Official Defends Editing Climate Papers - AP

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Official Defends Editing Climate Papers
Former White House Official Defends Editing Changes
On Global Warming Reports

WASHINGTON, Mar. 19, 2007

(AP) A former White House official accused of improperly editing reports on
global warming defended his editing changes Monday, saying they reflected
views in a 2001 report by the National Academy of Sciences. House
Democrats said the 181 changes made in three climate reports reflected
a consistent attempt to emphasize the uncertainties surrounding the
science of climate change and undercut the broad conclusions that
man-made emissions are warming the earth.

Philip Cooney, former chief of staff at the White House Council on
Environmental Quality, acknowledged at a House hearing that some of the
changes he made were "to align these communications with the
administration's stated policy" on climate change.

The extent of Cooney's editing of government climate reports first
surfaced in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Cooney, a former oil industry
lobbyist, left the White House to work at Exxon Mobil Corp.

"My concern is that there was a concerted White House effort to inject
uncertainty into the climate debate," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.,
chairman of the House Government Reform Committee.

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Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/19/ap/tech/main2586413.shtml


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