Tom's Turn: Notes from our Senior Editor

A Climate Hero Who Isn't Named Gore

December 17, 2007

I've got a new hero. Actually, he's an old hero but now he's got the power to be heroic. He's Henry Waxman, a congressman from Los Angeles, who has been a steadfast and reliable environmental champion for 33 years in the House. Since last January, he has been chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In that position he has become, in the words of the Washington Post, "the Bush administration's worst nightmare."

A principal reason is that Mr. Waxman can subpoena administration officials and grill them about what they've been doing or not doing on virtually anything -- from the run-up to the Iraq war and the response to hurricane Katrina to compensation for CEOs and the outing of Valerie Plame.

A recent report is a perfect example -- an investigation into "Political Interference With Climate Change Science Under The Bush Administration." Mr. Waxman's committee got hold of 27,000 documents from the Council on Environmental Quality (the White House's environmental advisor) and the Department of Commerce. These documents, many of which had never been disclosed before, outlined instances where administration officials watered down findings, changed recommendations, and twisted science. The committee's conclusion: "The Bush administration has engaged in a systematic effort to manipulate climate change science and mislead policymakers and the public about the dangers of global warming."

The Republican minority rushed out with its dissent, which predictably accused the Democrats of having "veered into a partisan diatribe." The minority report is not very persuasive.

All this is hardly surprising, but it's very useful to have extensively documented reports like this one, especially since, a day after the report's release, the administration is leaning on other countries at the climate disruption talks in Bali to stop short of setting numerical targets for carbon reductions.

Same old, same old.

I telephoned Phil Barnett, Waxman's chief of staff, to congratulate him. Phil once led the Juneau office of Earthjustice and has been with Waxman for 18 years. "It's really terrific to be back in the majority," he said. "It's very hard to do oversight when you're in the minority."

Indeed, it's good to have Mr. Waxman in the majority and using his power for good.

By the way, don't miss the letters section this month -- lively and interesting. Please send comments to yourturn@earthjustice.org.

Tom Turner, Senior Editor
yourturn@earthjustice.org