Short answers, pulled from the story.
Faculty and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology founded the Union of Concerned Scientists in 1969. Physicist and Nobel laureate Henry Kendall was a co-founder and served for many years as chairman of the UCS Board of Directors.
The founding document of the Union of Concerned Scientists 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. It also aimed to turn research applications away from military technology and toward environmental and social problems.
Two billboards near the Denver and Minneapolis-Saint Paul airports were removed after a complaint from Northwest Airlines, the official airline of the Republican convention. The Union of Concerned Scientists said Northwest was acting as a censor because it viewed the Minneapolis billboard as scary and anti-McCain.
For the tax year that ran from the 1st of October 2017 to the 30th of September 2018, the Union of Concerned Scientists reported $39.9 million in total revenue, $3.1 million in expenses, and $48.8 million in net assets, according to its IRS Form 990.
The Union of Concerned Scientists' 2004 report, Scientific Integrity in Policymaking, accused the administration of President George W. Bush of politicizing science. It alleged altered information in Environmental Protection Agency global warming reports and said scientific advisory panel members were chosen for business interests rather than scientific experience.
Dr. Gretchen Goldman, an environmental scientist and policy advocate, became president of the Union of Concerned Scientists in February 2025. Her predecessor, Johanna Chao Kreilick, had been chosen partly for her record integrating racial justice into organizational culture.