Support the Arctic Sea Ice Forum and Blog

Author Topic: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment  (Read 213693 times)

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #200 on: April 19, 2017, 01:22:30 AM »
Did you notice when the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management website changed their header photo from a family viewing natural vistas, to a coal seam?

http://mashable.com/2017/04/06/interior-department-changes-webpage-coal-pile/

Well, now it's a bright shiny pipeline.  Crossing a river.

https://www.blm.gov
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Eli81

  • New ice
  • Posts: 45
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #201 on: April 21, 2017, 10:41:25 AM »
I don't know why exactly, but that caused me a good hearty laugh. I mean, if I were a denier, I would find that pretty hilarious.

We've got children at the helms of all of these important organizations who are out to play games.

It's like a scene from a bad movie. Except we're living it.

And the movie just started......

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #202 on: April 21, 2017, 03:45:35 PM »
The linked article is entitled: "The Carbon Brief Interview: Michael Gerrard", and it focuses on how both the Trump Administration and the GOP are assaulting climate science:

https://www.carbonbrief.org/carbon-brief-interview-michael-gerrard

Extract: "Gerrard on the election of Donald Trump: “In short, it’s been catastrophic.”"
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #203 on: April 22, 2017, 03:33:27 PM »
”Dow Chemical wrote a $1 million check to help underwrite Trump's inaugural festivities.”

Dow Chemical Pushes White House to Kill Risk Study Showing Pesticide Dangers
Quote
WASHINGTON — Dow Chemical is pushing a Trump administration that's open to scrapping regulations to ignore the findings of federal scientists who point to a family of widely used pesticides as harmful to about 1,800 critically threatened or endangered species.

Lawyers representing Dow, whose CEO is a close adviser to President Donald Trump, and two other manufacturers of organophosphates sent letters last week to the heads of three of Trump's Cabinet agencies. The companies asked them "to set aside" the results of government studies the companies contend are fundamentally flawed....
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dow-chemical-pushes-white-house-kill-risk-study-showing-pesticide-n749396
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #204 on: April 22, 2017, 03:38:55 PM »
 You can register to attend the March for Science today virtually.


Quote
Register to attend your local march

On April 22, 2017, join us for an unprecedented gathering of people standing together to acknowledge and voice the critical role that science plays in each of our lives.

*If you will be attending virtually, please select Washington DC or your local march and you will be given an option for virtual marching.

To register, all that we require is your name and email address to ensure accurate counts of participants.  If you have the time, please share additional details with us.  Our insatiable curiosity leaves us with many questions that we want answered — we can only do that with your participation!  For more information on our privacy policy, please click here.  ...

https://www.marchforscience.com/satellite-marches/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #205 on: April 22, 2017, 03:59:55 PM »
And yes, the March for Science is happening around the globe, not just the U.S.
  Eric Holthaus is live-tweeting march news at:
https://mobile.twitter.com/ericholthaus/


People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #206 on: April 23, 2017, 12:11:53 AM »
The March for Science stretched all the way to the North Pole
Quote
The Trump administration's assault on scientific evidence and research funding may have triggered the March for Science, but the more than 500 events around the world on Saturday demonstrated that the movement is truly global. ...
http://mashable.com/2017/04/22/march-for-science-photos-worldwide/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #207 on: April 23, 2017, 12:39:09 AM »
Even Trump's Earth Day message was anti-science
Quote
...
Along with some faint praise of America's "abundant natural resources and awe-inspiring beauty," Trump used Earth Day to talk about jobs.

"Economic growth enhances environmental protection. We can and must protect our environment without harming America's working families. That is why my administration is reducing unnecessary burdens on American workers and American companies, while being mindful that our actions must also protect the environment," Trump said.
...
http://mashable.com/2017/04/22/trump-earth-day-statement-anti-science/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #208 on: April 23, 2017, 01:13:19 AM »
The linked article is entitled: "March for Science or March for Reality?".  Hopefully, the public comes to realize that Mother Nature doesn't care what people believe to be true, only what is true.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/march-for-science-or-march-for-reality/

Extract: "Hostility toward the former is troublesome, but hostility toward the latter is the underlying issue

The Trump Administration is discovering that obfuscation, denial, and hype may work when selling real estate, but in public arena eventually reality has a way of biting you in the butt. And the public is watching. The March for Science may be lucky to capitalize upon a growing awareness that there is no Wizard behind the curtain. The number of marchers, their backgrounds, or even their myriad messages may not drive the success of the March. Rather, it may be driven by the harsh examples coming out every day that reality exists independent of the desires or claims of those in power. In this case, the greatest asset the March for Science has going for it may be Donald Trump himself."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

gerontocrat

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 20378
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 5289
  • Likes Given: 69
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #209 on: April 23, 2017, 03:51:55 PM »
Perhaps there are some reasons for hope that the Trump / Pruitt et al assault on science perhaps, maybe, just possibly produce some good.

- the Environment is getting a hell-of-a-lot more media coverage,
-It has forced scientists to come out and shout,
- Some Republican states and cities have joined the coalition against the White House on the environment. (Republicans go on and on about States' rights - so a Republican Congress may have some difficulty in demanding that individual States bow down to demands from the Federal Government),
- Some Republicans in cities like Flint must wonder about a Federal Government saying it's OK for industry to pollute the water supply,
- Some foreign Governments and the EU have said Nie, Nein, Nao, No, Nej  to any messing about by the USA to any retreat on environmental policies. It's a bit like Brexit - our politicians are finding not having a seat at the EU table somewhat uncomfortable.

For once I am being almost an optimist.
"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #210 on: April 24, 2017, 03:54:38 PM »
The Energy Department is reportedly denying funds for already-approved grants
The grant-making ARPA-E program was targeted for elimination in Trump budget.
Quote
After proposing to eliminate the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) in its draft budget, the Trump administration, through the Department of Energy, has started withholding money for grants already approved by the agency, Politico reported Thursday, citing two unidentified sources.

The hold on the money for the grants began last week, Politico reported. During his run for the White House, President Donald Trump promised to target federal funding for agencies, like ARPA-E, that promote clean energy technologies.
...
https://thinkprogress.org/arpa-e-funding-not-going-through-5da18dccd935
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #211 on: April 30, 2017, 01:48:00 PM »
People's Climate March

Climate protest takes on Trump's policies -- and the heat -- in DC march
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/29/us/climate-change-march/index.html
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

DrTskoul

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1455
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 210
  • Likes Given: 60
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #212 on: April 30, 2017, 09:34:27 PM »
The Energy Department is reportedly denying funds for already-approved grants
The grant-making ARPA-E program was targeted for elimination in Trump budget.
Quote
After proposing to eliminate the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) in its draft budget, the Trump administration, through the Department of Energy, has started withholding money for grants already approved by the agency, Politico reported Thursday, citing two unidentified sources.

The hold on the money for the grants began last week, Politico reported. During his run for the White House, President Donald Trump promised to target federal funding for agencies, like ARPA-E, that promote clean energy technologies.
...
https://thinkprogress.org/arpa-e-funding-not-going-through-5da18dccd935

Effing morons....

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #213 on: May 03, 2017, 10:22:17 PM »
EPA asks what rules to cut, gets earful about dirty water
Quote
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration got an earful Tuesday from people who say federal rules limiting air and water pollution aren't tough enough, even as it was seeking suggestions about what environmental regulations it should gut.

The Environmental Protection Agency held a three-hour "virtual listening session" on Tuesday to collect public comments by phone about which clean water regulations should be targeted for repeal, replacement or modification. The call was part of the agency's response to President Donald Trump's order to get rid of regulations that are burdensome to business and industry.

Both the phone-in session and the nearly 6,000 written comments submitted so far and published on a federal website were dominated by those staunchly opposed to the planned regulatory rollback. Many identified themselves as being affiliated with environmental groups. Others said they were taxpayers worried about maintaining safe sources of drinking water.

"I actually enjoy breathing clean air and drinking clean water and would find it quite burdensome not to," said Emily Key, who identified herself as a citizen worried about what cancer-causing chemicals children may be exposed to.
...
https://www.apnews.com/0268b0a422ae496fad051a9720588664
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #214 on: May 05, 2017, 05:42:17 PM »
The linked article is entitled: " US tells China it has ‘no plan yet’ to meet its 2020 climate target", and it indicates that the Trump Administration has formally stated that it has no intentions of meeting America's Paris Pact pledges.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/us-tells-china-it-has-no-plan-yet-to-meet-its-2020-climate-target

Extract: "The US has no plan yet for how to meet its 2020 climate target and has made no analysis of the impact of recent policy changes, according to an official submission to the UN.

The details emerged in a series of terse, repetitive answers to an international climate action peer-review process, known as the Multilateral Assessment. The US submission, which was published this week, says “jobs, economic growth and energy independence” are its priority.

The assessment process sees countries ask each other questions about progress towards their climate pledges. The process works on a rolling basis, with the US one of 18 nations currently undergoing review along with other major emitters Russia and Japan. Note that the UK completed its review last year."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #215 on: May 07, 2017, 12:03:39 AM »
When he was Attorney General of Oklahoma, Pruitt filed numerous suits against the EPA on behalf of fossil fuel interests in his state.  Now that he is head of the EPA, he waited to hear from the ethics office before he agreed to recuse himself from those suits.

Pruitt recuses himself from Clean Power Plan, WOTUS suits
Quote
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has recused himself from several cases that he pursued against the agency as Oklahoma attorney general.

Pruitt has signed a recusal statement, dated yesterday, which was obtained by E&E News under the Freedom of Information Act. The four-page document lays out several lawsuits pending before the agency that Pruitt has agreed to step away from during his tenure as EPA chief.

"This recusal statement addresses all of my ethics obligations," Pruitt said in the statement.

Pruitt said he would not participate for one year after his Senate confirmation in matters involving certain parties, including the state of Oklahoma and the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a public policy group involving Republican attorneys general that targeted environmental rules.
...
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060054153
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #216 on: May 08, 2017, 04:38:06 PM »
Why not just kill us all now?  Would be simpler.  :o  ::)

BREAKING: "The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research.

A spokesman for the E.P.A. administrator, Scott Pruitt, said he would consider replacing the academic scientists with representatives from industries whose pollution the agency is supposed to regulate, as part of the wide net it plans to cast."


https://www.facebook.com/marchforscience/posts/367901443604176
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #217 on: May 09, 2017, 07:51:27 PM »
Chicago mayor Emanuel posts EPA’s deleted climate change page
Quote
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s response to the Trump administration pulling down its website detailing information about climate change: putting up his own.

The new section of the City of Chicago’s website, launched this weekend, pulls data from the archived Environmental Protection Agency page, noting, “while this information may not be readily available on the agency’s webpage right now, here in Chicago we know climate change is real and we will continue to take action to fight it.” Emanuel is promising to build the site out more in the coming weeks, using city resources.
...
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/06/chicago-mayor-rahm-emanuel-posts-epa-deleted-climate-change-page-238067
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #218 on: May 14, 2017, 11:09:19 PM »
This is mostly about addressing the increasing risk of "the big one" in California, but the denial discussion fits climate change, as well. 

“Our building code only asks that buildings not kill you. It does not ask that they be usable” after a quake, said Jones.

Earthquake denial gets a lot harder when you stand on top of the San Andreas fault
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-jones-quake-05142017-story.html
(I got a "subscription options" pop-up, but it closed after a few seconds.)
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

gerontocrat

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 20378
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 5289
  • Likes Given: 69
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #219 on: May 15, 2017, 05:28:19 PM »
From the Guardian (UK)

"Trump is deleting climate change, one site at a time

The administration has taken a hatchet to climate change language across government websites. Here are several of the more egregious examples"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/14/donald-trump-climate-change-mentions-government-websites
"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #220 on: May 15, 2017, 10:10:39 PM »
Barry Myers, AccuWeather chief executive, emerges as front-runner for NOAA’s top job

"Should Myers be Trump’s choice, he has supporters on Capitol Hill, and appears to be in good standing with the House Science Committee."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/05/15/barry-myers-accuweather-chief-executive-emerges-as-front-runner-for-noaa-top-job/

Not mentioned in the article:
• The House Science Committee is anti-science.
• Accuweather's Joe Bastardi is a big time climate change denier.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #221 on: May 16, 2017, 03:36:31 AM »
Trump's EPA Greenlights a Nasty pesticide: chlorpyrifos. A Month Later, It Poisons a Bunch of Farmworkers.

"Anybody that was exposed, we encourage them to seek medical attention immediately," a California public health official stated.

Quote
...
Many public health experts, scientists, and environmentalists have for years been pushing for a ban on chlorpyrifos, and last year it was looking like the Environmental Protection Agency intended to instate one....

But in March, the EPA abruptly changed its stance on chlorpyrifos, greenlighting it instead of banning it. The decision, among the first major ones made by Scott Pruitt in his tenure as EPA chief, caused outrage in public health circles. Dow AgroSciences applauded the decision. ...
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/05/california-farm-workers-just-got-poisoned-nasty-pesticide-greenlghted-trump
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #222 on: May 16, 2017, 02:01:07 PM »
Barry Myers, AccuWeather chief executive, emerges as front-runner for NOAA’s top job

"Should Myers be Trump’s choice, he has supporters on Capitol Hill, and appears to be in good standing with the House Science Committee."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/05/15/barry-myers-accuweather-chief-executive-emerges-as-front-runner-for-noaa-top-job/

Not mentioned in the article:
• The House Science Committee is anti-science.
• Accuweather's Joe Bastardi is a big time climate change denier.


What's with The Washington Post. Is this simply bad reporting, or an effort to deceive?
Terry

Bruce Steele

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 2504
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 744
  • Likes Given: 40
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #223 on: May 16, 2017, 02:58:30 PM »
Sigmetnow, Chlorpyrifos is damn nasty stuff. It has rendered many watersheds in California sterile for insect life. This of course limits the availability of food for fish or other creatures further up the food chain. Dursban, Lorsban( Chlorpyrifos) is regularly applied to Cole crops and used  on wine grapes and almonds. I had been waiting for the EPA to ban the crap but the Republicans have their own priorities. Again will not see issue covered in mainstream media and so consumers of vegetables have no idea they are consuming this stuff or take any responsibility for it's effects on the 
enviornment. "What you don't know won't hurt you"  idiom of content. Keep on shopping.

http://www.dowagro.com/en-us/usag/product-solution-finder/insecticides/lorsbanadvanced

Click on Crops for an eye opening list
« Last Edit: May 16, 2017, 03:03:31 PM by Bruce Steele »

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #224 on: May 17, 2017, 10:38:59 PM »
Barry Myers, AccuWeather chief executive, emerges as front-runner for NOAA’s top job

"Should Myers be Trump’s choice, he has supporters on Capitol Hill, and appears to be in good standing with the House Science Committee."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/05/15/barry-myers-accuweather-chief-executive-emerges-as-front-runner-for-noaa-top-job/

Not mentioned in the article:
• The House Science Committee is anti-science.
• Accuweather's Joe Bastardi is a big time climate change denier.


What's with The Washington Post. Is this simply bad reporting, or an effort to deceive?
Terry

 If you are referring to my "not mentioned" items, I would say: 1) the House Science Committee being anti-science is well known by anyone who follows their actions (thus they may have been employing sarcasm, since WaPo covers Congress quite extensively), and 2) you may need to follow climate scientists on Twitter to know about Joe Bastardi.  I know he rants there, I don't know about anywhere else.  Or maybe that is not seen as relevant.  But WaPo's reporting is normally very highly regarded.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #225 on: May 17, 2017, 10:40:28 PM »
Trump’s nominee for USDA “chief scientist” is not a scientist
Sam Clovis, a climate change denier, has no background in science or agriculture
Quote
President Trump looks to nominate Sam Clovis, a former economics professor and conservative talk-radio host, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s top scientific position.

If appointed, Clovis, a climate change denier, would oversee projects ranging from food nutrition to the effects of climate change on crop development. Under the 2008 Farm Bill, this position is supposed to serve as the agency’s “chief scientist” and be chosen “from among distinguished scientists with specialized or significant experience in agricultural research, education, and economics.” Clovis checks one of these boxes. Maybe.

An early advisor to the Trump campaign, Clovis has a master’s in business administration and a doctoral degree in public administration, and appears to have no published scientific or academic work to his name. In fact, Kara McCullough, the recently-crowned Miss USA who holds a Bachelor’s of Science in chemistry, might just be more qualified to lead the office than Clovis....
https://medium.com/i-climate-scientists/trumps-nominee-for-usda-chief-scientist-is-not-a-scientist-5c2e16e3c04d
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #226 on: May 18, 2017, 12:32:45 PM »

 If you are referring to my "not mentioned" items, I would say: 1) the House Science Committee being anti-science is well known by anyone who follows their actions (thus they may have been employing sarcasm, since WaPo covers Congress quite extensively), and 2) you may need to follow climate scientists on Twitter to know about Joe Bastardi.  I know he rants there, I don't know about anywhere else.  Or maybe that is not seen as relevant.  But WaPo's reporting is normally very highly regarded.
I was referring to your "not mentioned" items


1)If sarcasm was the objective it was certainly well hidden from their readership.
2)Before there was a Twitter, there was a Joe Bastardi. Within a week of becoming interested in global warming I'd identified Joe & Tony as bad actors.


Washington Post's reporting is normally highly regarded, hence my post.


Terry
P.S.
I will pay more attention to what Wapo prints as the result of this.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #227 on: May 20, 2017, 08:23:56 PM »
Chairman of the U.S. House Science Committee.

Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas Has a Problem with Science – and with Voters
Quote
...
Smith has always been well liked by the energy industry — he has received more than $700,000 from the oil and gas industry over the course of his career, more than from any other sector — but his newfound power has clearly delighted climate deniers, as evidenced by the hero’s welcome he received when he gave the keynote address at the Heartland Institute’s Climate Conference in March.

Not everyone is pleased with Smith’s successes on behalf of polluting industries. National environmental groups are beginning to target Smith for being “one of the worst climate change deniers in Congress,” as Craig Auster of the League of Conservation Voters described him. And just as he is reaching the height of his power in Washington, Smith is facing a wave of outrage from constituents in Texas that could present the first real challenge for his seat in 30 years....
https://theintercept.com/2017/05/20/congressman-lamar-smith-of-texas-has-a-problem-with-science-and-with-voters/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #228 on: May 23, 2017, 09:38:15 PM »
The Center for Biological Diversity just sued the Trump administration over climate censorship.

Lawsuit Targets Trump's Climate-change Censorship
Quote
WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity today sued the Trump administration to uncover public records showing that federal employees have been censored from using words or phrases related to climate change in formal agency communications.

Today’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeks to require four federal agencies to release climate-censorship records, in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. The Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior and Department of State have failed to provide records requested by the Center or indicate when they might do so, violating deadlines established under the law.

“The Trump administration’s refusal to release public information about its climate censorship continues a dangerous and illegal pattern of anti-science denial,” said Taylor McKinnon at the Center. “Just as censorship won’t change climate science, foot-dragging and cover-ups won’t be tolerated under the public records law.”

The Center on March 30 filed Freedom of Information Act requests for all directives or communications barring or removing climate-related words or phrases from any formal agency communications. The records requests followed news reports that federal agencies had removed climate information from government websites and instructed Department of Energy staff to avoid using the phrases “climate change,” “emissions reductions” and “Paris agreement.”

The Center has filed identical requests with the Council on Environmental Quality, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

On March 23 the Center joined conservation biologist Stuart Pimm and the Center for Media and Democracy in a separate Freedom of Information Act request to prevent the administration from removing hundreds of environmental data sets on government websites.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, when federal agencies receive requests for the same records three or more times, they must make the records freely available to the public on their websites — a rule known as “the Beetlejuice provision.”

Records responsive to the Center’s climate censorship requests will be made available to the public and the media.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/climate-change-05-23-2017.php
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Archimid

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3511
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 899
  • Likes Given: 206
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #229 on: May 24, 2017, 02:47:54 PM »
More censorship. It seems that the fraudsters are settling in.

Interior Dept. censors climate change from news release on coastal flooding: ‘It didn’t add anything’

https://thinkprogress.org/interior-dept-censors-climate-change-89a4993400b3

Quote
Instead, according to three of the study’s co-authors, the following line was censored from the release: “Global climate change drives sea-level rise, increasing the frequency of coastal flooding.” The significance of the line is underscored by the fact it is the very first line of the study’s abstract. The Post reports that “the decision to change the news release came from officials at the Interior Department itself.”
I am an energy reservoir seemingly intent on lowering entropy for self preservation.

pileus

  • Grease ice
  • Posts: 536
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 45
  • Likes Given: 9
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #230 on: May 24, 2017, 05:16:11 PM »
The 2018 federal budget submitted by the Trump administration has been described as "dead in the water" given the extreme nature of cuts and defunding across just about every important government, human services, and science related program.  Here is specific detail regarding several critical ENSO and tsunami monitoring programs.  The final version of the budget will need to go through Congress, but here you see the intent of this awful administration.

Archimid

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3511
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 899
  • Likes Given: 206
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #231 on: May 24, 2017, 10:51:04 PM »
Trump is basically blinding NASA about climate change. This will be remembered as treason against mankind.

Trump's 2018 Budget Request Axes 5 NASA Earth-Science Missions


http://www.space.com/36989-nasa-budget-cancels-five-earth-science-missions.html

Quote
The other four Earth-science projects to get the ax in the proposed 2018 budget are the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite; the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) experiment; the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder; and the Earth-viewing instruments aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft.

I am an energy reservoir seemingly intent on lowering entropy for self preservation.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #232 on: May 24, 2017, 11:07:30 PM »
Trump is basically blinding NASA about climate change. This will be remembered as treason against mankind.

Trump's 2018 Budget Request Axes 5 NASA Earth-Science Missions


http://www.space.com/36989-nasa-budget-cancels-five-earth-science-missions.html

Quote
The other four Earth-science projects to get the ax in the proposed 2018 budget are the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite; the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) experiment; the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder; and the Earth-viewing instruments aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft.


He's following in Harper's footsteps, and it was this path that lead to Harper's crushing defeat.


We're hyper aware of denier screeds and may not realize how many potential voters care deeply about environmental issues. The loud, sometimes sponsored voices screaming out against AGW can make it seem a though they are the voice of the majority, but, no matter how many soc puppets one person manipulates, he still controls only one vote.
This budget will force every congress critter to put their name for or against the environment, then face their own constituents.
Bad for the environment, bad for Trump & bad for almost all Republicans. Should make the 2018 election interesting.


Terry

magnamentis

  • Guest
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #233 on: May 25, 2017, 08:27:36 PM »
Trump is basically blinding NASA about climate change. This will be remembered as treason against mankind.

Trump's 2018 Budget Request Axes 5 NASA Earth-Science Missions


http://www.space.com/36989-nasa-budget-cancels-five-earth-science-missions.html

Quote
The other four Earth-science projects to get the ax in the proposed 2018 budget are the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite; the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3 (OCO-3) experiment; the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Pathfinder; and the Earth-viewing instruments aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) spacecraft.


He's following in Harper's footsteps, and it was this path that lead to Harper's crushing defeat.

We're hyper aware of denier screeds and may not realize how many potential voters care deeply about environmental issues. The loud, sometimes sponsored voices screaming out against AGW can make it seem a though they are the voice of the majority, but, no matter how many soc puppets one person manipulates, he still controls only one vote.
This budget will force every congress critter to put their name for or against the environment, then face their own constituents.
Bad for the environment, bad for Trump & bad for almost all Republicans. Should make the 2018 election interesting.

Terry

extremely accurate statement, once upon a time when everyone was afraid from an attack by the USSR of some kind i always said that i'm not afraid because not one government in history survived agains it's citizens and the prevailing public needs and opinion. hence you're spot on, it will only add to the downfall of those who try to protect their share of the cake now and as someone else said in this forum, it will be remembered as a crime "treason" agains mankind. bold words but not in a mood to repeat the lot to go into details, bad for everyone, exactly as you put it, thanks.

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #234 on: June 03, 2017, 06:00:41 PM »
This budget will force every congress critter to put their name for or against the environment, then face their own constituents.
Bad for the environment, bad for Trump & bad for almost all Republicans. Should make the 2018 election interesting.

Per the linked article the GOP conservative base is energized by anti-climate tribalism.  I think that it is time that the GOP leadership man-up and take responsibility for their actions, and start embracing science rather than tribalism:

Article title: “Climate change as culture war: Trump’s Paris pullout is a giant middle finger to the left”

http://www.salon.com/2017/06/03/climate-change-as-culture-war-trumps-paris-pullout-is-a-giant-middle-finger-to-the-left/

Extract: “For American conservatives, climate change is not fundamentally understood as an environmental, economic or moral issue. Instead, it has become a symbolic front in the culture war that has metastasized in the past couple of decades, touching on every aspect of life, from how we eat to the kind of cars we drive.

“Tribalism has also entirely subsumed the US conservative movement,” David Roberts at Vox wrote on Friday. “The intellectual core has all but rotted; what remains are older, rural and suburban white men and their wives, angry that their tribe is being demoted from its hegemonic position.”

But American conservatives, including not just Trump but most Republican voters and the vast majority of GOP politicians, see climate change as a phony problem invented by liberals and made up to emasculate white men by making them drive girly little cars. It’s seen strictly in terms of the tribal struggle that Roberts describes. The fear of being contaminated by “liberal” habits runs so deep on the right that researchers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found in 2013  that advertising lightbulbs as environment-friendly made conservatives less likely to buy them.”
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Bruce Steele

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 2504
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 744
  • Likes Given: 40
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #235 on: June 04, 2017, 07:46:04 AM »
Abrupt, Maybe we liberals need to quit thinking we can somehow convert the conservatives and look at this as a battle the same way the conservatives see it. Hit'em where it hurts just like withdrawing from the Paris accords is intended to hurt, hurt us , hurt us damn liberals. So how do we strategically hurt the conservatives?  Hit'em in the corn, crush their soybean markets. Spread far and wide the pain just like they will continue to spread their agenda, an agenda of pain directed at us. And no , renewable energy won't break them in time. We have only two or three years not the twenty or thirty solar will take. You gotta hit GMO's like it matters, crush their markets. Bring down some economic pain on the people promoting Donnie and his policies. Not the Russia crap but bottom line war on the the people supporting his agenda. To some degree singling out his core base and crushing them. They have guns, they have rural votes but honestly they are economically vulnerable and with a little coordination they can be defeated fair and square, in the markets.
 We Americans are but 350 million of 7.6 billion people. The markets for corn, Mexico or Africa, or our Asian markets for soya are international and it is those international markets that can either allow republicans and their royal trump to drive down international agreements like Paris or on a larger scale ,international agreements in general. America first is a warning shot. But it is just like it is posed , America first and fight back if you can. A challenge to Mexico, a challenge to Africa, Pacific Islanders , Asia in general , Korea .  Do you want cheap commodities or .... Something like a future?

My post # 1000. What should be done will hurt me. I can take a little more pain for a future that benefits the greater good. This is a battle ,not a conversation. There is a lot of anger out there and we better know how we need to fight to win, or we won't.

FridaF

  • NewMembers
  • New ice
  • Posts: 3
  • Wider Horizons
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1
  • Likes Given: 8
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #236 on: June 04, 2017, 01:10:04 PM »
I like Trump. Finally someone is telling the truth without any stupid political correctness, for example about illegal immigration.

Neven

  • Administrator
  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 9470
    • View Profile
    • Arctic Sea Ice Blog
  • Liked: 1333
  • Likes Given: 617
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #237 on: June 04, 2017, 02:33:22 PM »
Welcome, FridaF.

I like Trump. Finally someone is telling the truth without any stupid political correctness, for example about illegal immigration.

That's another discussion. What do you think about the Trump administration's actions with regards to science and the large-scale attempt to make AGW denial official? Of course, there is some political correctness involved with AGW, but to me this looks like throwing away the baby with the bath water. And the bath tub as well. And the toilet.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #238 on: June 04, 2017, 04:48:56 PM »
Bruce


As a Canadian I see "Put America First" as a declaration of economic war. Not a hot war, but war by other means.


Trump drew the lines quite clearly, it's America against the world. While this may resonate in the "Heartland" it sounds, to me at least, like the bellowing of a well armed gambler who, after looking at his hand, demands that we play 4s wild. We may have a 4 in our hand, but that isn't the game we were playing.


Some will continue to play. Some will fold and start a new game without "The Donald". None will be happy.


Is Donald just a belligerent drunk who'll be fine in the morning? Is he a sadist who revels in the pain he causes? Will his successor follow his lead, or is this merely an aberration? Do Donald and Pence represent Twenty First Century America. Is America the country of Bush & Chaney or Obama & Biden?


Each country, every trade block, and all international players are asking these questions. Their answers will vary. Have Americans played fair in the past? in recent years? Have they ever played fair? Is America a good international citizen that follows the rules? When America claims itself to be "The Exception", what are they telling us?


We know that America has the most expensive military in the world, by far, but we know that the Chinese can build a high rise in 15 days. Do these fact matter? How do they matter?


I think that the world is holding it's collective breath. I think the questions above, and more, are being asked, and I think actions based on the answers arrived at are forthcoming.


America is not going quietly into the night. Neither is the rest of the world.


Terry

Väina

  • New ice
  • Posts: 3
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #239 on: June 04, 2017, 05:34:30 PM »

Extract: “For American conservatives, climate change is not fundamentally understood as an environmental, economic or moral issue. Instead, it has become a symbolic front in the culture war that has metastasized in the past couple of decades, touching on every aspect of life, from how we eat to the kind of cars we drive.

But American conservatives, including not just Trump but most Republican voters and the vast majority of GOP politicians, see climate change as a phony problem invented by liberals and made up to emasculate white men by making them drive girly little cars.
...”

I think one should be careful in interpreting polling results. Quite a lot depends on the questions and background. My impression based on the last 10 years of polling results is that the US republican voters still majorly support actions to curb AGW, if asked that. But the results might be different if the question is given as a choice between alternatives, depending on alternatives. Thus one can never be entirely sure unless the question is specific enough (for example, a support for a carbon tax of 100 USD per ton of carbon, with all of it equally redistributed to the US citizens as dividends according to the 100% carbon tax and dividend scheme).

I'd say the definition of true conservatives is the ones who try to follow the precautionary principle (trying to avoid type II errors).

I simply cringe to see tying conservatism to destruction and leftism to protecting nature. In these parts of Europe where I live, it is usually the other way around - true conservatives are the only true greens. In my view, tribalism is what happens when one destroys nativism.
So I guess the question is, how to more accurately label (tribal) groups.

PS. Many thanks to AbruptSLR and Neven and other posters here. I have been reading ASIB and ASIF almost since the very start of it. Trump is destroying EPA and US climate science, but he is not a conservative to my mind.

magnamentis

  • Guest
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #240 on: June 04, 2017, 05:35:00 PM »
Bruce


As a Canadian I see "Put America First" as a declaration of economic war. Not a hot war, but war by other means.


Trump drew the lines quite clearly, it's America against the world. While this may resonate in the "Heartland" it sounds, to me at least, like the bellowing of a well armed gambler who, after looking at his hand, demands that we play 4s wild. We may have a 4 in our hand, but that isn't the game we were playing.


Some will continue to play. Some will fold and start a new game without "The Donald". None will be happy.


Is Donald just a belligerent drunk who'll be fine in the morning? Is he a sadist who revels in the pain he causes? Will his successor follow his lead, or is this merely an aberration? Do Donald and Pence represent Twenty First Century America. Is America the country of Bush & Chaney or Obama & Biden?


Each country, every trade block, and all international players are asking these questions. Their answers will vary. Have Americans played fair in the past? in recent years? Have they ever played fair? Is America a good international citizen that follows the rules? When America claims itself to be "The Exception", what are they telling us?


We know that America has the most expensive military in the world, by far, but we know that the Chinese can build a high rise in 15 days. Do these fact matter? How do they matter?


I think that the world is holding it's collective breath. I think the questions above, and more, are being asked, and I think actions based on the answers arrived at are forthcoming.


America is not going quietly into the night. Neither is the rest of the world.


Terry

another great post, not much to add but as to building the high-rise in 15 days, one of the key factors in WWII and why allies finally won was the capability of the US to spit out thousands of airplanes of quality, tanks, vessels as well as jeeps etc, in "felt" no time.

so if we translate the capability of building a 30 story building in 15 days and high-speed rail tracks in "felt" no time and at quality as well, i think this could indeed be a factor should we ever get to the  point where it counts. i suspect that you perhaps even were thinking into this direction when asking the question?

since my current official domicile is still in shenzhen/prc i have a bit of an idea how things are going over there and i have to say that even though in switzerland most of the things are close to perfection, i'm permanently impressed by china, their ways, the quality as well as by their history, including all the stuff westerners claim to have invented while in reality they have ;) and long ago.

kudos,  a lot of good stuff for my gusto from your side, a lot of insight and much more valuable IMO than posting images that everyone has access to anyways.

i think the key to everything is how think and act while the analyzes would only serve to find out what (would be ) necessary while i have little hope that this world will ever learn the smart and smooth way, but to continue to learn the hard way for the umpteenth time.

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #241 on: June 04, 2017, 08:25:52 PM »
So I guess the question is, how to more accurately label (tribal) groups.

PS. Many thanks to AbruptSLR and Neven and other posters here. I have been reading ASIB and ASIF almost since the very start of it. Trump is destroying EPA and US climate science, but he is not a conservative to my mind.

Väina

Thanks for honoring me with your first post.  Tribal labels are tricky things and do not necessarily come from polls (for example polls indicate that 'conservatives' are more likely to acknowledge that climate change is real if the poll question indicates that geoengineering will allow society to address many of the negative impacts of climate change).  However, in my opinion, to effectively address climate change we need better governance, but to get better governance we need better politics; which is a function of tribalism and power; or rather, the reduction of tribalism in the Hegelian sense  that as the thesis-antithesis-synthesis dialectic progresses, dependence on '-isms' should progressively get reduced.

Best,
ASLR
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #242 on: June 04, 2017, 10:38:07 PM »

Magnamentis

Thanks


The US certainly did outproduce Germany, and so did Russia. By mid 1941 they had built more than 22,000 tanks - more than the rest of the world combined, and by wars end they'd produced more than 60,000 T-34s alone.
Chinese production, coupled with Russian production, linked by the 50,000k of Russian and 40,000k of Chinese electrified rail and the New Silk Road will give Asia a manufacturing and distribution base that will be hard to equal. When India and Africa are linked to the system, Europe will need to decide who is a better fit for her needs and wants. London received it's first Chinese rail shipment in January.


Trump may be helping them in their cogitations.



I'm of an age that I lived through the "Bamboo Curtain", in fact a much older cousin played in the Toronto Symphony that began the "Cultural Exchange" that eventually broke down the wall. He returned after months in China with wonderful stories, eg An elderly female harpist lost an outrageously expensive diamond ring her 1st day in China. It took months to catch up to her, but someone had found it in the street & turned it in to the authorities. No expectation of reward, just the knowledge that he or she had done the right thing.
At that time our propaganda depicted them as poor communist dupes living hand to mouth in little better than mud huts. His photo's showed well dressed, well mannered people in beautiful cities, living much as we would like to - except with very few cars at that time.


A Chinese friend here is doing post doctoral work at UW & another from Sweden returned after half a year studying Chinese ball bearing manufacturing. The world is opening up.


Travel, diversity, hopefully an end to propaganda. It's a wonderful world, if we don't screw it up.
Terry


Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #243 on: June 09, 2017, 09:49:35 PM »
Eric Holthaus:  Whoa. France just launched makeourplanetgreatagain.fr and is offering grants of up to 1.5 million Euro for climate scientists to move there.
https://mobile.twitter.com/ericholthaus/status/873229691385020416
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

pileus

  • Grease ice
  • Posts: 536
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 45
  • Likes Given: 9
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #244 on: June 10, 2017, 03:08:34 AM »
Dropping this here in the interest of keeping politics out of the "cars" thread.  Her once again we see the most willing and potentially effective checks against the Trump administration's policies to be at the state level and within the courts.  A group of attorneys general is promising a battle against proposed roll back of fuel efficiency standards.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AGSchneiderman/status/873185635519143937


Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #245 on: June 10, 2017, 03:58:30 PM »
pileus wrote:
Quote
... A group of attorneys general is promising a battle against proposed roll back of fuel efficiency standards.
...

This is so great.   Just the threat of taking it to court (plus the attendant publicity, should it happen) will give ICE automakers more pressure to take the switch to EVs seriously.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Csnavywx

  • Grease ice
  • Posts: 572
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 82
  • Likes Given: 2
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #246 on: June 11, 2017, 06:43:33 PM »
pileus wrote:
Quote
... A group of attorneys general is promising a battle against proposed roll back of fuel efficiency standards.
...

This is so great.   Just the threat of taking it to court (plus the attendant publicity, should it happen) will give ICE automakers more pressure to take the switch to EVs seriously.

Anybody know where they get the $1655 figure from? I can't find anything that matches it. There was a 2016 study, but it doesn't cite that number anywhere (it's much higher in most cases). The underlying data and assumptions made about cost tech compliance and net vehicle price increases going forward aren't exactly made clear either.


 

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #247 on: June 11, 2017, 08:43:29 PM »
 :o  ::)  >:(

Trump Names BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Top DOJ Environment Attorney
Quote
Jeffrey Bossert Clark, a lawyer who has repeatedly challenged the scientific foundations of U.S. climate policy and was part of a legal team that represented BP in lawsuits stemming from the nation's worst oil spill, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, was nominated by President Donald Trump on Tuesday to serve as the Justice Department's top environmental lawyer.
...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06062017/trump-names-bp-oil-spill-lawyer-climate-policy-foe-top-doj-environment-attorney
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25761
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #248 on: June 11, 2017, 08:49:59 PM »
pileus wrote:
Quote
... A group of attorneys general is promising a battle against proposed roll back of fuel efficiency standards.
...

This is so great.   Just the threat of taking it to court (plus the attendant publicity, should it happen) will give ICE automakers more pressure to take the switch to EVs seriously.

Anybody know where they get the $1655 figure from? I can't find anything that matches it. There was a 2016 study, but it doesn't cite that number anywhere (it's much higher in most cases). The underlying data and assumptions made about cost tech compliance and net vehicle price increases going forward aren't exactly made clear either.

Quoting an EPA report:
Trump fuel economy rollback will kill jobs and cost each car buyer $1,650
Quote
Trump’s misguided move to appease the ever-myopic U.S. auto industry would undo efficiency gains that will provide consumers $98 billion in total net benefits, primarily from reduced fuel use. Individual car buyers would lose “a net savings of $1,650” (even after accounting for the higher vehicle cost) as the EPA concluded in its final January “Determination on the Appropriateness” of the standards....
https://thinkprogress.org/trump-fuel-economy-rollback-would-kill-jobs-and-cost-each-car-buyer-1-650-aa2da0479b7d
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

pileus

  • Grease ice
  • Posts: 536
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 45
  • Likes Given: 9
Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #249 on: June 27, 2017, 09:06:24 PM »
Currently watching Dept of Energy Secretary Rick "Dancing with the Stars" Perry present on "American Energy DOMINANCE" at the White House press briefing.  It is a complete assault on science and reason and, for the lack of a better term, utter bullshit.

I assume this will get a lot of commentary within the climate science community (heads are likely exploding as we speak).  I'd encourage you to watch a replay if you can.

While simultaneously declaring the the "science isn't settled" and denigrating scientists, he is inviting a debate and dialogue.  Surely there will be many ready to accept this challenge.

Other themes are a new focus on nuclear power and what appears to be a massive expansion of fossil fuels, especially our good friend coal.  He is also making references to clean energy, which while welcome, appears to be more a deflection and attempt to distract from what is really a fossil fuel centric strategy.

Ironically, this is likely to create energy on climate change and fuel the resistance even more.