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Reprint
Remarks By CDC Epidemiologist George Luber At The Hefner Foundation’s
First Amendment Award Ceremony In May 2019
[Editor: Below are the
remarks made by George Luber at the Hefner First Amendment
Award Ceremony in May 2019. Minor edits are indluded. Before speaking,
Luber read a disclaimer to say that he was giving only his opinions
and not those of the CDC.]
The Address:
Truth be told, I never
wanted to be here. I never wanted this award, never wanted any media
attention. All I’ve ever wanted to do was conduct the science that
I’ve been trained to do.
Actually, the agency
that I work for, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or
CDC, didn’t want me to be here as well. As part of the procedure for
accepting this award, I had to obtain Agency approval to accept this
award, which was quickly denied once I submitted the required forms. I
couldn’t believe that I had actually been denied the ability to accept
a First Amendment Award, because I exercised my First Amendment
rights. Only after the intervention of the lawyers at PEER, who
represent me on the matter, did we get a reversal that allowed me to
accept this award.
My (former) job at the
CDC was to research and document the threat to health that climate
change poses. I have been a lead author for the UN’s IPCC 5th
Assessment report, and a convening lead author for the 3rd
and 4th US National Climate Assessments. I’ve written over
50 journal articles and the definitive textbook on the subject.
My intent is not to
brag, but I’ve spent my adult years dedicated to this issue. After 14
years of research, I’m here to tell you that it poses a grave threat
to the health, livelihood, and livability of humans on this planet. I
feel in some regards that my job has been to document, in minute
detail, the slow demise of human survival on this planet.
I know we’ve all seen
images of polar bears drowning, and melting glaciers, but the real,
underrecognized story of climate change is its threat to human
beings. It’s not about polar bears, penguins, or melting ice caps in
some far off land, or about changes that will come to bear for future
generations, but it’s about impacts that are already being felt now,
in our communities, close to home. It’s about massive heat waves that
can kill tens of thousands of people, of shifting distributions of
mosquitoes, ticks and wildlife that will introduce new diseases to new
areas. About unchecked wildfires that will darken the skies, about
ozone, and aeroallergens that will send scores of children to the
hospital with breathing problems. About massive algal blooms that
contaminate our drinking water. And about threats that we just barely
begun to understand. We have a lot of work to do.
Unfortunately, I’m
unable to continue this work. In the fall of 2016, just after the
election, I was ordered to cancel a large conference on climate change
at CDC that we had been organizing. We had Al Gore as our keynote
speaker and 4 days of scientific presentations on the latest findings
in climate science. My supervisors thought that the “optics” and
timing of this meeting were bad and that I should call off the event.
I challenged this decision, but they cancelled the event anyways. And
I soon found my access to speaking engagements, media requests, and
television appearances abruptly halted. I was called into the
director’s office and told to stop using the words Climate Change.
“Find some other words to use” I was told. I thought this was
ridiculous and refused, we need to stand by the science, not pay
attention to politics.
Not long after, I was
served a termination notice that detailed a long list of fabricated,
anonymous, and false charges. Only though the incredible work of a
dedicated group of lawyers at a watchdog group named PEER, Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and the timely reporting
from the New York Times, was this farce revealed, and I was able to
retain my job. However, while I’m still employed, I’m still unable to
continue the work that I’ve dedicated my career to. In fact, I’m
actually prohibited from even entering the CDC campus that I work at.
I’m on what you call a BOLO list, Be on the Lookout, which means that
if I try and enter campus, I’m stopped by security and my car and
person are searched. I’ve been told to work at home full-time. I’ve
been given numerous “detail” assignments in positions that have little
to do with my training and expertise. I’ve been stuck in some dark
corner of the agency, hoping that I will eventually go away. I will
not.
Free speech is not
free. While it might appear like a profound act of individual courage
to speak out against injustice, censorship and political oppression,
the fact is that no one can go this alone. Especially myself. As
such, I have many people to thank for supporting me through this
ordeal.
My Mother, Ms
Maureen Ward,
To the love of my life,
Bree Lorenzo,
To the extremely
talented and dedicated people at PEER, Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility, especially Kevin Bell (the true
hero of my story), who has worked tirelessly for this cause. Also,
Jeff Ruck, Susan Sargeant, Tim Whitehouse, Peter Jenkins
and Paula Dinnerstein, who back up Kevin on this case.
I’d also like to thank
Laura Turner Seydel, and the Turner Foundation for her
incredible energy and advocacy on environmental issues and for
supporting me on this. She has been truly amazing.
Finally, I’d like to thank Hugh Hefner
for the legacy he has left and Christie Hefner and the Hugh
Hefner Foundation for this award and for their truly heroic efforts in
protecting free speech and the First Amendment. I am truly humbled.
Thank you.
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