All existing content on the Environmental Protection Agency's website is being reviewed by President Trump's political transition team. That is according to a Trump EPA spokesman. There are conflicting reports on whether a temporary freeze is still in place for new data and research. Other members of the president's transition team are talking about cut to EPA staff. They are slashing grants for scientific research and perhaps privatizing rural research facilities. All of this special -- speculation have many in the science community up and I'm semi-supposed to organize a demonstration. A March for science in Washington DC this spring. The American Association for the advancement of science says the level of anxiety in the scientific community has never been higher. Joining me and Seth Cohen biochemistry and chemistry professor at UC San Diego and the Council delegate of the American Association for the advanced of science. Welcome to the program. Is what you have heard so far about the administration's reports -- is that unusual? You have worked in Washington It has definitely raised the level of concern that is out of the ordinary you would expect changes. A new administration has different policy agendas and initiatives and to see so much concern starting before day one when things like questionnaires went out it certainly raises eyebrows and out-of-state it is atypical of what I know of how a transition team would handle managing scientists. The AP reported that transition members at the EPA were reviewing data published by scientists on the EPA website. Many scientists got concerned. Wife. It goes -- Reviewing statements a policy or public communications one thing that's an appropriate priority or prerogative for a new administration are political appointees reviewing data with the perception that it may be altered or suppressed are not communicated honestly or openly is another thing entirely. The science should be left to the scientists and that's what these agencies philosophies are. The policymaking to a great degree should be left to the policymakers informed by the science. It does not mean that they can make policies that are not scientific findings. Maybe there are other economic and social priorities to override the science but I think as scrutiny by non-experts in a non-test in a non-scientific publications and data is crossing the line that I think concerns many scientists. You do not necessarily have a problem of new research been subject to the review of supervisors or managers within the EPA. If you look at the EPA's own scientific integrity policy that should be only to serve the purpose of reviewing the scientific accuracy the process by which the data was produced and to develop ways to communicate transparently openly and clearly to the public. He worked in office under President Bush and Obama and at that time a memo was drafted about scientific integrity. What authority does that memo hold? I think it held quite a bit of weight. It directed the officers scientific policy to engage federal agencies that had science as part of their mission to look at ways to uphold their integrity. It was taken very seriously by Ellis TP the office of science technology. It prompted them to engage those agencies and directors agencies to come up with the policies to tackle a wide range of integrity issues from the things that we are talking about now which is politicization of science to much simpler things like promoting the retention and recruitment to the federal government. There seems to be a relief among incoming policymakers that excessive regulations many of them environmental and science-based are preventing businesses from flourishing and destroying jobs. It's all part of what should be a larger discussion. There's potential pitfalls of other regulation there's also opportunities. When the government decides to make a policy to stimulate growth that should take into many considerations scientific and environmental and if it has an impact certainly the economic and -- considerations and social considerations and job growth and all these considerations I think they should not take an approach where they are criticizing the science are asking the science to be something that it is not to justify those policies. What should be done as a weighing of the weights and perspectives it is not debatable anymore but maybe this administration believes that our economy needs so much stimulus that certain factors outweigh those issues and that we need to find a policy that stimulates the economy and takes into consideration the environment as much as it can. I think the approach that is been taken now is to be dismissive of the science and say that it is not correct and I think that is a mistake I've been speaking with Seth Cohen at UC San Diego and Council delegate for the Association for the advancement of science.
President Donald Trump's political transition team will review all scientific data on the Environmental Protection Agency's website, including climate change data, a spokesman for the EPA transition told the Associated Press last week.
The spokesman, Doug Ericksen, who is also a Republican state senator in Washington state, pushed back on claims that EPA scientists seeking to publish new research would need their work reviewed by political staff before it could be released to the public.
"We're taking a look at everything on a case-by-case basis, including the web page and whether climate stuff will be taken down," Ericksen said.
The transition team has also moved to block some agencies, including the EPA, Interior Department and Agriculture Department, from certain types of public communication. Ericksen said the blackout was temporary and not unusual during the transition to a new administration.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science said it was concerned by the move to halt EPA communications and that they could violate ethics standards if the intention was to prevent researchers from sharing their work.
"The level of anxiety in the science community, in my long experience, has never been higher,” AAAS CEO Rush Holt said.
Seth Cohen, a biochemistry professor at UC San Diego and an AAAS council delegate, joins KPBS Midday Edition on Tuesday with more on scientists' response to the Trump administration's moves.
