Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Fri, Dec 08 2006
Access to EPA materials
Scientific research is costly and takes a lot of time. We've all been paying for a lot of it with our taxes. Benefits come back to us in the form of papers, focus groups, data collections and even public school reference materials. So when I hear that writers, scientists and the public in general is being denied the benefits of such research, I become a little concerned. The assurance that we can access Environmental Protection Agency materials online after brick-and-mortar libraries are closed is of little value when the limited number of reports available online are now being pulled from the EPA web site.
There are those who believe that our taxpayer money should not go to environmental concerns. That is at least a stance that deservers consideration. However, if we have already spent money on all this research, what is the point of limiting access to it, particularly when it comes to documents already online, where there is no need for personnel to maintain stacks of books and papers? Is this really a budgetary move or is there some deeper, more political message being given to writers, scientists and the American public in general? Without more information, I can't be sure. But I am worried about any move that threatens to limit taxpayer access to information and research we all paid for in the first place. It's a warning sign that something manipulative may be afoot.
posted at: 05:17 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Scientific research is costly and takes a lot of time. We've all been paying for a lot of it with our taxes. Benefits come back to us in the form of papers, focus groups, data collections and even public school reference materials. So when I hear that writers, scientists and the public in general is being denied the benefits of such research, I become a little concerned. The assurance that we can access Environmental Protection Agency materials online after brick-and-mortar libraries are closed is of little value when the limited number of reports available online are now being pulled from the EPA web site.
There are those who believe that our taxpayer money should not go to environmental concerns. That is at least a stance that deservers consideration. However, if we have already spent money on all this research, what is the point of limiting access to it, particularly when it comes to documents already online, where there is no need for personnel to maintain stacks of books and papers? Is this really a budgetary move or is there some deeper, more political message being given to writers, scientists and the American public in general? Without more information, I can't be sure. But I am worried about any move that threatens to limit taxpayer access to information and research we all paid for in the first place. It's a warning sign that something manipulative may be afoot.
posted at: 05:17 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
