Yesterday, a U.S. district court ruled the White House has violated federal law by not preparing and releasing a statutorily-mandated report on climate change. The Global Change Research Act of 1990 requires presidential administrations to assess the latest research and the potential impact of climate change "On a periodic basis (not less frequently than every 4 years)." The last report was released by the Clinton administration in 2000.

In arguments, the White House resorted to its usual defense — that the law only applies when it's convenient or jibes with President Bush's policy. The plaintiffs (the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace) hailed the decision as a rebuke of the White House's anti-climate-change research views. The ruling orders the White House to release a new report by March.

The decision comes on the heels of a recent Office of Management and Budget/ Office of Science and Technology Policy memo which outlines the research and development priorities of the administration. The memo is chock-full of references to climate science and renewable energy.

Of course, given the White House had to be forced by a federal court just to write a report on climate change, we should not take this as a sign of progress. Bush wants R&D on his terms. The memo promotes Bush's laughably modest goals of reductions in energy consumption and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions "cost-effectively."

The memo also calls for agencies to prioritize "eliminating scientific and technical barriers that limit the advancement of renewable, zero emission, and alternative energy sources." Reg•Watch thinks the biggest barrier to progressive energy policy won't be removed until Jan. 20, 2009.