This document is an email from Samuel A. Thernstrom of the White House Council on Environmental Quality to Phil Cooney, Scott McClellan, and James Connaughton. It forwards an edited version of a letter to the editor of the New York Times regarding a recent article about the administration's climate change report. The letter states that the administration has acknowledged the rise in temperatures and greenhouse gases due to human activity, but also recognizes significant scientific uncertainties. It argues the administration's policies appropriately address climate change given the current scientific understanding.

1. RECORD TYPE:,PEDERAL (NOTES MAIL)
uARMS eo, Page 1 of 2
CREATOR:Samuel A. Thernstrom ( CN=Samuel A. Thernstrom/OU=CEQ/O=EOP[ CEQ I
CREATION DATE/TIME: 7-JUNQ-2002 18:56:53.00
SUBJECT:: NYT's version of our letter
TO:Phil Cooney C CN=Phil Cooney/OU=CEQ/O=EOP@EOP ( CEQ I
READ :UNKNOWN
TO:Scott McClellan ( CN=Scott McClellan/OU=WHO/O=EOP@EOP[ WHO I
READ :UNKNOWN
TO:James Connaughton ( CN=James Connaughton/OU=CEQ/O=EOP(3EOP [ CEQ I
READ :UNKNOWN
TEXT:
apparently we are not allowed to say that "the reality is quite the
opposite"
-- --------- Forwarded by Samuel A. Thernstrom/CEQ/EOP on
06/07/2002 06:55 PM…-- - - - - -- - - - - - -
Toby Harshaw <tobycgnytimes.com>
06/07/2002 06:50:27 PM
Record Type: Record
To: Samuel A. Thernstrom/CEQ/EOP@EOP
cc:
Subject:
samuel,
here is the (very lightly) edited version. please call me asap, at (212)
556-3770.
- -th
To the Editor:
''U.S. Sees Problems in Climate Change' ' (front page, June 3) says that
the predictions of the U.S. Climate Action Report 2002 ''present a sharp
contrast to previous statements on climate change by the administration.'
Actually, last year President Bush noted the rise in surface
temperatures and concentrations of greenhouse gases, and said that ''the
National Academy of Sciences indicates that the increase is due in large
part to human activity. '' He also cautioned that significant scientific
uncertainties remain, emphasizing that ''the policy challenge is to act in
a serious and sensible way, given the limits of our knowledge."
The new report reinforces each of these points, including the
considerable uncertainty about the science, natural variability of the
climate, and the fact that ''definitive prediction of potential outcomes
is not yet feasible.''
President Bush's policies are appropriate to the current state of
climate-change science. By starting 67 programs to curb greenhouse gas
emissions and investing $4.5 billion each year in research and
development, the administration is responsibly addressing this important
file://D:SEARCH_7_28_03_CEQ209_f_7sOx7003_ceq.txt 6/21/2006

2. Page 2 of 2
issue. JAMAES L. CONNAUGHTON
Chairman, White House Council
on Environmental Quality
Washington, June 7, 2002
file://D:SEARCH_7_28_03-CEQ209_f 7s~x7003 ceq.txt 6/21/2006