Americans deserve a "full soup-to-nuts national assessment"

Here's some evidence showing why we can't depend on the current Federal government to assess the risks we face from global warming and let us know about them.

Exhibit A: The Administration refuses to issue a mandated public assessment of the risks of climate change.
Exhibit B: When ordered to comply by a Federal judge, the Administration does all it can to weasel out of the order.

As it turns out, the Global Change Research Act, which mandated the assessment, did not specify the form that the assessment should take, so the Administration is likely (based on its history with regards to global warming) to issue "assessments" that disemble and confuse rather than clarify our situation.

This led to Richard Moss, the former head of Bush's Climate Change Research Program to speak out against the low standards the Administration is setting for its responsibility to the public.

As reported by Climate Science Watch:

Richard Moss, who ran the climate change office under Bush until 2006, called it "unfortunate" that the ruling criticized the timing of the reports but failed to force CCSP to integrate its findings. "The Administration should be held to a higher standard than just what a judge finds follows the letter of the law," says Moss, adding that Americans deserve a "full soup-to-nuts national assessment" of how climate change will impact them. [emphasis added]

Maybe the Administration will shock us by offering us some information that is helpful and scientifically accurate. Even so, it won't provide us with the local assessment that we need to make our own plans.