Editorial: Fox in the hen house

Thursday, June 9, 2005 | 8:58 a.m.

The New York Times has disclosed that a White House official has edited scientific reports by the government so that they minimize the link between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. It is outrageous that Philip Cooney, who is chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, would tamper with scientific reports. But we can't say we are surprised. Cooney, before coming to the White House in 2001 after George W. Bush became president, led the oil industry's efforts to derail limits on greenhouse gases.

President Bush, despite his repeated claims to be a good steward of the Earth, has been hostile to environmental protection. (Sometimes we think that the president believes if you say something enough, no matter how false, then it has to be true.) Nevadans have experienced firsthand the president's deception on the environment. When Bush ran for president in 2000, he said he would use "sound science" in deciding whether to bury nuclear waste in Nevada. But shortly after his election, even though there were still serious scientific doubts about the safety of the Yucca Mountain project, Bush persuaded Congress to approve his plan to build a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain that would contain 77,000 tons of man's deadliest waste.

Under this administration, if you belong to an industry that has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bush's campaign coffers, you'll be rewarded handsomely. For that matter, White House aides are more than happy to do something as corrupt as ignoring or altering scientific conclusions in order to reward Bush's financial patrons.