On the eve of "Earth Day," the Bush administration stands accused of trashing the nation's environment. The New York Times similarly indicted the administration in its recent Sunday magazine cover story: "Changing the Rules -- How the Bush Administration Quietly -- and Radically -- Transformed the Nation's Clean-Air Policy."

I asked Dr. S. Fred Singer, an atmospheric physicist, to take a look at the article. He has served as the first director of the U.S. Weather Satellite Service, chief scientist of the U.S. Department of Transportation; deputy assistant administrator for policy in the Environmental Protection Agency; and deputy assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior. His many books include "Global Climate Change," "The Greenhouse Debate Continued," and "Hot Talk, Cold Science: Global Warming's Unfinished Debate."

Larry Elder: John Kerry said that Bush has the worst environmental record in recent history, or in modern history. What's your reaction to that?

S. Fred Singer: That's just political hogwash. We have data that the environment is getting better. I mean, I don't really think it's because of Bush, but the Environmental Protection Agency has been continually enforcing standards, both on air and water pollution, and as a result, air and water are getting cleaner every year.

Elder: Has Bush quietly and radically transformed the nation's clean-air policy? And, if so, is that a bad thing?

Singer: I don't think there has been any such transformation. In fact, since Bush came to the White House, he's announced a policy to control mercury emissions from power plants, which is something that had not been done previously, and I think he is going to enforce that. So I don't see why the New York Times complains, but I suppose this is an election year and complaints of this sort are in order.

Elder: Bush has been criticized for, as the Los Angeles Times put it, "turn(ing) his back on (the) global warming treaty." Remember the global warming treaty? Congress unanimously passed a resolution saying that if Al Gore goes over to Japan and negotiates a global warming treaty that excludes Third World countries, it is going to be dead on arrival. John Kerry is one of those who voted for that resolution, saying that we're not going to ratify it if it excludes Third World countries. It does exclude Third World countries.

Singer: That'll be a unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate.

Elder: Tell me about global warming. Is there a consensus? Is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Is it clearly damaging the environment? Continued...