Nearly one in five scientists appointed to expert panels of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) had direct financial ties to companies that stood to benefit from the deliberations, according to a sampling released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). NAS was created by President Lincoln in 1863, to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" when requested by any department of the government. "I believe there are scientists out there without conflicts of interest who can serve on these committees and do a comparable job" to experts with ties to the affected companies, said Merrill Goozner, CSPI's director of Integrity in Science program. CSPI cites the example of a NAS panel evaluating the risk of mercury in fish that included a scientist whose research was funded by pro-industry lobbying groups such as the United States Tuna Foundation. Another panel studying pollution emissions included 10 out of 11 scientists with ties to carbon-emitting industries.

Amory Lovins, the Chief Executive Officer of the Rocky Mountains Institute, an eco-efficiency think tank, is aghast at U.S. government support for the U.S.- India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative. The agreement would facilitate an expansion of nuclear power in India, which is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. "We're going to blow up what's left of the nonproliferation regimes to promote a sector that doesn't make sense," Lovins told the Washington Post. Lovins believes India would be better off promoting energy efficiency than pouring scarce funds into nuclear power. Lovins said that the subsidies provided to nuclear power in the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 "are equal to the entire capital cost of the next six reactors . . . but is similar to defibrillating a corpse: it will jump but not revive."

In March this year Dr. Peter Gleason, a Maryland psychiatrist, was arrested by the FBI at a Long Island train station and later charged for promoting off-label use of Xyrem, a prescription drug manufactured by Jazz Pharmaceuticals. The New York Times reports that federal prosecutors allege that "at hundreds of speeches and seminars where he was rewarded with generous fees, Dr. Gleason advised other physicians that a powerful drug for narcolepsy could be prescribed for depression and pain relief. In doing so, he conspired with the drug’s manufacturer to recommend it for potentially dangerous uses the prosecutors claim." Gleason admits that he was paid over $100,000 last year alone from Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Gleason, who was released on bail, argues that he was only charged after he refused to help build a case against the drug company which, New York Times reporter Alex Beremson writes, "court documents seem to support."

The global oil giant, BP, has reached a multi-million pound out-of-court settlement with a group of Colombian farmers after they brought a legal action against the company in Britain. They alleged that Exploration Company (Colombia) "benefited from harassment and intimidation meted out by Colombian paramilitaries employed by the government" to guard a 450-kilometre long pipeline from the Cusiana-Cupiagua oilfields. "Marta Hinestroza, one of the farmers' lawyers, fled Colombia for Britain when she discovered that her name was on a paramilitary hit list. In November 2002, the Home Office granted Ms Hinestroza political asylum after she told of the threats she faced while working in the region," The Independent reports.