Tinkering with the truth
The New York Times


President George W. Bush moved quickly after the 2000 election to fill many important environmental and energy jobs with lobbyists who had spent their careers trying to weaken the laws they then would swear to protect. Most were vetted by Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, and by Vice President Dick Cheney. The result has been an erosion of the regulations protecting America's air, water, public lands and wildlife, combined with a chronic unwillingness by the administration to address difficult environmental issues.

 Anyone needing evidence of industry's influence need look no further than a New York Times article this week, by Andrew Revkin, involving the handiwork of one Philip Cooney, an important but heretofore obscure official who serves as chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.