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House Approves Bill To Force Public Release of EPA Science (ap.org)
schwit1 quotes a report from Associated Press: House Republicans are taking aim at the Environmental Protection Agency, targeting the way officials use science to develop new regulations. A bill approved Wednesday by the GOP-controlled House would require that data used to support new regulations to protect human health and the environment be released to the public. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said "the days of 'trust me' science are over," adding that the House bill would restore confidence in the EPA's decision-making process. Connecticut Rep. Elizabeth Esty and other Democrats said the bill would cripple EPA's ability to conduct scientific research based on confidential medical information and risks privacy violations by exposing sensitive patient data. The bill was approved 228-194 and now goes to the Senate. According to The Hill, "The bill would also require that any scientific studies be replicable, and allow anyone who signs a confidentiality agreement to view redacted personal or trade information in data."
No, it's not ridiculous. The problem is that the Left has bastardized "science"...and now it will be forced to have the "conclusions" survive in the sunlight.
"Is a study based on a particular disaster replicable? What about a study based on historical climate data? Or a long term health study? There is a lot of legitimate research that is difficult to reproduce."
All of those are replicable - simply hand over your raw data, explain your methodology, and allow other scientists to confirm your conclusions. That's how science works.
Information that can be released should be, after it goes through an appropriate, but reasonable process. For instance you wouldn't release rough drafts, but ones everyone comes to a consensus and everything is tripled checked sure. A person that mentioned that personal information rules may be the ultimate issue, so you just redact all that. (i.e. specific health issues.)
Either way the republicans are a joke when it comes to science and reason. They just established a rule to forbid even mentioning climate change. There was no analysis done where cancelling all those rules has a net benefit for society. They just did it. They regularly cherry pick talking points that ignore the bulk of climate science, if they aren't completely made up. Hell during the election they saw all that fake news too, but did they say this is wrong? No, they helped spread it. Democrats may be not dramatically better, but they at least respect science more often than not and tend to create policies that make more sense more often than not.
Republicans still seem to believe in trickle down nonsense despite all evidence to the contrary. I for one don't want anything to do with any of the Donald and golden showers.
Science also shouldn't be a dictatorship, but that's what it has become under progressives: "we say this is the truth, and you either comply or we will throw you in jail".
So you are saying that you want the EPA to be giving the power to dictate regulations over the objections of our elected representatives? I don't think so. If some regulation is so poorly supported that the EPA can't defend it against challenges and/or is unable to release its data to the public, then Congress should act. And lawmakers always should have the right to override the EPA's decisions.
What you're arguing for is a fascist superstate that overrides the will of the democratically elected representatives of the people, and we won't have that. Sorry.