The Los Angeles Times is reporting that political appointees in the Environmental Protection Agency bypassed the agency’s professional staff and a federal advisory panel last year to craft a rule on mercury emissions based largely on language provided by lobbyists. According to the LA Times, EPA veterans say they cannot recall another instance when the agency’s technical experts were cut out of developing a major regulatory proposal. Last month a group of scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, signed a petition condemning the White House for politicizing science.