Union of Concerned Scientists

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. Anne Kapuscinski, Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of The Coastal Science and Policy Program at the University of California—Santa Cruz, currently chairs the UCS Board of Directors, having replaced James J. McCarthy, Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University and past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015. The Union of Concerned Scientists was founded in 1969 by faculty and students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The organization's founding document says it was formed to "initiate a critical and continuing examination of governmental policy in areas where science and technology are of actual or potential significance" and to "devise means for turning research applications away from the present emphasis on military technology toward the solution of pressing environmental and social problems." The organization employs scientists, economists, and engineers engaged in environmental and security issues, as well as executive and support staff. One of the co-founders was physicist and Nobel laureate Henry Kendall, who served for many years as chairman of the board of UCS. In 1992, Kendall presided over the UCS-sponsored World Scientists' Warning to Humanity, which called for "fundamental change" to address a range of security and environmental issues. The document was signed by 1700 scientists, including a majority of the Nobel prize winners in the sciences. According to the George C. Marshall Institute, the UCS was the fourth-largest recipient of foundation grants for "climate-related activities" in the period 2000–2002, a fourth of its $24M grant income being for that purpose. Charity Navigator – an independent non-profit organization that evaluates American charities – gave the UCS a four out of four star rating in the fiscal year ending in September of 2018, with an overall score of 91.