Science for sale; How the US government supports policies, silence top scientists, jeopardize our health, and protect corporate profits

Title Page 3 Copyright 4 Dedication 5 Contents 6 Foreword 8 Acknowledgments 14 Prologue 16 President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address 20 1. Ask Your Dentist 23 2. Ask Your Endoscopy Clinic 44 3. Ask Your Garden Center 56 4. Sludge Magic 74 5. Black Magic 101 6. Holy Science 118 7. Brian Deer—Hero or Hoax? 133 8. The GMC Formula 159 9. Government Domination of Science 170 10. Institutional Research Misconduct 183 11. The Nuremberg Code 191 12. Changing Direction 213 Epilogue 226 President John F. Kennedy’s Legacy 230 About the Author 233 Afterword 234 Appendix I Ten Myths about Biosolids 236 Appendix II Biosolids Cadmium Data Pre- and Post- 239 Appendix III Some Things Never Change 240 Appendix IV Sludge Magic versus Native American Beliefs 246 Appendix V Senate Testimony Prepared by David Lewis 252 Appendix VI Senate Testimony Prepared by Andy McElmurray 270 Appendix VII The Nuremberg Code 283 Chapter Notes 285 Index 338 When Speaker Newt Gingrich greeted Dr. David Lewis in his office overlooking the National Mall, he looked at Dr. Lewis and said: #x93;You know you're going to be fired for this, don't you?" #x93;I know," Dr. Lewis replied, #x93;I just hope to stay out of prison." Gingrich had just read Dr. Lewis's commentary in Nature, titled #x93;EPA Science: Casualty of Election Politics." Three years later, and thirty years after Dr. Lewis began working at EPA, he was back in Washington to receive a Science Achievement Award from Administrator Carol Browner for his second article in Nature. By then, EPA had transferred Dr. Lewis to the University of Georgia to await termination-the Agency's only scientist to ever be lead author on papers published in Nature and Lancet. The government hires scientists to support its policies; industry hires them to support its business; and universities hire them to bring in grants that are handed out to support government policies and industry practices. Organizations dealing with scientific integrity are designed only to weed out those who commit fraud behind the backs of the institutions where they work. The greatest threat of all is the purposeful corruption of the scientific enterprise by the institutions themselves. The science they create is often only an illusion, designed to deceive; and the scientists they destroy to protect that illusion are often our best. This book is about both, beginning with Dr. Lewis's experience, and ending with the story of Dr. Andrew Wakefield When Speaker Newt Gingrich greeted Dr. David Lewis in his office overlooking the National Mall, he looked at Dr. Lewis and said: "You know you're going to be fired for this, don't you?" "I know," Dr. Lewis replied, "I just hope to stay out of prison." Gingrich had just read Dr. Lewis's commentary in Nature, titled "EPA Science: Casualty of Election Politics." Three years later, and thirty years after Dr. Lewis began working at EPA, he was back in Washington to receive a Science Achievement Award from Administrator Carol Browner for his second article in Nature. By then, EPA had transferred Dr. Lewis to the University of Georgia to await termination the Agency's only scientist to ever be lead author on papers published in Nature and Lancet. The government hires scientists to support its policies; industry hires them to support its business; and universities hire them to bring in grants that are handed out to support government policies and industry practices. Organizations dealing with scientific integrity are designed only to weed out those who commit fraud behind the backs of the institutions where they work. The greatest threat of all is the purposeful corruption of the scientific enterprise by the institutions themselves. The science they create is often only an illusion, designed to deceive; and the scientists they destroy to protect that illusion are often our best. This book is about both, beginning with Dr. Lewis's experience, and ending with the story of Dr. Andrew Wakefield Uncovers the flaws in the scientific integrity system intended to weed out fraud, but instead allows industry practices and government policies to line the pockets of those involved while sacrificing resources and people's health