"Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Friday unveiled an environmental justice proposal, saying it’s time to address regulatory practices at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that ignore the concentration of pollution in some communities."
"The issue of what to do with the hundreds of millions of acres of federally controlled lands usually does not get much attention in presidential elections — despite the vastness of the U.S. government’s holdings. But the 2020 contest for the Democratic nomination seems to be different."
"The Environmental Protection Agency published a 150-page document this past week with a straightforward message for coping with the fallout from natural disasters across the country: Start planning for the fact that climate change is going to make these catastrophes worse."
"The White House scrubbed language about how climate change fuels more extreme weather events from draft EPA guidance, newly released documents show."
"The Environmental Protection Agency is changing its approach to chemical toxicity oversight, according to a report issued recently by the Government Accountability Office. In the overhaul, the EPA reassigned staff from its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)—a program that conducts comprehensive scientific reviews—to duties related to the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has a narrower mandate. The agency has also reduced the number of its ongoing chemical toxcity assessments from 20 to three. Former EPA officials contend the shake-up takes chemical assessments out of the hands of career scientists, potentially to the detriment of public health."
"President Donald Trump's administration has launched yet another attempt to control the use of science in federal policymaking—this time with a memorandum to government agencies from the White House budget office."
"The Trump administration on Thursday confirmed that it will likely delay the release of a long-awaited plan that had been expected to open most of the nation’s coastline for offshore oil drilling, pending the final outcome of a recent court decision that blocks drilling off the Alaskan coast."
"Minnesota House members revealed Wednesday whether they believe humans are causing climate change. It broke largely along party lines: 79 lawmakers, including all 75 Democrats, voted yes, and 50 Republicans voted no. Five Republicans did not vote."
"When you're an embattled EPA administrator, it helps to have a well-connected lawyer. Last year, former EPA chief Scott Pruitt's legal defense fund received a $50,000 contribution from Diane Hendricks, a billionaire businesswoman and Republican donor."
"U.S. senators are fighting over the details of an approximately $13 billion disaster aid package to help these states and Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. But congressional feuding over disaster aid is unlikely to stop even after the current impasse is resolved. In a typical year, taxpayer spending on the federal disaster relief fund is almost 10 times higher than it was three decades ago, even after adjusting for inflation, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal data."
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