"Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke gave 10 of his acting directors more permanence in January, signing an order giving them most of the authority of a Senate-confirmed director."

"The Bureau of Land Management on Monday removed about 17,300 acres of land in central Montana from an upcoming oil and natural gas lease auction, just a week before the scheduled sale."

"Major utilities are finding evidence of groundwater contamination at coal-burning power plants across the U.S. where landfills and man-made ponds have been used for decades as dumping grounds for coal ash."

"John Konkus, a top political aide to U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, received approval from ethics officials to work outside the agency as a media consultant."

"Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt dismissed evolution as an unproven theory, lamented that “minority religions” were pushing Christianity out of “the public square” and advocated amending the Constitution to ban abortion, prohibit same-sex marriage and protect the Pledge of Allegiance and the Ten Commandments, according to a newly unearthed series of Oklahoma talk radio shows from 2005."

"It’s the car of the future. It’s taking off in markets all over in the world. The electric vehicle? Hardly. It’s the S.U.V., the rugged, off-road gas-guzzler that America invented and the world increasingly loves to drive."

"After last year’s calamity, officials are making the same decisions that put homeowners at risk in the first place."

A series of public meetings is revealing that even many Republicans from coastal states oppose Trump's offshore drilling plan because of the potential damage to beaches and coastal economies.

"Amid strong tribal, environmental and Congressional pushback to a planned oil and gas lease sale next week near Chaco Canyon, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has deferred action pending further study on possible cultural impacts from the sale.?