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Originally published October 14, 2009 at 12:08 AM | Page modified October 14, 2009 at 9:46 AM

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Report suppressed by Bush administration shows global-warming risks

The EPA report, technically known as an "endangerment finding," was prepared in 2007, but the Bush White House refused to make it public because the administration opposed regulating the gases most scientists see as the major cause of global warming.

Tribune Washington Bureau

The day in D.C.

Texting legislation: Amid calls from the Obama administration and traffic-safety advocates to ban texting and talking on cellphones while driving, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has written a bill that would offer federal funds to states that enact laws against such behavior. In July, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a bill that would require states to ban texting while driving, or risk losing yearly federal highway funds.

Gay marshal nominee: President Obama has nominated Sharon Lubinski, an assistant chief in the Minneapolis Police Department, to become the first openly gay person to serve as a U.S. marshal.

Hemp protest: A half-dozen people, including two farmers, have been arrested for trying to plant hemp seeds at the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Virginia. The Hemp Industries Association is lobbying Congress to decriminalize hemp farming for products such as clothing and rope. Hemp is related to marijuana, and currently all hemp products sold in the U.S. must be imported.

Agent Orange: The Veterans Affairs Department said Tuesday it plans to make it easier for Vietnam veterans exposed to the Agent Orange herbicide who suffer from certain medical conditions to quality for VA benefits. The conditions are B cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease. The VA estimates that between January 1965 and April 1970, more than 2 million military personnel were potentially exposed to Agent Orange, used to defoliate trees to expose enemy action.

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WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday released a copy of a long-suppressed report by officials in the George W. Bush administration concluding that, based on the science, the government should begin regulating greenhouse-gas emissions because global warming posed serious risks to the country.

The report, technically known as an "endangerment finding," was prepared in 2007, but the Bush White House refused to make it public because the administration opposed regulating the gases most scientists see as the major cause of global warming.

The existence of the finding — and the refusal of the Bush White House to make it public — were previously known. The Bush EPA draft was released in response to a public-records request under the Freedom of Information Act.

The document "demonstrates that in 2007 the science was as clear as it is today," said Adora Andy, an EPA spokeswoman. "The conclusions reached then by EPA scientists should have been made public and should have been considered."

A finding that greenhouse gases and global warming pose serious risks to the nation is a necessary step in the process of instituting government regulation. President Obama and congressional Democrats are pushing for major climate legislation, but if Congress fails to act, the administration has raised the possibility that it would use an EPA finding to enact regulation on its own.

In April, the administration released its own proposal for an endangerment finding. The newly released document from the Bush EPA shows that much of the Obama document embraced the earlier, suppressed finding word for word.

"Both reach the same conclusion — that the public is endangered and regulation is required," said Jason Burnett, a former associate deputy administrator who quit the EPA in June 2008 amid frustration over the Bush administration's inaction on climate change. "Science and the law transcend politics."

The 2007 draft warns that in the United States, climate change could lead to drought, more frequent hurricanes and other extreme weather events, increased respiratory disease and a rise in heat-related deaths.

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Regardless if you think global warming is bunk or not, should these reports be suppressed, or should they see the light of day and be discussed and...  Posted on October 14, 2009 at 1:14 AM by Willard McBain. Jump to comment
flipitover wrote: Oil is a naturally occurring, renewing resource.....NOT a "fossil fuel" that is running out. And if you want to...  Posted on October 14, 2009 at 8:58 AM by SW in Lake Forest Park. Jump to comment
Except that global warming has been widely debunked as bad science If by "debunked" you mean cynically disputed via smokescreen by the...  Posted on October 14, 2009 at 12:58 AM by Lookitsme. Jump to comment

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