"Inside the Trump Administration’s Regulatory Rollback at the EPA"
"Betsy Southerland knew something was wrong the moment she walked into her office at the Environmental Protection Agency."
Source: ProPublica, 12/19/2017
EJToday: Top Headlines
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"E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email."
"One Environmental Protection Agency employee spoke up at a private lunch held near the agency headquarters, saying she feared the nation might be headed toward an “environmental catastrophe.” Another staff member, from Seattle, sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, raising similar concerns about the direction of the agency. A third, from Philadelphia, went to a rally where he protested against agency budget cuts."
Source: NY Times, 12/19/2017"China Unveils an Ambitious Plan to Curb Climate Change Emissions"
"China is the world’s No. 1 polluter. It burns more coal than the rest of the world combined. ... On Tuesday, the country set out to claim another title that reflects its ambitions to change all that: keeper of the world’s largest financial market devoted to cleaning up the air."
Source: NY Times, 12/19/2017"House Plan Would Increase Trump's Disaster Aid Request"
"Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled on Monday an $81 billion aid package to deal with hurricanes and wildfires, far above President Donald Trump’s $44 billion request."
Source: Reuters, 12/19/2017"EPA Seeks Comment On Carbon Rule Replacement"
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday issued a notice that it wants public input for a possible replacement of Obama-era regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that the agency is repealing."
Source: Reuters, 12/19/2017"Canada's British Columbia Province Bans Grizzly Bear Hunting"
"British Columbia on Monday banned all grizzly bear hunting in the western Canadian province with immediate effect, expanding on its existing ban on trophy hunting."
Source: Reuters, 12/19/2017Years in the Making, Organic Animal Welfare Rules Killed by Trump USDA
"The decision nullifies 14 years of policymaking in a process mandated by Congress, and marks an about-face for the agency."
Source: Civil Eats, 12/19/2017"Meet The Microgrid, The Technology Poised To Transform Electricity"
"The highly digital modern world also demands a more reliable grid, capable of providing high-quality power to facilities like hospitals or data centers, where even brief brownouts can cost money or lives."
Source: Vox, 12/19/2017Trump EPA Rule Change Exploits Taxpayers For Mine Cleanup, Critics Say
"When the Zortman Landusky gold and silver mine, located upstream from Montana’s enormous Fort Belknap reservation, went bankrupt in 1998, the cost of the cleanup fell on the US taxpayer. The costs keep growing."
Source: Guardian, 12/19/2017"EPA Chief Pruitt Had Office Swept For Surveillance Bugs"
"The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had his office professionally examined earlier this year to look for covert surveillance devices."
Source: The Hill, 12/19/2017"Tax Bill Largely Preserves Incentives for Wind and Solar Power"
"The final text of the Republican tax bill made public Friday largely preserves key tax credits for wind and solar power and electric vehicles, reversing language in earlier versions that could have slowed the growth of renewable energy across the United States."
Source: NY Times, 12/18/2017EPA Contractor Spent Past Year Scouring Agency for Anti-Trump Officials
"One of the top executives of a consulting firm that the Environmental Protection Agency has recently hired to help it with media affairs has spent the past year investigating agency employees who have been critical of the Trump administration, federal records show."
Source: NY Times, 12/18/2017"CDC Gets List Of Forbidden Words: Fetus, Transgender, Diversity"
"The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation’s top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in official documents being prepared for next year’s budget."
Source: Washington Post, 12/18/2017"EPA: Climate Science Debate 'On Hold' After White House Meeting"
"The effort by U.S. EPA to publicly debate mainstream climate science is on ice."
Source: ClimateWire, 12/18/2017Final Permit For Disputed Michigan Mine Gets Accepted. Tribe Digs In.
"As a massive open pit mine inches forward, Menominee tribe looks to legal remedies".
Source: EHN, 12/18/2017
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