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When the process works well it means that a number of qualified people have looked over the research and commented on it before publication. 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</header> </div> <div class="post-content p18"> <h2>Science and Democracy</h2> <p>While scientists write for each other, they do so largely in “peer-reviewed” journals. When the process works well it means that a number of qualified people have looked over the research and commented on it before publication. </p> <p>But the very term “peer review” means that the people who are affected by those decisions are not only left out of the review, they are generally not even a part of the audience.</p> <p>IEER’s aim is to provide people with literature which has a quality equal to that in scientific journals, but which doesn’t require you to go back to college to get a degree in science to understand it. </p> <p>Our audience is that of the determined activist concerned about the world, the concerned policy-maker, and the knowledgeable journalist. We choose our subjects so that they are relevant to environmental protection and other aspects of human well-being. </p> <p>We rely mainly on primary scientific literature and official documents, and our work has held up well to intense scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, as well as others who have reason to dislike our conclusions, such as this writer: </p> <blockquote class="testimonial"> <p>I applaud your effort to improve the practical knowledge and skills of non-technical citizens in the areas of nuclear technology. I also found the light and humorous tone of the newsletter refreshing. You are obviously critical of the DOE “establishment.” Perhaps some of your frustration about our current state of affairs stems from the growth, institutionalization, and bureaucratization of activities that were once driven, guided and executed by the principles of scientific inquiry.”<br /> <cite>James G. Toscas, Executive Director (1993)<br /> American Nuclear Society</cite> </p> </blockquote> <blockquote class="response"> <p>Thank you for your kind note. The problem that IEER has found is that the work of the nuclear establishment (both governmental and private) on health and environmental issues has never been consistently guided by principles of sound science. Rather, public relations and an underlying agenda to push nuclear power and nuclear weapons production have dominated and often overwhelmed science.<br /> <cite>Arjun Makhijani, President, IEER</cite></p> </blockquote> <h3>What people say about IEER: </h3> <blockquote><p>I love and admire the way you guys work to de-mystify nuclear physics/power/weapons.</p></blockquote> <blockquote><p>I appreciate the information [produced by IEER] as I am working to bring a stop to the planned MRS storage dump here on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as others in the group fight along with me.</p></blockquote> </div> <p class="edit"></p> </div> <div id="sidebar"> <div id="text-8" class="widget widget_text"><h2>Stay up to date with IEER</h2> <div class="textwidget"><ul class="social"> <li class="twitter"><a href=" http://twitter.com/#!/IEERArjun "><span>Twitter</span></a></li> <li class="facebook"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Institute-for-Energy-and-Environmental-Research-IEER/163900633655091 "><span>Facebook</span></a></li> <li class="feed"><a href="/feed/"><span>Feed</span></a></li> <li class="email"><a href="/e-mail-sign-up/"><span>Email</span></a></li> </ul></div> </div><div id="enhancedtextwidget-5" class="widget widget_text enhanced-text-widget"><h2>Recent Articles</h2><div class="textwidget widget-text"><ul><li class='story-item one '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/tritium/analysis-of-impact-and-compliance-aspects-of-los-alamos-national-laboratorys-proposal-to-vent-tritium-loaded-waste-containers/'>Analysis of Impact and Compliance Aspects of Los Alamos National Laboratory鈥檚 proposal to vent tritium-loaded waste containers</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(November, 2024)</strong></li><li class='story-item two '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/books/hydrogen-what-good-is-it-2/'>Hydrogen: What Good is it?</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(November, 2024)</strong></li><li class='story-item three '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/disarmamentpeace/reflections-on-the-79th-anniversary-of-the-atomic-destruction-of-hiroshima-and-our-present-predicament-with-recommendations-for-reducing-nuclear-dangers-prepared-for-just-solutions/'>Reflections on the 79th anniversary of the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and our present predicament, with recommendations for reducing nuclear dangers. Prepared for Just Solutions.</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(September, 2024)</strong></li><li class='story-item one '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/climate-change/the-trouble-with-stride-meeting-climate-goals-and-addressing-natural-gas-system-stranded-costs/'>The Trouble with STRIDE: Meeting climate goals and addressing natural gas system stranded costs</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(January, 2024)</strong></li><li class='story-item two '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/climate-change/a-report-for-just-solutions-on-the-role-of-long-duration-energy-storage-in-a-decarbonized-and-resilient-electricity-sector/'>A report for Just Solutions on the role of long-duration energy storage in a decarbonized and resilient electricity sector.</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(January, 2024)</strong></li><li class='story-item three '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/climate-change/report-on-water-requirements-for-hydrogen-production-prepared-for-just-solutions/'>Report on water requirements for hydrogen production prepared for Just Solutions</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(November, 2023)</strong></li><li class='story-item one '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/fukushima/japanese-translation-of-the-views-of-the-expert-panel-to-the-pacific-islands-forum/'>Japanese translation of the Views of the Expert Panel to the Pacific Islands Forum.</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(October, 2023)</strong></li><li class='story-item two '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/fukushima/iaea-abandons-interests-of-pacific-region-countries-as-japan-prepares-to-dump-radioactive-water-into-the-pacific-ocean-in-violation-of-key-iaea-requirements/'>IAEA abandons interests of Pacific region countries as Japan prepares to dump radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean in violation of key IAEA requirements</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(July, 2023)</strong></li><li class='story-item three '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/fukushima/deficiencies-in-the-iaea-review-of-the-tepco-plan-to-dump-fukushima-radioactive-water-into-the-pacific-ocean/'>Deficiencies in the IAEA review of the TEPCO plan to dump Fukushima radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(June, 2023)</strong></li><li class='story-item one '><a href='https://ieer.org/resource/fukushima/expert-panel-views-on-fukushima-radioactive-water-dumping/'>Expert Panel views on Fukushima radioactive water dumping proposal</a> <strong style='color:#555'>(June, 2023)</strong></li></ul></div></div> </div></div> <div id="footer"> <p class="copyright"> Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, © 2024</p> <p class="info"> <a href="#content">Back to Top</a> <span>•</span> <a href="https://ieer.org">Home</a> <span>•</span> <a href="https://ieer.org/terms-of-use/">Terms of Use</a> </p> </div> <p class="contact"> PO Box 5324 · Takoma Park, Maryland, 20913 USA · Tel. 1-301-509-6843 · E-mail: <script type="text/javascript">  </script></p> </div> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/plugins/haiku-minimalist-audio-player/js/jquery.jplayer.min.js?ver=1.2" id="jplayer-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/plugins/haiku-minimalist-audio-player/js/haiku-player.js" id="haiku-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/plugins/haiku-minimalist-audio-player/js/jquery-ui-custom.min.js?ver=1.8.7" id="jquery-ui-custom-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-includes/js/dist/hooks.min.js?ver=2810c76e705dd1a53b18" id="wp-hooks-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-includes/js/dist/i18n.min.js?ver=5e580eb46a90c2b997e6" id="wp-i18n-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="wp-i18n-js-after"> /* <![CDATA[ */ wp.i18n.setLocaleData( { 'text direction\u0004ltr': [ 'ltr' ] } ); /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/swv/js/index.js?ver=6.0" id="swv-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="contact-form-7-js-before"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var wpcf7 = { "api": { "root": "https:\/\/ieer.org\/wp-json\/", "namespace": "contact-form-7\/v1" } }; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/plugins/contact-form-7/includes/js/index.js?ver=6.0" id="contact-form-7-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="dlm-xhr-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var dlmXHRtranslations = {"error":"An error occurred while trying to download the file. 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