EPA Releases Long-Lost Doc

The Environmental Protection Agency has released a scientific report—long-suppressed by the previous administration—that concluded that the government should begin to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions because climate change is a serious threat to the country. Known as an “endangerment finding,” the report was prepared in 2007, but the Bush White House refused to make it public because it opposed governmental efforts to control the emissions that most scientists believe is the major cause of global warming. This is the first time the document has been made public, even though its existence and the refusal of the Bush administration to release it were already known. An agency spokeswoman said that “conclusions reached then by EPA scientists should have been made public and should have been considered.” The Obama administration released a finding with nearly identical language in April.