On Science

The Interior Department's Inspector General has released a report detailing the ways the Bush administration approached science in its endangered species policy. The New York Times story is an interesting read because of the way it examines how people deal with a situation where the basic, agreed-upon way of conducting business (the scientific method), runs into the desire of someone to achieve very different outcomes and conclusions than those that would be produced by that scientific method. The story notes that in a number of cases, agency employees pushed back against what they perceived as interference, and prevailed.

I don't know that we'll necessarily see more deference to front-line employees in the Obama administration, but this situation also illustrates some of the value of hearing some more of those front-line voices. Even if the positions were reversed, if a top scientist was heading an agency and wanted to impose different standards of work and evidence on his workforce, it would be valuable to know that there is a debate and a disagreement going on. It's hard to make public policy decisions when all lawmakers and the public see is a smooth facade.