Bush Administration Issues Memo Censoring Government Officials on Global Warming Science

The memo was obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and places new restrictions on government employees to refrain from discussion of "climate change, sea ice, and/or polar bears." The memo also indicates that any travel putting an employee in the position of such discussion could require "a statement of assurance that these individuals understand the Administration's position on these issues."

"This is truly outrageous and reflects a new ‘low’ for the Bush administration even though it has already built quite a track record of censoring scientists on the issue of global warming," said Kert Davies, Greenpeace Research Director.

The memo was issued less than three months after the December 2006 announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it would consider protecting polar bears under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) in response to a petition and lawsuit filed by the environmental groups.

In December of 2006, scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research

said that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer as early as 2040, and in the next 20 years the extent of Arctic sea ice will be reduced by 80 percent. The U.S. Minerals Management Service documented the drowning of at least four polar bears in September 2004, when the sea ice retreated a record 160 miles off the northern coast.

Polar bears live only in the Arctic and are totally dependent on the sea ice for all of their essential needs. The rapid warming of the Arctic and melting of the sea ice poses an overwhelming threat to polar bears, which could become the first mammal to lose 100 percent of their habitat to global warming.

"It’s no surprise that an administration which has been in lockstep with the oil industry since day one would fight any effort to substantively address the issue of global warming, but this really should raise some eyebrows in Congress. We hope the investigators in the Senate and House Committees start asking questions and get some answers on this," said Davies.