Storm Warning: America's Earth Science · Episode 10 of 12 · 33 min
The Inconvenient Number
When a measurement is politically inconvenient, the cheapest fix is to attack the measuring. The episode tells, even-handedly and across administrations, the 'secret science' fights over air-pollution studies, the 2019 Sharpiegate episode in which NOAA appeared to rebuke forecasters over a hurricane map, and edits to government climate language.
Who's who
- Douglas Dockery+2 more episodesHarvard epidemiologist who led the Six Cities study
- C. Arden Pope III+2 more episodesEpidemiologist who led a parallel American Cancer Society study
- Philip CooneyWhite House environmental official who edited federal climate reports
- James E. HansenNASA climate scientist whose communications were screened
- Scott Pruitt+1 more episodeEPA administrator who proposed the transparency rule in 2018
- Andrew Wheeler+1 more episodeEPA administrator who finalized the transparency rule
- Neil JacobsActing NOAA administrator in the 2019 Sharpiegate episode
- Louis UccelliniNational Weather Service director who apologized to forecasters
Where it happens
- Birmingham, AlabamaWeather Service office that corrected a 2019 hurricane claim
- Washington, D.C.+31 more episodesSeat of the agencies and White House offices involved
Timeline
- December 9, 1993Six Cities study published
- June 2005Cooney's climate report edits disclosed; he resigns
- September 6, 2019NOAA issues unsigned statement rebuking the Birmingham office
- July 9, 2020Commerce inspector general finds the statement not based on science
- February 1, 2021Court vacates the EPA transparency rule
- January 13, 2026EPA reported to stop valuing avoided deaths in air rules
Still debated
Supporters of data-transparency rules say replicability is a sound principle, while critics saw a pretext to discount health studies. Debate continues over whether Sharpiegate reflected individual error or directed pressure, and how to characterize a pattern seen across administrations.
