An LA Times report details the disappointment expressed by some government scientists with a lack of improvement in scientific integrity since President Obama took office and called for new rules to protect scientific integrity. Such new rules have yet to be issued, and lower level government scientists still report political pressure to alter their results as well as a lack of protection for whistleblowers. Examples of suppression reported by the LA Times include: -Interference with efforts to measure damage to the Everglades resulting from development projects.
-Pressure to underreport the effects of dams on struggling salmon populations in the North West.
-Pressure to ignore the effects of overgrazing on federal land in some Western states.
-In Alaska, some oil and gas exploration projects continue to move forward despite evidence of environmental harm which was discovered to have been ignored under the Bush Administration.
-The decision to fight the gulf oil spill with huge quantities of potentially toxic chemical dispersants despite advice to examine the dangers more thoroughly.
-Obstacles to speaking out publicly reported by scientists in key agencies.