The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to publish a draft report
next week on the state of the environment, but after editing by the White House,
a long section describing risks from rising global temperatures has been
whittled to a few noncommittal paragraphs.
The report, commissioned in 2001 by the agency's administrator, Christie
Whitman, was intended to provide the first comprehensive review of what is known
about various environmental problems, where gaps in understanding exist and how
to fill them.
Agency officials said it was tentatively scheduled to be released early next
week, before Mrs. Whitman steps down on June 27, ending a troubled time in
office that often put her at odds with President Bush.
Drafts of the climate section, with changes sought by the White House, were
given to The New York Times yesterday by a former E.P.A. official, along with
earlier drafts and an internal memorandum in which some officials protested the
changes. Two agency officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the
documents were authentic.
The editing eliminated references to many studies concluding that warming is at
least partly ...