SciLight Teams Up with Silencing Science Tracker
Today, we are excited to announce that SciLight is partnering with the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund and Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law to track government attempts to restrict or otherwise interfere with scientific research, education, discussion or the publication or use of scientific information. The Silencing Science Tracker has been collecting data on attacks on science since 2016. The tracker is an invaluable resource that allows us to better understand political interference in science-informed decision-making processes across governments (federal, state, and local).
Having previously led efforts to track attacks on science with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), we can attest to the importance of these data collection efforts. They reveal how political actors censor, delay, suppress, or manipulate science and help to inform strategies to combat these attacks.
These data also help the public and journalists understand why and how political interference in science-informed decisions affects public health and safety. The information in the Silencing Science Tracker helps spur and inform efforts to defend and protect the use of science in government decisions.
The Silencing Science Tracker efforts also helps inform congressional efforts to defend science. The tracker’s data have been cited in various Congressional documents, including a letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren, a report from the Senate Climate Change Task Force, and in testimony from UCS during a House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hearing. In our prior work at UCS, we were frequently contacted by members of Congress to help them better understand how political interference in science-informed decision-making occurs and what solutions exist. This is particularly important as members of Congress play critical roles in federal agency oversight, as well as for moving pieces of legislation forward to help protect science from political interference - like the Scientific Integrity Act introduced by New York Representative Paul Tonko and his staff.
Science itself is one of our best tools for defending science from politicization! We need to study how politicization of science occurs to determine and implement solutions to protect science in decisions that affect our lives. To do this, we’ll be analyzing data from the Silencing Science Tracker and bringing you more information about key entries. We hope that by sharing this information, we can all work collectively to help defend government science from politicization. SciLight will provide information about what you can do to help.
As you can tell, we are very excited about this partnership and continuing to forge a community here to drive positive change in the world. This is why we began SciLight- to ensure that science remains at the decision-making table to protect public health and safety. The SciLight community is growing, and with our members, readers, and partners, like this one with the Silencing Science Tracker, we have the energy and ability to actually affect change! We are so glad that you’re here with us to make a difference at a time when it matters so much.
Let’s get to work, SciLight!
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