Bush 'abused' science

2004-09-29 08:55

Washington - US scientists, including 10 Nobel laureates, have launched a campaign in key US states to denounce the policies of President George W Bush.

The group, Scientists and Engineers for Change, was created at the beginning of the week, said its spokesperson, Joy Howell.

The 25 members of the organisation has scheduled a series of conferences, during which they will try to convince their audiences that the Bush administration has abused science, Howell said.

The scientists will speak in states including Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia and Wisconsin, where Bush could be beaten by Democratic rival John Kerry.

"This administration's politicisation and misuse of science have made it increasingly difficult for science to play its rightful role in public policy-making," the group said on its website, www.scientistsandengineersforchange.org.

'The jury is still out on evolution'

They said this attitude was "not surprising from a president who said during his campaign that "the jury is still out on evolution"".

According to the scientists, "this situation will not change until the American people elect a leader who respects the value and integrity of science more than the self-interest of his political allies and special-interest backers."

In addition, the group said, "President George W Bush's economic policies have severely harmed prospects for utilising the federal (research and development) portfolio as a tool for enhancing American economic competitiveness."

The founding members of the new group include Nobel Prize winners Peter Agre (Chemistry, 2003), Sidney Altman (Chemistry, 1989), Dudley Hershbach (Chemistry, 1986), Douglas Osheroff (Physics, 1996) and Arno Penzias (Physics, 1978) as well as former National Science Foundation director and head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Neal Lane.

- AFP