Gore Charges Censorship by White House

Bush Administration officials have “censored” a scientist’s planned testimony on global warming to downplay the seriousness of the problem, Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.) charged Sunday.

Officials ordered the scientist to change his testimony because it would “conflict with the ideologically based do-nothing approach which they’re most comfortable with,” said Gore, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on science and technology.

Among those scheduled to appear before the panel today was Dr. James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

The New York Times, in today’s editions, quoted Hansen as saying the Office of Management and Budget edited the text of his testimony to soften the conclusions and make the prospects of change in climate appear more uncertain.

Tried to ‘Negotiate’

“It distresses me that they put words in my mouth; they even put it in the first person,” Hansen told the newspaper, adding that he had tried to “negotiate” with the budget office over the wording but “they refused to change.”

“I should be allowed to say what is my scientific position; there is no rationale by which OMB should be censoring scientific opinion,” Hansen was quoted as saying.

The New York Times said Hansen’s original testimony said that computers projected that carbon dioxide and other gases released into the atmosphere would cause substantial increases in temperature, drought, severe storms and other stresses that will affect the Earth’s biological systems.

Hansen’s original testimony would have supported the position that, while there are still many uncertainties, enough is known now about the general and even regional effects of the global warming trend to start acting now to mitigate and prepare for those effects, the paper said.

Hansen was not reachable for comment Sunday night.

White House spokesman B. Jay Cooper said he had no knowledge of the matter.

Gore said he was told by sources in the Bush Administration that officials had “censored the scientific opinions we have asked to be presented.”

Gore said he knew of no similar orders being given to other scientists scheduled to testify today.