Global Warming Solutions Depend on Unimpeded Science

A 2006 Union of Concerned Scientists survey of federal climate scientists reveals widespread political interference, including the editing of scientific findings to suit political goals and restrictions on communicating with the public. While scientists maintain that the quality of U.S. federal climate research is excellent, they report declining job satisfaction and morale, particularly at NASA, and express concern that the government is obscuring climate knowledge by exaggerating scientific uncertainty.

• A significant majority of federal climate scientists perceive or have personally experienced political interference in their research. Specifically, 73 percent of respondents perceived inappropriate interference in the last five years, and 58 percent personally experienced it, a figure that rises to 78 percent for those working on sensitive or controversial topics.
• Federal scientists report that non-scientists have altered research findings to compromise accuracy. Forty-three percent of respondents experienced changes to documents during review that altered the meaning of findings, and 37 percent reported that their agencies misrepresented scientific results.
• There are substantial barriers to the free communication of climate research to the public and media. Over half of respondents (52 percent) report that public affairs officials frequently monitor their media communications, and 46 percent have felt pressure to remove terms such as "global warming" or "climate change" from communications.
• Despite believing that U.S. federal government climate research is of "generally excellent quality" (88 percent agreement), scientists report a deteriorating professional environment. Two-thirds believe the environment for research is worse than it was five years ago, and 45 percent report decreased personal job satisfaction.
• NASA scientists reported a different experience regarding scientific openness compared to other agencies, with 61 percent agreeing that recent policy changes improved the environment for research, likely due to a policy stating public affairs officers should not "alter, filter or adjust" scientific material.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2006). Global Warming Solutions Depend on Unimpeded Science. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/climate-brochure.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Global Warming Solutions Depend on Unimpeded Science. 2006. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/climate-brochure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Global Warming Solutions Depend on Unimpeded Science |date=2006 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/climate-brochure.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2006global, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Global Warming Solutions Depend on Unimpeded Science}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2006}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/climate-brochure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }