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For two decades, Detroit Edison tested a critical safety system at Fermi Unit 2 using an outdated 'answer key,' failing to verify if the system met current safety standards. Despite numerous audits and inspections by both the company and the NRC, the error persisted from 1986 to 2006.

The report documents widespread political interference in U.S. federal climate science, characterized by the manipulation of scientific findings, restrictive media policies, and declining funding. Through surveys and interviews, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Government Accountability Project found that scientists frequently faced pressure to alter their results or eliminate terms like 'global warming' to align with political goals, leading to poor morale and diminished scientific integrity.

The document outlines a process for attracting media attention to events through the creation and distribution of media advisories. It specifies that an advisory should be a one-page notice containing the event's purpose, logistics, rationale, and speaker details. The guide recommends sending these notices to local radio, newspapers, and television stations one week in advance, with a reminder the morning of the event. Additionally, it advises making follow-up phone calls the day after the initial advisory is sent and provides a sample script for these calls, using an example of a protest against a lawsuit challenging California's vehicle emissions laws.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that ExxonMobil funded a network of ideological organizations to deceive the public about global warming. By spending approximately $16 million between 1998 and 2005, the company promoted a small group of contrarian scientists and used 'information laundering' through front groups to create a false impression of scientific debate. The report details how these tactics mirror the tobacco industry's historical efforts to hide the links between smoking and disease. Furthermore, the document outlines ExxonMobil's influence on the George W. Bush administration, including the appointment of climate negotiators and the censorship of government scientific reports.

The document establishes that limiting global warming to 2°C requires stabilizing atmospheric heat-trapping gases at or below 450 ppm CO2eq, which necessitates a global cumulative emissions budget of 1,700 GtCO2eq for 2000–2050. For the United States, this translates to a cumulative budget of 160 to 265 GtCO2eq, requiring emissions to be reduced by at least 80 percent below 2000 levels by 2050. The analysis finds that most federal legislative proposals fail to meet these targets, with only the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (S. 309) and the Safe Climate Act (H.R. 1590) remaining within the upper budget limit.

The report finds that achieving a 35 mpg fleetwide average by 2018 would create 241,000 net new jobs in the U.S. by 2020, save consumers $37 billion in net costs, and reduce national oil use by 1.6 million barrels per day. Environmental benefits include a reduction of 260 to 264 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 2020. Job growth is projected across most sectors, particularly services and retail, while the oil industry would see a decline. California is projected to experience the highest job growth and consumer savings.

The document details how NASA public affairs officials, under the Bush administration, attempted to filter and restrict the public statements of Dr. James E. Hansen regarding global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. While these events led to a new NASA media policy supporting openness in February and March 2006, the agency simultaneously removed the phrase "to understand and protect our home planet" from its mission statement. Dr. Hansen further noted that similar or more severe controls on scientific information were occurring at NOAA.

The report argues that transitioning from conventional confinement systems to pasture-based production for pigs, chickens, and eggs reduces environmental pollution and improves animal welfare. While it notes that non-ruminants cannot derive as many nutritional benefits from grass as cattle do, it highlights that pasture systems lower production costs for farmers and reduce public health risks associated with antibiotics and arsenic. The document identifies challenges such as seasonality and the need for hardier breeds, while calling for clearer labeling standards and increased technical assistance for producers.

The report finds that diesel construction equipment in California causes over 1,100 premature deaths and more than $9 billion in annual public health costs. It identifies excavators, tractors/loaders/backhoes, and crawler tractors as the highest polluters and highlights the South Coast air basin as the most affected region. The authors advocate for a regulatory regime to retire old equipment and install retrofit technologies to reduce particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed the potential effects of Washington's Initiative 937 (I-937), which would require large electric utilities to source 15 percent of electricity from eligible renewable resources by 2020 and pursue cost-effective energy conservation. Under an expected case scenario, the report projects that by 2025, I-937 would result in $1.13 billion in cumulative savings on consumer electricity bills, the creation of 2,000 new jobs, and a reduction of 4.6 million metric tons of annual CO2 emissions. The analysis indicates that renewable energy and efficiency investments would be cost-competitive with conventional fossil fuel resources, providing long-term price stability and economic development, including $2.9 billion in new capital investment. Sensitivity analyses suggest that even under pessimistic conditions—such as higher wind costs or the expiration of federal tax credits—the initiative would generally still yield long-term savings and environmental benefits.

The document asserts that new conventional coal plants are imprudent investments due to the certainty of future U.S. federal CO2 regulations, likely in the form of a cap-and-trade system. It argues that such regulations will significantly raise the cost of coal-fired electricity, making energy efficiency and renewables more competitive. The report urges state regulators to protect ratepayers by either denying the construction of new coal plants or requiring that shareholders, rather than customers, bear the financial risk of future carbon compliance costs.

The report analyzes 51 'year-plus' reactor outages in the U.S. since 1966, finding that over 70% were caused by systemic 'safety restoration' needs resulting from inadequate corrective action programs (CAPs). It argues that the NRC has failed to monitor safety margins effectively, often relying on optimistic perceptions rather than reality, and recommends that the NRC improve CAP assessments, expand generic communications to include non-hardware problems, and increase transparency with Congress.

Former US Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona testified that political appointees in the Bush administration systematically marginalized his office, censored his speeches, and suppressed scientific reports to align public health communication with partisan ideological agendas.

The report warns that California faces significant risks from global warming, with projected temperature increases between 3°F and 10.5°F by the end of the century. These changes threaten to severely reduce Sierra Nevada snowpack, increase the frequency of large wildfires, degrade air quality, and disrupt the state's $30 billion agriculture industry. The document emphasizes that while some changes are unavoidable, the most severe consequences can be avoided by reducing heat-trapping emissions to levels that keep warming within the lower range of 3 to 5.5°F.

The report analyzes how varying levels of greenhouse gas emissions will lead to temperature increases in California, ranging from 3 to 10.5 °F by the end of the century. It details severe risks including a 70-90% reduction in Sierra Nevada snowpack, increased frequency of extreme heat and wildfires, and rising sea levels that threaten coastal infrastructure. The document emphasizes that while some changes are inevitable, the most severe outcomes can be avoided through aggressive emission reductions, aligned with California's executive goals to return to 1990 emission levels by 2020.

The document outlines how U.S. consumers can support renewable energy via green pricing, green marketing, and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). It contrasts the environmental benefits of renewables—such as wind, solar, and geothermal—against the pollution and health risks associated with coal, oil, nuclear power, and natural gas. It also provides tools for verifying green power claims, including the Green-e certification and the Power Scorecard tool.

The 2006 School Bus Pollution Report Card by the Union of Concerned Scientists finds that U.S. school buses are among the oldest vehicles on the road, with an average age of nine years, and emit nearly twice as much soot per mile as tractor-trailer trucks. The report grades states on tailpipe soot emissions, smog-forming pollution, and the success of their cleanup programs. While some states like California and Washington have made significant strides in reducing soot through retrofits and cleaner fuels, national soot pollution from school buses has only decreased by more than two percent. The document highlights the vulnerability of children to diesel exhaust, which is linked to asthma and lung growth deficits, and argues that substantial federal and state investment is needed for bus replacement and the installation of particulate traps.

The report finds that pasture-raised beef and milk generally contain lower total fat and higher levels of beneficial fatty acids, such as omega-3s and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), compared to conventional products. It argues that shifting toward pasture-based systems would improve human nutrition, animal welfare, and environmental quality while reducing antibiotic resistance.

A 2006 Union of Concerned Scientists survey of federal climate scientists reveals widespread political interference, including the editing of scientific findings to suit political goals and restrictions on communicating with the public. While scientists maintain that the quality of U.S. federal climate research is excellent, they report declining job satisfaction and morale, particularly at NASA, and express concern that the government is obscuring climate knowledge by exaggerating scientific uncertainty.

The document provides raw survey data from 29 NCAR climate scientists. The results show that while respondents generally view NCAR's internal scientific integrity and leadership positively, they express significant concern over the decline of the U.S. federal government's climate science environment over the last decade.