"The selection of the first Native American interior secretary and first Black male EPA chief highlights pollution disparities".  ... "With that selection and several others this week, Biden is sending a clear message that the officials who will confront the nation’s environmental problems will look like the Americans who are disproportionately affected by toxic air and despoiled land."

"The U.S. Energy Department on Tuesday finalized two rules easing energy standards on consumer fixtures and appliances, including one on shower heads after President Donald Trump complained some showers don’t adequately rinse his hair."

"Michigan legislators on Wednesday finalized a plan to borrow $600 million to finance the state’s proposed settlement with the residents of Flint, whose water was contaminated with elevated levels of the neurotoxin lead."

"Scientists reveal further details about the damage sustained under Trump — and the challenges for Biden in restoring science’s standing at the agency."

"Michael Regan, who has been secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality since 2017, is under consideration for EPA administrator by President-elect Joe Biden's team."

"Dozens of Trump political appointees are petitioning to become part of the permanent bureaucracy — a process known as "burrowing" that is common at the end of administrations."

"With the sun setting on the industry-friendly Trump administration and its “energy dominance” agenda for public lands, the Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday proposed leasing 2,100 acres in Utah’s Uinta Basin to tar sands developers."

"President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has chosen Brenda Mallory, an environmental lawyer who spent more than 15 years working in the federal government under both Republican and Democratic presidents, to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, according to two people close to the Biden transition team."

"A top Trump appointee repeatedly urged top health officials to adopt a 'herd immunity' approach to Covid-19 and allow millions of Americans to be infected by the virus, according to internal emails obtained by a House watchdog and shared with POLITICO."

"The Trump administration adopted a rule Tuesday that could shrink the historic habitats of plants and animals threatened with extinction, an action that opponents say will make it more difficult for them to recover."