The Monthly's Kook Awards.

• Author: Kennedy, Lucy
• Position: Federal government

Ask the federal government about science these days and you can rely on getting an eccentric, White House approved answer. But, lest we forget, isn't it time we singled out a few agencies that have worked especially hard to compromise themselves? The Washington Monthly's Kook Awards are our overdue tribute. Of course, not everyone can win, but we remind the runners-up that it's an honor just to be nominated.

GOLD

Environmental Protection Agency

* From 1997 to 2001, the EPA's annual report on air pollution included a section on global warming. In 2002, the section on climate change disappeared for good.

* In 2003, the EPA published "The State of the Environment," billed as a comprehensive report. In response to White House complaints, the EPA removed the entire section on global warming.

* In 2000, James Titus, an EPA expert on rising sea levels, wrote an essay called "Does the US Government Realize That the Sea is Rising?" In June 2006, when The New York Times tried to talk with him, Titus told the reporter that he was no longer allowed to talk about the issue publicly.

Silver

Centers for Disease Control

* In November 2002, the CDC website removed a fact sheet on proper condom use and replaced it with a document emphasizing condom failure.

* In 1992, the CDC started providing information to state and local governments about the latest scientific studies on effective sex education programs through an initiative oiled "Programs that Work." Studies found that abstinence-only sexual education did not change teen sexual behavior. "Programs that Work" was...