National (U.S.)

In public discourse about our supposed post-truth society, most op-eds fixate on the way that social media can create separate reality bubbles. Few focus on what David Michaels, Obama's Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), calls "mercenary science" — science-for-hire, contracted out by chemical and pharmaceutical companies to prove that their harmful products aren't harmful by giving them the quantitative imprimatur of STEM knowledge."

"With impeachment and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement behind them, House Democrats are starting to strategize on reviving a broad package of clean energy tax breaks that fell off the table in year-end talks last month."

"A trove of documents released on Friday evening provides the clearest glimpse yet into how President Trump’s inaccurate statements, altered forecast map and tweets regarding Hurricane Dorian’s forecast path rattled top officials along with rank and file scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in September."

"Ryan Jackson, one of the Trump EPA's most powerful players behind the scenes, is joining a prominent mining trade group."

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has re-approved a chemical used in Bayer's Roundup weed killer despite concerns over its health risks."

"Environmental groups and women from Alaska and Louisiana are asking a federal court to make the Environmental Protection Agency set new rules for use of oil spill dispersants, citing worries about the chemicals’ health and environmental effects."

"Environmental groups said on Thursday they planned to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to regulate aircraft emissions after a 2016 agency determination that those emissions pose a danger to public health."

"CORNING, Iowa — A fight over how to fuel Americans' cars is beginning to wear on Ray Gaesser. Gaesser farms 5,500 acres of corn and soybeans in Adams County, where cornfields stretch to the horizon and one of the biggest employers is a corn-to-ethanol plant."

"The EPA announced Thursday it supports the continued use and registration of neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides linked to declines in bees, aquatic insects and birds."

"The White House issued a notice today seeking input on efforts to "reform enforcement" — a potential boon for the energy industry."