>  USDA lockdown on USDA and EPA employees is very consistent with Presidential changes in the past.

May be, but there are indications that censorship will be put in place:

> Doug Ericksen, the head of communications for the Trump administration's EPA transition team, said that during the transition period, he expects scientists will undergo an unspecified internal vetting process before sharing their work outside the agency. Ericksen did not say whether such a review process would become a permanent feature of Trump's EPA.

> Any review would directly contradict the agency's current scientific integrity policy, which was published in 2012. It prohibits "all EPA employees, including scientists, managers and other Agency leadership from suppressing, altering, or otherwise impeding the timely release of scientific findings or conclusions."

> "It's certainly the case that every administration tries to control information, but I think that what we're seeing here is much more sweeping than has ever been done before," said Andrew Light, the distinguished senior fellow in the Global Climate Program at the nonpartisan World Resources Institute. "And in particular, it's noteworthy that it seems to be aimed at a cluster of science-driven agencies that primarily work on the environment and climate change."

> The EPA's policy, like those of other technical agencies within the government, is designed to encourage its scientists to participate in the scientific process. To that end, the agency's official policy is to "encourage publication and presentation of research findings in peer-reviewed, professional, or scholarly journals and at professional meetings."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/25/511572169/epa-scientists-work-may-face-case-by-case-review-by-trump-team-official-says

* * *

Throughout recent centuries, the world has witnessed groups of highly skilled individuals within specific arts and sciences who raise the level of quality as the result of social interaction.

The need for knowledge to become more widely dispersed is essential. To get new information to the right people at the right time requires knowledge producers to break down many different barriers.

To achieve such a complementary fusion of knowledge, those interested in the creation and application of knowledge need to find ways to scale the fences that might separate them.

Saariluoma, P. (2006). The importance of the free flow of information and knowledge. Human Technology, 2(1), 13.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html