The Silencing of Science Dr. Kai F. Hung Eastern Illinois University Jan 26, 2017 Distributed under Creative Commons License 4.0 International: Attribution, Non-Commercial

Source: https://www.apnews.com/55d484c19c28463e95c3b7c674d20bab?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP Accessed: Jan 25, 1:15pm CDT 1/24 12:45 p.m. The Trump administration has instituted a media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency and barred staff from awarding any new contracts or grants. Emails sent to EPA staff since President Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday and reviewed by The Associated Press detailed the specific prohibitions banning press releases, blog updates or posts to the agency's social media accounts. The Trump administration has also ordered a "temporary suspension" of all new business activities at the department, including issuing task orders or work assignments to EPA contractors. The orders are expected to have a significant and immediate impact on EPA activities nationwide. The EPA did not respond to phone calls and emails requesting comment Monday or Tuesday. I chose the Associated Press information because it is a neutral news source. However, the link is to a page that is updated regularly so the quoted passages may not be available past a certain date. There are other reputable news sources that cited the AP news. Those reports should still be available on a Google News Search.

Buzzfeed News first reported the memo. 1/24 1:55 p.m. An Agriculture Department research agency has banned the release of news releases, photos and other material to the public. In a memo to employees at USDA's Agricultural Research Service, chief of staff Sharon Drumm said the agency would immediately cease releasing any "public-facing" documents. "This includes, but is not limited to, news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds, and social media content," read the email memo obtained by The Associated Press. A statement released by ARS spokesman Christopher Bentley said the agency "values and is committed to maintaining the free flow of information between our scientists and the American public as we strive to find solutions to agricultural problems affecting America." The statement said some material would still be available on the agency's website. Buzzfeed News first reported the memo. Update: News came out on Jan 25 that the ARS is awaiting clarification and update, that the memo was released to the public without permission. The ARS is now NOT under gag order but they await further guidelines.

The park service could not be reached for comment. 1/24 6:20 p.m. Three climate-related tweets sent out by Badlands National Park have been deleted after they went viral on Twitter, sparking debate over whether the park was defying the Trump administration. The South Dakota park posted tweets Tuesday that accurately quoted climate science data, including the current record-setting high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. President Donald Trump has called climate change a hoax. The tweets were shared thousands of times, and the Democratic National Committee circulated the message by email with the subject line "Resist." The tweets came just three days after the Interior Department briefly suspended its Twitter accounts after the park service retweeted photos about turnout at Trump's inauguration. The accounts were reactivated the next day. The park service could not be reached for comment. There is a new Twitter account called AltUSNatParkService, ostensibly run by the Badlands NPS people privately so that the agency does not have access and cannot erase the Tweets. (1/25) Update from 1/26: The AltUSNatParkService twitter has said that they will stop because they do not want to endanger the jobs of their colleagues.

Some notes: The Tweets were scientific facts, not advocacy on policy or criticism of the administration The Tweets did not incite anyone to take any actions.

Why is the suppression of information bad for the scientific enterprise? Which parts of the scientific process does such an action impede? This is a Think/Pair/Share activity. I pose the questions to the students. Then I give them a minute to think about it. Then they pair up to discuss their answers with each other for about 2 minutes. Then each pair share the highlights of their discussion with the class. Some discussion points to highlight: (1) free flow of information is key to scientific process because (i) information is key to making good hypothesis (ii) peer review process and validation of data; (2) free flow of information is important to keep the public informed so that they can make the right decisions. In the U.S., the bulk of basic research is funded by government, and so voters should be informed so they can make their decisions; (3) since the research is funded by government, it belongs to all citizens. Gag orders deprive citizens of the product that they have paid for. As a related note, the freezing of grants and subcontracts also affect us, because many of Biology graduates work for agencies like the EPA, not to mention the grant money that fund graduate projects. Graduating seniors looking for jobs all of sudden have a lot fewer prospects, if EPA and NPS and USDA cannot hire.