the administration has taken steps to keep the practice
from being regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, which
Halliburton has said would hurt its business and add needless costs
and bureaucratic delays.
An EPA study concluded in June that there was no evidence that
hydraulic fracturing posed a threat to drinking water. However, some
EPA employees complained about the study internally before its
completion, and others have strongly criticized it publicly since its
release.
One of them, an environmental engineer and 30-year EPA veteran in
Denver, last week sought whistle-blower protection in an 18-page
statement sent to the agency's inspector general and members of
Congress. The statement alleges that the study's findings were
premature, may endanger public health and were approved by an
industry-dominated review panel that included a current Halliburton
employee.
HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM-HM
Hamburger & Miller (2004b) later reported that on 14 October five
members of Congress [Representatives Mark Udal and Diana DeGette (D -
Colorado), Senator James Jeffords (I - Vermont), and Barbara Boxer (D
- California)], called for investigations into the Bush
administration's regulation of hydraulic fracturing. The latter two
are members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The hydraulic fracturing fracas appears to be yet another example
[see e.g., Hake (2004b), Crenson (2004)] of the Bush Administration's
suppression and disregard for informed scientific opinion.
A press release from the Union of Concerned Scientists [UCS (2004)]
states [bracketed by lines UCS-UCS-UCS. . .":
UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS
Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists released new evidence that
the Bush Administration continues to suppress and distort scientific
knowledge and undermine scientific advisory panels. The number of
scientists calling for an end to these practices and restoration of
scientific integrity in federal policymaking now totals more than
5,000, including 48 Nobel laureates, 62 National Medal of Science
recipients, and 127 members of the National Academy of Sciences. . .
. . The new cases released by the [UCS] detail incidents of
suppression and distortion of scientific knowledge on issues ranging
from mountaintop removal strip mining to endangered species. Included
in these additional cases are numerous new accounts of political
interference with independent scientific advisory panels, most
notably at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the
Department of Health and Human Services. The new cases are available
at <http://www.ucsusa.org/rsi>.
UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS
UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS
Hundreds of scientists and citizens overflowed into the aisles of a
Princeton University lecture hall Tuesday night [12 October], while
700 more packed into UC Berkeley's Wheeler Auditorium as UCS and its
partners kicked off a series of scientific integrity roundtables
being held on campuses from coast to coast during October and
November. A webcast of the Berkeley event is available
<http://www.ucsaction.org/ctt.asp?u=44615&l=62637>.
Future roundtables are being held at:
CA: CalTech (10/20)
DC: George Washington U (10/22)
FL: U of Florida (10/28)
IL: U of Illinois-Chicago (11/4)
MA: Harvard/MIT (10/25)
ME: U of New England (10/27)
MI: U of Michigan (11/15)
OR: Portland State U (10/27)
WI: UW-Parkside (10/21)
Future roundtables are also being planned at:
CA: U of California San Diego
FL: Florida International U
MD: Johns Hopkins U
MN: U of Minnesota
NY: Columbia U
RI: Brown U
ADD YOUR CAMPUS HERE!
The roundtables are a vital part of our mission to create meaningful
change in the way science informs government policy making. The
roundtables feature local and national scientists discussing the
political abuse of science, its impacts, and the need for key
reforms. The goal of the series is to elevate discussion of
scientific integrity issues and to create a group of interested
scientists and citizens willing to push for specific reforms in the
coming months.
UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS-UCS
BTW:
1. Intervention in behalf of their private interests seems to run in
the Cheney family. See, e.g., the report by Alonso-Zaldivar & Merl
(2004) titled "Booklet That Upset Mrs. Cheney Is History: The
Department of Education destroys 300,000 parent guides to remove
references to national standards."
The asterisk * in front of an email address indicates that no
personal email address is available for that individual. However the
APS states that it will send the message through the individual's
website.
REFERENCES
Alonso-Zaldivar, R. & J. Merl. 2004: "Booklet That Upset Mrs. Cheney
Is History: The Department of Education destroys 300,000 parent
guides to remove references to national standards," LA Times, 8
October 2004; freely downloadable for the next few days at
<http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-na-history8oct08,1,7344885.story?coll=la-news-learning>.
See also Hake (2004a).
Crenson, M. 2004. "Bush policies stir up debate: Is the White House
distorting the scientific aspect of policymaking? Controversy rises
in election year," MSNBC News, 16 August; online at
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5722898/>.
Hake, R.R. 2004b. "Is the White House distorting the scientific aspect of
policymaking? online at
<http://listserv.uark.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0408&L=physoc&P=R3469&X=75FBAC2F74B8459640&Y=rrhake@earthlink.net>.
Post of 21 Aug 2004 12:59:01-0700 to PHYSOC, EvalTalk, and PhysLrnR.
The encyclopedic URL indicates that PHYSOC is one of the few "closed"
discussion lists for which one must subscribe to access its archives.
However, it takes only a few minutes to subscribe by following the
simple directions at
<http://listserv.uark.edu/archives/physoc.html>/ "Join or leave the
list (or change settings)" where "/" means "click on." If you're
busy, then subscribe using the "NOMAIL" option under "Miscellaneous."
Then, as a subscriber, you may access the archives and/or post
messages at any time, while receiving NO MAIL from the list!
Hamburger, T. & A.C. Miller. 2004a. "Halliburton's Interests Assisted
By White House: The administration has lent support to a lucrative
drilling technique. Some in the EPA consider it an environmental
concern," Los Angeles Times, 14 October; freely online (for a few
days) at
<http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-frac14oct14%2C1%2C33390.story?coll=la-home-headlines>.
See also Hambugber & Miller (2004b).
Hamburger, T. & A.C. Miller. 2004b. "Investigation of Drilling
Regulations Is Urged: Lawmakers want an explanation for EPA's stance
on hydraulic fracturing, used widely by former Cheney employer
Halliburton. Los Angeles Times, 15 October; freely online (for a few
days) at
<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-frac15oct15,1,5831880.story>.
UCS. 2004. "New Cases of Scientific Abuse by Administration Emerge:
Thousands More Scientists Join Protest," News from the Union of
Concerned Scientists, 8 July; online at
<http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release.cfm?newsID=405>.