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CDC Epidemiologist Seeks
Whistleblower Protection For His Stance On Climate Change Issues
With Politics
And Science In Tension, Taking A Stand To Defend Science Can Exact A
Heavy Toll
George Luber
is a career CDC epidemiologist and expert on climate change who has
been in trouble with his agency since Donald Trump was elected
president in 2106. He took a stand early on and refused his
leadership’s request to cancel a planned agency conference on climate
change keynoted by Al Gore.
Since then he has been
1) prevented at times from speaking to the press, 2 asked not to use
the words “climate change”, 3) placed on administrative leave, 4) been
transferred multiple times to jobs he has no expertise in, 5) has
lived through an attempt to fire him which was rescinded, 6) had the
Climate Change program he helped build merged with another unrelated
program on Asthma, and 7) now faces a proposal to suspend him without
pay for four months.
He works alone from
home on minor assignments given to him, such as reviewing papers. When
he is permitted to enter the agency on the main campus, he is escorted
by armed guards.
Adverse Impacts
Luber told the Monitor
he has undergone “horrible” physical and emotional ordeals but he
plans to stay the course. “I decided to fight this. I am committed to
the end,” he says.
Why?
“Since 9/11, I decided
on a service career, and for me that meant working for the government,
for CDC, for the public good. I have given my life to this.”
Seeking Protection
Working with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER),
Luber is now seeking whistleblower protection to be able to continue
his work. Asked what success would look like for him at this point,
Luber says half-jokingly, “a hug, an apology, and a resurrection of
the Climate Change program.”
And he cares about
restoring his reputation which has been harmed by the accusations and
rumors about him emanating from the agency, many he considers false or
fabricated. In the absence of good information, no one knows what to
think or believe and being seen by your colleagues with armed guards
can make people imagine highly serious allegations or infractions,
according to Luber.
Tension In Agencies
Leading and managing a
federal science agency is no easy task as the recent episode
with the Hurricane Dorian predictions from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration illustrates. It requires
managing a delicate
balance between science and politics which are both at play and often
in tension in agencies. As former president Jimmy Carter told
the Washington Post when Luber’s climate conference was cancelled and
the former president offered to host the conference at the Carter
Center, “The CDC has to be a little cautious politically…The Carter
Center doesn’t.”
A Perspective On
Tension
One senior CDC
scientist-administrator official once described this tension between
science and politics and told scientists that the agency should not be
judged by looking at which side of the line it is on at any given
point in time, but rather on how well it walks the line. It’s not a
question of being purely political or purely scientific at all times,
according to this government scientist-administrator.
Luber’s case is a
complicated one with lots of documentation on both sides which is
available for readers who wish to dive more deeply into the case and
decide for themselves whether and how far the agency may strayed into
the political arena. Visit :
https://bit.ly/2l4rI35
First Amendment Award
On the positive side,
Luber received a First Amendment award earlier this year from the
Hefner Foundation for his willingness to speak out on the issues that
concern him. In his presentation at the award ceremony, Luber said
“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.” A reprint of his
presentation is published here following this article. ■
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