James Rowen, a longtime Wisconsin journalist and environmental blogger, recently discovered a stark remaking of a state Department of Natural Resources web page on climate change and the Great Lakes. Until December, the page, dating from the Democratic administration of former Gov.

James Doyle, had this headline — "Climate Change and Wisconsin's Great Lakes" — and a clear description of the state of the science, including this line reflecting the latest federal and international research assessments: "Earth's climate is changing. Human activities ...