On Jan.16 — the last work day before the Bush Administration closed its doors — the U.S. Climate Science Program finally released five long-awaited government climate reports. Part of an interagency effort to integrate federal research on climate change, the reports began as presidential initiative started by President George H.W. Bush in 1989.
The last-minute release gave credence to the claims of critics who contended the reports were suppressed to avoid U.S. engagement on global warming. Past releases of these reports where often slowed to decrease scrutiny of them, critics contend. The newly released reports are part of a series of 21 climate studies covering topics such as the effects of climate change on sea-level rise, in the Arctic and at high latitudes, and the thresholds of global warming in ecosystems.
Find the reports here.