"U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's security detail reported protesters who disrupted one of his speeches as a potential threat, sparking an investigation by the agency's internal watchdog."
"U.S. EPA boss Scott Pruitt last weekend was slated to visit a Japanese plant that claims to be the world's most efficient coal-fired power producer. It's also known for its good looks."
"The Trump administration's push on infrastructure, its main legislative priority this year, is likely to call for handcuffing environmental laws to expedite permitting that the White House contends will save project developers time and money."
"President Trump’s former nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) chemical safety office is leaving his job at the agency."
"A group of scientists is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for blocking scientists who receive agency funding from serving on the EPA's advisory boards."
Local and state
enviro news
This is a decisive time on the energy and environment front, with challenges and confrontation expected over the consummation of the Trump deregulatory agenda. Our second annual issues guide provides a roadmap for covering the big stories. The guide's formal launch took place at an SEJ event in Washington, D.C. on January 26. If you missed it, the webcast is archived here.
The effectiveness of Trump administration governance looms large in environment stories for 2018, and this week's TipSheet looks at flash points like an Interior Department reorg and the reshaping of the EPA, plus budgets and shutdowns. Ideas to help you cover the story.
"Travel with me to the year 2100. Despite our best efforts, climate change continues to threaten humanity. Drought, superstorms, flooded coastal cities. Desperate to stop the warming, scientists deploy planes to spray sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere, where it converts into a sulfate aerosol, which reflects sunlight. Thus the planet cools because, yes, chemtrails."
"Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a land-swap agreement Monday to allow a small, remote Alaska town to construct a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, a vast wilderness area that has been protected for decades."
