A new congressional report reveals that the Bush administration changed their initial standing on issues related to global warming and pollution to please their acolytes in the oil industry, under pressure from Vice President Dick Cheney's office. Initially, the administration supported reforms which would have led to cleaner air, but then abruptly stopped due to interventions by the oil industry, mediated by Vice President Dick Cheney's office.

The report, by the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, led by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., was rejected by White House spokesman Tony Fratto who called it "laughable."

However, Markey has quite another point of view. He said in a statement that the report represents the "dysfunctions and motivations of the Bush administration laid bare," according to a statement. "The fact that they can, with near unanimity, completely switch positions on global warming to please the oil industry is shocking, and yet disappointingly predictable," Markey said.

Among others, the congressional investigation found out that there was in fact a wide support from seniors from the Bush administration at the EPA in order to conclude that greenhouse gases are a danger to the public and the emissions of cars, power plants and refineries should be regulated. If that move would have been made, the EPA would have been given a powerful hand to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, a move which would have considerably changed the federal policy.

The investigation mentioned those supporting this strategy: Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and three senior White House officials: Deputy Chief of Staff Joel D. Kaplan; Susan E. Dudley, regulatory chief at the Office of Management and Budget; and James L. Connaughton, chief of the Council on Environmental Quality.

On the other side there were the representatives of ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute and the National Petrochemicals and Refiners Assn. who said that such a move would damage President Bush’s image as an opponent of government regulation. F. Chase Hutto III, Cheney's energy advisor, was on their side, the report said.

Recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency warned of the effects of climate change on our health, summarizing in a new report the conclusions of tens of scientific studies on the issue. The Environmental Protection Agency said in there are serious and wide-ranging implications of global warming on the well-being and health of Americans. The 149-page document presents the grave health problems that global warming poses to people, affecting also the food and water that are indispensable to human life.

The document appeared on EPA’s Website trying to prove that there was a clear link between public health and climate change. The presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama both said they would take some measures regarding this important problem should they be elected president. The Bush administration has refused to acknowledge that the warmer weather could pose risks to people, backing polluting industries such as car manufacturers.