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."

"Developing countries and climate campaigners are growing increasingly concerned that the UK lacks a clear strategy for hosting vital UN talks on the climate crisis, amid fears of a conflict of interest in government between seeking post-Brexit trade deals and a global climate settlement."

"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."

"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."

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

"The Interior Department plans to cement into regulation its 2017 opinion that the accidental killing of migratory birds isn’t a criminal act—a reversal of prior federal policy that prosecuted unintentional bird killings as a misdemeanor, Interior officials said Thursday."

"House Democratic leaders unveiled the outlines for a $760 billion, five-year infrastructure package on Wednesday — a proposal that includes an ambitious climate agenda but not, so far, many specifics about how to find the money." "The backbone of the plan would be a highway, rail and transit bill, of the kind that Congress enacts typically every four or five years."

"With a dozen state and local governments in court seeking damages related to climate change from fossil fuel companies, the U.S. Supreme Court may be the final stop for an  industry seeking protection from billion dollar verdicts."