Science Fiction
· The altering of reports to fit policies is dismaying.


Once again a scientific report has been recast for the sake of political expediency and used as the basis for a federal rule that puts industry profit over the health of people and the environment. If that sounds familiar, it's because it has been happening regularly throughout President Bush's tenure.

In the most recent case, a government biologist and hydrologist complained that their findings on how cattle grazing damages wildlands were rewritten to produce contrary conclusions. A "significant adverse impact" on wildlife, for instance, somehow became "beneficial to animals." Then the Bush administration announced that based on these rosy findings, it would relax rules that limit grazing on public lands.