Science Friday
EPA scientists recommended new and slightly more limiting ozone restrictions in conjunction with their mandate under the Clean Air Act. From the Washington Post:

Under the Clean Air Act, the federal government must reexamine every five years whether its ozone standards are adequate, and the rules that the EPA issued Wednesday will help determine the nation's air quality for at least a decade.

Ozone, which is formed when pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and other chemical compounds released by industry and motor vehicles are exposed to sunlight, is linked to an array of heart and respiratory illnesses.

Sounds good, right? Except of course when your President is George W. Bush. He stepped in and significantly crippled the ozone standards suggested by the EPA scientists. That's against the law, of course, but hey he's the President and on his way out anyhow, so who cares?

EPA officials initially tried to set a lower seasonal limit on ozone to protect wildlife, parks and farmland, as required under the law. While their proposal was less restrictive than what the EPA's scientific advisers had proposed, Bush overruled EPA officials and on Tuesday ordered the agency to increase the limit, according to the documents.

"It is unprecedented and an unlawful act of political interference for the president personally to override a decision that the Clean Air Act leaves exclusively to EPA's expert scientific judgment," said John Walke, clean-air director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The president's order prompted a scramble by administration officials to rewrite the regulations to avoid a conflict with past EPA statements on the harm caused by ozone.

Oh, and while on the subject of Bush, did I mention yet today that he is a monumental, hypocritical, embarrassment?