We are writing to urge you to allow the government's top scientists to publish their findings on climate change without interference from political appointees.  We believe that climate change science should be based on sound scientific reasoning, not politics.

The world's temperature is rising, with 2005 being the warmest year on record.  A scientific consensus exists that human activity is the leading cause of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere.  The catastrophic effects of global climate change -- rising sea-levels, changes in precipitation patterns, increased droughts and floods, and threats to human health -- must be dealt with soon.  We applaud your Administration for pledging close to $5 billion this year to further study this problem.  However, more pro-active policy measures are needed.

Accordingly, it is vital that government scientists be allowed to speak freely and openly about the threats of climate change, as well as the possible causes and solutions.  Both policy makers and the public are entitled to hear scientific findings and research without political influence or bias.  Politics should never interfere with science.

Unfortunately, it is our understanding that a number of studies prepared by our government's top scientists have been edited by political appointees with no scientific background.  According to a recent "60 minutes" report, officials within the Council on Environmental Quality made changes that deemphasized the connections between human action and climate change to a draft version of "Our Changing Planet," a yearly report from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP).  The changes -- made by staff with no scientific background -- inserted language emphasizing "significant remaining uncertainties" about the link between human action and climate change, and cut out sections related to an "international, national and regional" strategy to counteract climate change.  The effect of these edits have been decidedly negative; last year a top CCSP official who worked for both your administration and President Clinton resigned following drastic edits reports he prepared.

James Hansen, head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and one of the world's most renowned climatologists, recently revealed that he has been prohibited from freely speaking to the press regarding climate change.  Mr. Hansen has also stated that his remarks and reports have been heavily edited by political appointees that did not agree with his conclusions on climate change.  We agree with Mr. Hansen's assertion that bottling up dissenters within the scientific community is a recipe for environmental disaster.

Most scientists agree that human activity is a key cause of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, which leads to increased global temperatures.  Scientists and many world governments also believe that an international response is vital to save the global environment.

These facts are seemingly deemphasized in your administration's reports, at the behest of non-science-based staff. 

We look forward to working with you and your administration on the issue of climate change.  As the most advanced nation in the world, we must lead by example, and show our global partners that our top priority is solving the climate change problem with sound, unbiased science.

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns

Sincerely,

Signed by Rep. Sander Levin and an additional 44 Members of Congress 

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