Government Accountability Project: Climate Change Report Buried by DOT; Author Blocked From Reporters
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2008
1:25 PM
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CONTACT: Government Accountability Project
Rick Piltz, Climate Science Watch Director
301.807.2472
climatewatch@comcast.net
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Climate Change Report Buried by DOT; Author Blocked From Reporters
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WASHINGTON, DC - March 14 - This past Wednesday, March 12, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Climate Change Science Program quietly released a major assessment report on the likely impacts of global climate disruption on a wide range of transportation infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region. This report release was buried by the DOT, and officials have been blocking journalists from speaking with the report’s lead author.
Specifically the report, Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, analyzes how Gulf Coast roads and highways, transit services, oil and gas pipelines, freight handling ports, transcontinental railroad networks, waterway systems, and airports are likely to be harmed by heat waves, extreme precipitation events, sea level rise, increased hurricane intensity, and storm surge damage associated with climate change. The report outlines why changes must be incorporated in transportation planning now in order to avoid serious future problems.
Three hours after the report was posted online Wednesday, DOT issued an uninformative and misleading press release on a separate Web site. The press release lists only one contact – a DOT press official. Reporters who have tried to interview the report’s lead author, Federal Highway Administration official Michael Savonis, have been explicitly told by DOT officials that the author and the press cannot communicate with each other. As lead author, Savonis should be allowed to brief and respond to press inquiries.
“What possible justification can there be for the stealth release of this report?” asks Climate Science Watch Director Rick Piltz. “It’s as though they don’t regard the report as significant – or these finding have significant political implications for policymaking. Burying reports for this reason is wrong and unethical – but we have seen it before.
Climate Science Watch, a program of the Government Accountability Project, is dedicated to holding public officials accountable for the integrity and effectiveness with which they use climate science and related research in government policymaking.
“Public access to federal scientific and technical expertise is crucial to address the growing problems of climate change and necessary for society to make proper decisions,” added Piltz. “Federal scientists must be allowed direct communication with the press, unimpeded by politically-driven gatekeepers with an interest in blocking the truth and playing down the significance of climate research and assessment findings.”
Click here to read the full Gulf Coast report
Click here to read Climate Science Watch’s full analysis of the situation
Click here to link to the DOT press release
The Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, GAP’s mission is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded in 1977, GAP is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
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