WASHINGTON -- Back in December 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Gore were busy fellows -- what with dishes to pack, furniture to ship and an election to contest. So busy were they that they neglected to read some of the fine print in a cascade of administration-ending paperwork. One of these was an obscure item called the Federal Data Quality Act, or FDQA, which was dutifully signed by Clinton.
Put simply, the FDQA prohibits the use of junky science in the promulgation of federal regulations and laws. And, now that the new hats are in town, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that the FDQA is being turned against the "science" of the Clinton-Gore team, particularly concerning the global environment.
Specifically, it has been turned against the U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, or USNA, a document that breaks the cardinal rule of science: If a hypothesis doesn't work, throw it out. The USNA can't pass the simplest of scientific tests.