Ethics and responsibility

Editing scientific reports to misrepresent data; stopping research intended to support policy decisions; and making important policy and legal decisions by individuals with financial and personal relationships and conflicts-of-interest without relying upon scientific input, seem to happen more frequently these days. As environmental professionals, individuals question our integrity because they do not like the conclusions reached in the analyses. The integrity (i.e., ethics) of professionals may be questioned when the studies are financed by those with an interest in the outcome.