James Hansen is a climate expert working for NASA. In 1988, Mr. Hansen told congress he believed, with 99 percent confidence, that data supported the conclusion that a long-term warming trend had begun, possibly caused by greenhouse gases.

The Office of Management and Budget (President Bush) edited his testimony to emphasize the scientific uncertainties. (It is impossible to make any measurement without an inherent uncertainty.)

Emphasizing uncertainty is a typical ploy to undermine unwelcome conclusions. In 2006, President Bush's administration attempted to restrict Mr. Hansen from speaking publicly on global warming. The resulting brouhaha caused reforms at NASA affecting the agency's ability to restrict an employee from speaking publicly.

Deborah Rice is a toxicologist (reputedly world-class) working at Maine's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2006, she was picked by the FDA to sit on a review panel with four other scientists.

The panel was charged with reviewing flame retardant chemicals used in housings for TVs and other electronic equipment and in furniture upholstery, etc. The FDA would use the panel's assessment to determine how much exposure was safe for humans.

By March 2007, the panel had finished its report, and the FDA posted it on its web site.

In May, the American Chemical Council complained that Rice was a biased panel member because she had once testified to the Maine state legislature that these chemicals should be phased out.

In January 2008, the FDA removed her from the panel and expunged all her comments from the report. Ironically, her toxicological studies, upon which she had based her conclusions, were retained in the report.

Robert Eliason,

Lake Shore