As many of you know already, this week Rep. Henry Waxman's House Oversight Committee came out with a major report on the Bush administration's interference with climate science. Not exactly a new subject, but the Waxman report (PDF) is definitive in the way journalistic accounts often cannot be, simply because congressional investigators have many more tools at their disposal.
I wrote my latest DeSmogBlog item about the new Waxman report. "The end of an era," I called it--by which I mean, the end of the Bush vs. science era. And what an era it has been. I end the piece this way:
All in all, as someone who has been over this same trail of evidence multiple times since the year 2003, reading the Waxman report doesn't fundamentally tell me anything that I didn't know before. However, the report does make what I already knew seem more certain and indisputable than ever before.
This administration not only fiddled, but lied, while the planet burned. Now it has all been documented about as well and as extensively as anyone could ever demand.
It's our job never to forget it.
You can read the entire DeSmogBlog item here.
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A bit polemic on the tome there Chris?
Anyway, I thought I would point out a post over at Promtheus by Roger Peilke Jr. He has (to put it lightly) quite a different view on the subject.
Reading the report now. My favorite part is the internal memo about Mass v. EPA that said "Vulnerability: science." The only way that could be more priceless was if it said "Vulnerability: reality."
Waxman's timing was impeccable, just when the Bush Administration was once again in Bali. A report after today's press conference.
Mr. Mooney,
Lest I start the weekend off badly, I must thank you and former roomie Miss Sheril for your tireless efforts on behalf of the environment. You guys do sleep, right?
That said, I think your declaration of the end of an era may be - no strike that - is premature. The Bush administration has shown nothing but contempt for both Congress and the American people - this story in today's Washington Post about contempt of Congress citations is just the latest swipe (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR20071…). For those who don't want to read it, the White House has basically said they won't allow the Justice Department to go after former staffers even when the House and Senate send over legal and lawful contempt citations. With one fell swoop, the WH has eviscerated the Constitution.
What does this have to do with the war on science? Simple - the White House will no more change course from Rep. Waxman's synthetic report then they changed course on Iraq when their own people found no WMDs. The best we can hope for, and work for, is pieceful regime change in the voting booth next fall. Until then, keep your armor on.
Interesting Op-Ed recently by Bush speech writer David Frum:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_12/012719.php