What Anthony Fauci Could Learn From Decades Of Concerted Attacks On Climate Scientists
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Fauci, 79, a physician who has directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease since the Reagan administration, has been a target for right-wing vitriol since the early days of the pandemic. But in the last week, the efforts to cast doubt have come from within the Trump administration itself, as White House officials circulated lists of his purported mistakes (edited to exclude his caveats). The White House canceled the TV appearances on Fauci's schedule for this past weekend. And on Sean Hannity's show on Fox, Trump last week called Fauci "a nice man" who has "made a lot of mistakes."
Hansen, who is now director of the Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program at Columbia University's Earth Institute, doesn't think that the Trump White House will succeed in silencing a veteran with decades of experience like Fauci. But he worries that less prominent scientists will be intimidated, and as with climate change, crucial warnings will be ignored. "Dr. Fauci and I wear armor, gained from prior public exposure," Hansen said. "That armor practically prevents retaliation, because of the bad publicity it would bring.
"The greater concern is the effect of political threats on those scientists who do not have such armor—surely it is harder for them to speak up," Hansen said. "That's too bad, because scientists, guided by the objectivity of the scientific method, should be a source of trusted information. Instead we have politicians telling the public that any opinion counts as much as scientific evidence." Indeed, in May, a top vaccine official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sought whistleblower protection after he was demoted for raising health concerns over hydroxychloroquine, a drug Trump was then promoting as a possible cure without scientific evidence.
Lauren Kurtz, executive director of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, which, with Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, has a project tracking silencing of government scientists, says the HHS case is not unique. "Unfortunately, there are many more stories that should be told, but the scientists who have experienced them are worried about job security or increasing the negative attention upon them," she said. "I think if there is a change in administration, there will be more people who are comfortable coming forward."
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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14072020/climate-science-coronavirus-trump-fauci
