Trump environment head expected to limit science used to make EPA pollution rules – “It really hamstrings the ability of the EPA to do anything, to fulfill its mission”

By Scott Waldman and Robin Bravender 16 March 2018 (E&E News) – U.S. EPA chief Scott Pruitt is expected to roll out plans soon to restrict the agency’s use of science in rulemakings, pitting him against critics who say it would threaten public health and environmental protections. In a closed-door meeting at the Heritage Foundation […]

Hurricanes left behind mountains of trash in the Virgin Islands — and there’s nowhere to put it

By Tim Craig 26 February 2018 ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (The Washington Post) – Even though he works at a dump, Kenneal Smith used to enjoy the coastal and mountain views offered from his guard shack here at the island’s largest landfill. But after back-to-back hurricanes pinwheeled across the Virgin Islands in September, Smith […]

Trump administration eyes big cuts to fuel economy rules – “It is unwise for the federal government to set the clock of automotive technology back a decade”

By Ryan Beene, Alan Levin, and John Lippert 9 February 2018 (Bloomberg News) – President Donald Trump’s administration is looking at ways to reduce future fuel economy standards for automobiles in a move to appease carmakers, who have asked to ease targets put in place under President Barack Obama.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is […]

Trump EPA head says he needs to fly first class because people are mean to him in coach

By Michael Biesecker 14 February 2018 WASHINGTON (AP) – The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has broken months of silence about his frequent premium-class flights at taxpayer expense, saying he needs to fly first class because of unpleasant interactions with other travelers.EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt spoke about his flight costs on Tuesday in a […]

Trump’s EPA head isn’t the first to argue global warming may not be “a bad thing”

By Dino Grandoni 8 February 2018 (The Washington Post) – Scott Pruitt has repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus that rising levels of carbon dioxide from human-fueled activity are warming the planet during his year in the job as Environmental Protection Agency chief. The examples began piling up almost from the start. Just a month into […]

Democratic senators demand Trump EPA administrator recuse himself from rewriting Clean Power Plan – As attorney general of Oklahoma, Pruitt sued EPA 14 times

By Dino Grandoni 7 February 2018 (The Washington Post) – A group of Democratic senators is demanding that Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt recuse himself from  repealing one of President Obama’s signature environmental rules, which is intended to curb the release of greenhouse gases from the nation’s power plants.Late Tuesday, the four senators — […]

Trump E.P.A. blocks Obama-era clean water rule

By Coral Davenport 31 January 2018WASHINGTON (The New York Times) – The Trump administration has formally suspended a major Obama-era clean water regulation ahead of plans to issue its own version of the rule later this year. President Trump has taken aim at the bitterly contested rule, known as Waters of the United States, since […]

The planet just had its hottest 4 years in recorded history. Trump is dismantling U.S. efforts to fight climate change.

By Chris Mooney 18 January 2018 (The Washington Post) – 2017 was among the hottest years ever recorded, government scientists reported Thursday. The year was the second-hottest in recorded history, NASA said, while scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported 2017 was the third-warmest they have ever recorded. The two government agencies use […]

2017 is a record-breaker for climate disasters – “The Trump administration has spent its 2017 dismantling federal actions designed to both address the root causes of climate change and to prepare for its impacts”

By Alice Hill 20 December 2017 (CNN) – As this year comes to a close, 2017 is on track to set the all-time record for the most billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in any single year in US history. There were 15 in the first nine months (equal to all of 2011, which set the […]

Fueling dissent: how the oil industry set out to undercut clean air

By Jie Jenny Zou 14 December 2017 (The Guardian) – On sunny days, when his classmates run out to play, Gabriel Rosales heads to the school nurse for a dose of Albuterol. The fine mist opens his airways, relaxing the muscles in his chest. Without it, recess could leave the nine-year-old gasping for breath. He […]

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