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Author Topic: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment  (Read 213734 times)

Tom_Mazanec

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #600 on: October 15, 2019, 10:48:07 PM »
You are welcome. I’m a poor typist myself.

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #601 on: October 18, 2019, 12:30:51 AM »
Climate crisis will not be discussed at G7 next year, says Trump official
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/17/g7-summit-2020-trump-climate-crisis

The climate crisis will not be formally discussed at the G7 summit in June next year in Miami, Donald Trump’s acting White House chief of staff said on Thursday.

“Climate change will not be on the agenda,” Mick Mulvaney told reporters, without elaborating.

Quote
... “It’s deeply ironic that the US state most vulnerable immediately to climate change impacts will host a meeting at which global leaders will be forced by the US to largely ignore the topic”

Mulvaney announced that the 2020 summit of seven of the world’s most powerful industrialised countries will take place at the National Doral Miami, one of the president’s golf resorts in Florida, despite widespread ethics concerns and an ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump’s conduct.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

gerontocrat

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #602 on: October 25, 2019, 01:30:29 PM »
Ho hum.....

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/10/24/20927103/air-pollution-study-deaths-elderly-obama-trump
Study: US air pollution deaths increased by 9,700 a year from 2016 to 2018
The increase might be due to overly lax policies from both Trump and Obama.
Quote
Air pollution is killing more people during the Trump administration than it was under President Obama. Air pollution was responsible for 9,700 more deaths in 2018 than it was in 2016, according to a new paper by economists at Carnegie Mellon.

The researchers, Karen Clay and Nicholas Muller, argue that some of the increase is due to non-regulatory factors, like an increase in wildfires and economic growth. But they note a decline in Clean Air Act enforcement under Donald Trump that could be responsible as well.

The Trump administration has so far rolled back 24 different regulations and accords related to air pollution, according to a New York Times analysis, including rules around air pollution from refineries, industrial pollution of 189 different substances, and regulation of “haze” in national parks.

But the specific kind of pollution addressed in the new study is what experts call PM2.5: microscopic particles 2.5 micrometers or less wide (a small fraction of the diameter of a human hair) arising from human industry, including coal mining and burning, gasoline combustion, construction dust, etc.

PM2.5 can kill people in a number of ways: by causing “heart disease and stroke, lung cancer, chronic lung disease, and respiratory infections,” to name a few listed in a recent report from the Health Effects Institute and the Global Burden of Disease project. That report estimates that PM2.5 killed about 4.1 million people in 2016 alone through those mechanisms.
"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)

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #603 on: November 04, 2019, 03:10:26 AM »
EPA to Ease Restrictions on How Coal Plants Store Toxic Waste: Report
https://earther.gizmodo.com/epa-to-ease-restrictions-on-how-coal-plants-store-toxic-1839588546

In his ongoing quest to become a mustache-twirling eco-villain, Donald Trump plans to start rolling back Obama-era EPA safeguards on Monday regarding how coal powerplants store their toxic waste according to multiple reports.

As part of an initiative to protect local waterways in 2015, the Obama administration strengthened regulations affecting how these plants dispose and store contaminated water and “coal ash,” that sludgy byproduct coal plants produce where you can find a potentially poisonous concoction of arsenic, mercury, and heavy metals.

Now the EPA plans to relax requirements these rules put in place and exempt many plants from having to enact them at all, sources familiar with the matter told the New York Times. EPA Administrator and former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler told the Washington Post that the Obama-era rules “placed heavy burdens on electricity producers across the country.”

Companies have also complained requirements like lining coal ash ponds to keep them from leaking contaminants into nearby groundwater and adopting better waste management technology are prohibitively expensive to abide by. No doubt because coal is becoming prohibitively expensive itself compared to other renewable resources. And why would any business want to use its hard-earned money on something as frivolous as potable water?

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

kassy

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #604 on: November 05, 2019, 11:03:41 AM »
The US has begun the process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, notifying the UN of its intention to leave, as other countries expressed regret and disappointment at the move.

The notification begins a one-year process of exiting the global climate change accord, culminating the day after the 2020 US election.

etc
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50297029
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #605 on: November 13, 2019, 07:17:32 PM »
Scientists See Tobacco Industry Playbook in TRump's Plan to Overhaul EPA'S Public Health Rules
https://www.newsweek.com/scientists-see-tobacco-industry-playbook-trumps-plan-overhaul-epas-public-health-rules-1471303?amp=1

The Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to limit what scientific evidence can guide public health regulations echoes tactics used by the tobacco industry to invalidate science regarding the tobacco industry, scientists told Newsweek.

The EPA plans to require scientists to disclose all raw data before the agency considered a study's conclusions, The New York Times reported Monday. The proposal, which was described by the government as a step toward transparency, would restructure the process by which the EPA creates public health regulations.

... In a 1996 message sent by a tobacco industry lawyer to the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, a similar tactic is described. The correspondence—which was sent just two years before the United States entered the sweeping Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement that settled claims brought by 46 states and the District of Columbia against major tobacco companies—argues that RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company should push to restructure the process through which the government evaluates scientific evidence for regulations.

"It is critical to our overall goal that EPA not be allowed to change the forum into an industry-by-industry examination. Equally important, the process should not devolve into 'outdoor air' interest seeking to shift the focus to 'indoor air' interests," said the 1996 note, prompted by concerns that the EPA would soon re-evaluate policies relating to environmental tobacco smoke. "Instead, the efforts we envision focus on the process by which EPA arrived at its scientific conclusions, avoiding to the extent possible specific scientific issues, contaminants, or industries."

https://mobile.twitter.com/JohnDWalke/status/1194244737483624448

https://mobile.twitter.com/drdavidmichaels/status/1194029653746434048
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #606 on: November 18, 2019, 04:50:30 PM »
At Least 60% of Superfund Sites Vulnerable to Climate Change, Congressional Watchdog Warns
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/superfund-sites-gao-government-watchdog-warning-vulnerability-climate-change-today-2019-11-18/

Washington — At least 60% of U.S. Superfund sites are in areas vulnerable to flooding or other worsening disasters of climate change, and the Trump administration's reluctance to directly acknowledge global warming is deterring efforts to safeguard them, a congressional watchdog agency says.

In a report being released Monday, the Government Accountability Office called on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler to state directly that dealing with the rising risks of seas, storms or wildfires breaching Superfund sites under climate change is part of the agency's mission.

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-73

The findings emphasize the challenges for government agencies under President Trump, who frequently mocks scientists' urgent warnings on global heating.

Superfund Sites Located in Areas that May Be Impacted by Flooding, Storm Surge, Wildfires, or Sea Level Rise


GAO-20-73 Report: ... EPA has not taken actions consistent with one essential element because it has not aligned its process for managing risks with agency-wide goals and objectives, which do not mention climate change. Without clarifying this alignment, EPA cannot ensure that senior officials will take an active role in strategic planning and accountability for managing these risks.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

nanning

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #607 on: November 18, 2019, 06:40:42 PM »
^^
O oh. That is baaaad news for all life there.
"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly" - Bertrand Russell
"It is preoccupation with what other people from your groups think of you, that prevents you from living freely and nobly" - Nanning
Why do you keep accumulating stuff?

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #608 on: November 26, 2019, 10:45:51 PM »
Six Scientific Journals Denounce Trump Environmental Reform
https://phys.org/news/2019-11-scientific-journals-denounce-trump-environmental.html

The editors-in-chief of six major scientific review journals on Tuesday denounced a pending US regulation that would limit the scientific process for developing environmental and public health policies.

... The rule would require EPA rule-makers to use only studies based on public data, in the name of transparency.

Such a requirement would make it impossible, for example, to use the countless studies that were based on individuals' medical data.

This type of analysis—showing the effects of air pollution on quality of life—is the foundation of a large number of environmental regulations.

The EPA also intends to make the transparency rule retroactive, according to The New York Times, which could call into question decades of regulations on air quality, water mercury levels or lead levels in paint.

"As leaders of peer-reviewed journals, we support open sharing of research data, but we also recognize the validity of scientific studies that, for confidentiality reasons, cannot indiscriminately share absolutely all data," wrote the editors-in-chief of Science, Nature, PLOS, PNAS, Cell Press and The Lancet.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

TerryM

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #609 on: November 27, 2019, 02:02:38 AM »
^^
Important before the election because even the few Deplorables that don't presently subscribe to these Learned Journals appreciate it deeply when those that do subscribe meticulously, and at great length, explain to them just how and why they are wrong, and have always been wrong, then back it with indisputable, often indecipherable scientific ponderings. :-\


The 8 ball emporiums in every rust belt city will be abuzz with this important new information, particularly as the players recognize the gravitas that each Journal's editor wields. :(


The election results now are surely a foregone conclusion. Pass the Braised Brie & Party Like it's 1963! ::)
Terry


sidd

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #610 on: November 27, 2019, 09:03:47 AM »
Re: " 8 ball emporiums in every rust belt city"

I was just in one such, but in rust belt nowhere, nearest city an hour away. and guess what, i shot some 8 ball (and mostly lost, my elbow aint what it used to be)

Nyhoo, these guyz know that the water is being poisoned and the rain is getting harder and the winter aint cold enuf to kill the tree pests anymore and five hundred year floods are coming every five (those are exactly the words of a seventy five year old farmer running a thousand acres or so who genially taught me some lessons at pool.)

They dont trust the media. They dont trust the politicians. They dont trust the banks. They dont trust the government.

They burn a lot of diesel and propane and fuel oil and they see a carbon tax as another strip outta their hide, like the French gilet-jaunes (and yes, they know about them)

They dont trust no fee and dividend scheme. They know if the fee goes to government it will not come back to them, it will go to those who control the government, which aint them.

They know the environment is degrading. They just dont trust the government enuf  for a solution.

sidd

TerryM

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #611 on: November 27, 2019, 11:53:02 AM »
sidd


I miss the old pool halls & beer bars, though I've entered exactly one in the last 30 years. The wife and I were driving back from Reno and noticed a car we recognised in front of a cowboy bar in the desert south of Tonopah.
We stopped and ran into half a dozen kids we knew from an archaeological class we'd attended at UNLV. They were far from their base and headed to a petroglyph site reported by crews expanding the Tonopah airport.


I played a few sticks, eschewed the proffered brews, and we continued our journey home. I'd quit drinking a decade earlier, but the atmosphere, and the unexpected meet up made a welcome break on the drive. It's amazing how rapidly our skills deteriorate!


I don't know how to rekindle the trust of those whose lifetime of experiences have taught them not to trust. Once it's has been lost, it's damn hard to win back. It's something we need to succeed in if any progress is to be made.
How do you convince someone that this time it's different, that this time we won't take advantage?
Terry

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #612 on: December 12, 2019, 12:49:54 AM »
Congress to Halt Military Use of Toxic Foam Contaminating Drinking Water
https://phys.org/news/2019-12-congress-halt-military-toxic-foam.html

Congress has reached a deal on a spending bill that would require the military to stop using firefighting foam containing toxic chemicals linked to cancer, but would abandon efforts to place stronger regulations on the chemicals.

The bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act, has been the focus of intense negotiations for months. House Democrats saw it as their best chance to force President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency to increase its oversight of a class of chemicals, called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—commonly known as PFAS—that have contaminated drinking water sources across the country.

Senate Republicans resisted these measures, wary of forcing chemical companies and the Defense Department to undertake extensive cleanups.

But when hopes of a compromise faded last week, Democrats were left with little choice but to agree to significantly weaker provisions or kill the entire defense spending bill.

The bill that emerged out of a joint House-Senate committee this week had been stripped of measures that would require the EPA to designate the chemicals as "hazardous" and set a nationwide safety standard for PFAS in drinking water.

A proposal requiring contaminated sites across the country to be cleaned up under the Superfund program had also been removed, as had one that would limit how much PFAS chemical manufacturers could dump into water supplies.


... The military would also be barred by 2021 from giving service members ready-to-eat meals packaged in containers treated with PFAS.



------------------------------

Background:

https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,428.msg189529.html#msg189529

https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,428.msg189625.html#msg189625

-------------------------------

... Each Republican Senator & Congressman should be forced to drink a quart of this shit as a token of appreciation on behalf of a grateful nation.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2019, 03:20:08 AM by vox_mundi »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

kassy

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #613 on: December 12, 2019, 01:29:56 PM »
They should all drink Schaaps milk. And their kids too.
Þetta minnismerki er til vitnis um að við vitum hvað er að gerast og hvað þarf að gera. Aðeins þú veist hvort við gerðum eitthvað.

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #614 on: December 13, 2019, 05:42:53 PM »
Trump Mocks Global Warming, Lowballs Sea Level Rise
https://www.factcheck.org/2019/12/trump-mocks-global-warming-lowballs-sea-level-rise/

At a campaign rally, President Donald Trump mocked concerns about global warming, saying that oceans would rise just “... one-eighth of an inch within the next 250 years.” Although Trump’s comment may have been a joke — and not intended to be a prediction of sea level rise — his figure is many times lower than scientific estimates.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, global sea level is currently increasing by about an eighth of an inch per year, not an eighth of an inch over two-and-a-half centuries. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #615 on: December 14, 2019, 04:24:59 PM »
In Surprise Decision, US Approves Muscular Dystrophy Drug
https://apnews.com/cbf99519cea3c6762a7dc36f7bc55141

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators approved a second drug for a debilitating form of muscular dystrophy, a surprise decision after the medication was rejected for safety concerns just four months ago.

... In August, the FDA appeared to reject the injectable medication, sending a letter to the company that flagged risks of infections and cases of kidney injury in animal studies.

... company shares rocketing more than 36% in trading Friday. But some Wall Street analysts said the approval suggests loosening standards at the agency.

“The abruptness of the decision making at the agency does not inspire confidence, in our view,” analyst Debjit Chattopadhyay wrote in a note to investors.

... The drug will cost $300,000 per year for the typical patient — a child weighing 44 pounds, the company said. That’s the same price as Sarepta’s earlier drug.

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #616 on: December 23, 2019, 11:52:00 PM »
U.S. Government Says Verdict in Bayer's Roundup Case Should be Reversed
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN1YP0LD

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department said a federal appeals court should reverse a lower court verdict finding Bayer AG liable in the case of a California man who blamed its Roundup weed killer for his cancer.

The government said in a friend of the court brief filed on Friday that glyphosate, the weed killer's active ingredient, is not a carcinogen and as a result a warning on the label was not required as California state law demands.

The backing by the EPA and Justice Department comes days after Bayer asked a U.S. federal appeals court to throw out a $25 million judgment it was ordered to pay Edwin Hardeman. Bayer had denied its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #617 on: January 04, 2020, 05:42:21 PM »
Trump Starts 2020 With a New Bid to Ignore Climate Change
https://earther.gizmodo.com/trump-starts-2020-with-a-new-bid-to-ignore-climate-chan-1840802185

In its first environmental rollback of the new year, the Trump administration aims to weaken regulations that require federal agencies to consider climate change when assessing the environmental impacts of new infrastructure projects, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The proposed amendments would nullify a mandate from the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that requires government agencies to take the “cumulative” consequences of these projects into account, a government official familiar with the matter told the Times. This includes detailed analyses concerning the long-term effects of letting off additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and what impact rising sea levels and other consequences of climate change could have on a project.

These new regulations would also allow more projects to forego this environmental review process entirely as an attempt to streamline the approval process and eliminate hurdles for developers (while also forcing fewer projects to disclose any of their potentially harmful environmental impacts).

The Council on Environmental Quality plans to make 50 odd pages of revisions public on Wednesday, according to the Times. Instead of tackling the policy itself, these amendments would stymie its implementation.

... In short, just another step in the administration’s air-tight plan to ignore the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change away.

----------------------------------

Trump's 'Tremendous Work' on Superfund Sites Includes Not Funding Their Cleanup
https://earther.gizmodo.com/trumps-tremendous-work-on-superfund-sites-includes-not-1840795436

The Environmental Protection Agency under Donald Trump promised to clean up the most polluted sites in the U.S. Remember former administrator Scott Pruitt? He loved to go on and on about doing this when he wasn’t grifting. Well, turns out the EPA is doing a worse job under this dumb-ass president than it has in previous years.

The number of Superfund sites that didn’t begin cleanup last year due to a lack of funds is the highest it’s been in at least 15 tears. The administration released Superfund information at the end of last year, and the AP conducted an analysis revealing how little the administration has done to clean up waste sites. In the decade before Trump was president, there were an average of about 17 sites that weren’t funded for cleanup. This year saw 34 sites go without funding.

... Cleaning up lead and dioxins isn’t cheap work, especially when done right. Now, sites in 18 states, including New York and Wisconsin, as well as Puerto Rico, are entering the new year without any federal funding to remediate their problems. The Trump administration has repeatedly proposed cuts to EPA funding, including the Superfund program. Congress hasn’t made those cuts, though it hasn’t increased funding for clean up either. That makes it hard to add any new sites to the cleanup list.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

gerontocrat

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #618 on: January 04, 2020, 08:06:40 PM »

... Cleaning up lead and dioxins isn’t cheap work, especially when done right. Now, sites in 18 states, including New York and Wisconsin, as well as Puerto Rico, are entering the new year without any federal funding to remediate their problems. The Trump administration has repeatedly proposed cuts to EPA funding, including the Superfund program. Congress hasn’t made those cuts, though it hasn’t increased funding for clean up either. That makes it hard to add any new sites to the cleanup list.
Even if funds are available, the agency has many ways not to spend the money.
The other trick is to use Virement to switch the money to other things - e.g. A WALL.

Has anyone told the idiot that this stuff does not make the USA stronger, it makes the USA weaker?

"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)

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #619 on: January 09, 2020, 07:29:39 PM »
Trump Moves to Exempt Big Projects From Environmental Review
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/climate/trump-nepa-environment.html

WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday introduced major changes to the nation’s benchmark environmental protection law, moving to ease approval of major energy and infrastructure projects without detailed environmental review or consideration of climate change.

... The proposed changes would create a new category of federal actions, which Mary B. Neumayr, the chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, described as having “minimum federal funding or involvement.” Projects in that category could move forward without any assessment.

The changes would also eliminate the need for agencies to consider the “cumulative impacts” of projects, which in recent years courts have said include studying the planet-warming consequences of emitting more greenhouse gases. And they would set hard deadlines of one year to complete reviews of smaller projects and two years to complete reviews of larger ones.

Legal scholars and environmental groups, which are almost certain to sue to block the changes, said the proposals threatened to undermine the safety of communities by letting agencies ignore how rising sea levels might affect a given project as well as the consequences of higher emissions on the atmosphere.

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

blumenkraft

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #620 on: January 16, 2020, 01:06:57 PM »
Mark Esper, Former Raytheon Weapons Lobbyist, Is In Charge Of The Pentagon

Link >> https://www.citizensforethics.org/mark-esper-raytheon-weapons-lobbyist/

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #621 on: January 29, 2020, 06:53:41 PM »
Is Donald Trump Anti-Science? The Data Says Yes
https://phys.org/news/2020-01-donald-trump-anti-science.html

Is Donald Trump at war with science?

Repeated attempts to reduce funding for science agencies, unprecedented delays in appointment of science advisors, reductions in staff at federal science agencies, and an ever-growing list of adversarial rhetoric and actions suggest that he is.

Although the US Congress has largely saved science organizations from funding cuts, it has been proposed that Trump's systematic efforts to downplay scientific activity, expertise and scientific data may lead to irrational policies and decisions. ...

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

blumenkraft

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #622 on: January 29, 2020, 07:18:03 PM »
Quote
Is Donald Trump at war with science?

How obvious does it have to become, before this question isn't asked anymore?

It's obvious since he started using Twitter.

kassy

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #623 on: January 29, 2020, 10:43:17 PM »
Off course the issue goes way beyond Trump.

Yes he is but don´t let that be a distraction.

There are many efficient but more boring hatchet jobs done in specific day to day politics. Like that law which sounded like protecting patient data but was actually aimed at making large independent medical studies much more difficult (so big pharma can get away with BS).

It sometimes amazes how passionate people discuss the next president when you can also look at the track records. Obama...great speeches and TARP.

In general they get on TV a lot and their talking points get lots of time but a lot of the real business is done behind the scenes with lobbyists pre-writing laws etc.

And of course that gets low media attention.
 
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vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #624 on: February 01, 2020, 05:52:28 AM »
It's Friday ...

------------------

Trump's EPA Re-Approves Key Roundup Chemical
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480914-epa-reapproves-roundup-pesticide?amp

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has re-approved a chemical used in Bayer's Roundup weed killer despite concerns over its health risks.

The agency is doubling down on its claims that the chemical, glyphosate, doesn't pose a danger to humans despite thousands of lawsuits that attribute cancer to Roundup.

"The EPA found there was insufficient evidence to conclude that glyphosate plays a role in any human diseases," said an agency interim registration review decision.

The agency did find that glyphosate presented "low or limited potential risks" in birds and mammals.

.... "The Trump EPA's assertion that glyphosate poses no risks to human health disregards independent science findings in favor of confidential industry research and industry profits," Lori Ann Burd, the Center for Biological Diversity's director of environmental health, said in a statement.

"This administration's troubling allegiance to Bayer/Monsanto and the pesticide industry doesn't change the trove of peer-reviewed research, by leading scientists, that's found troubling links between glyphosate and cancer," Burd added.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

wili

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #625 on: February 21, 2020, 11:11:50 AM »
Not necessarily due to Trump (alone), but this definitely fits under 'assaults on science...'


Quote
The social media conversation over the climate crisis is being reshaped by an army of automated Twitter bots, with a new analysis finding that a quarter of all tweets about climate on an average day are produced by bots, the Guardian can reveal.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/21/climate-tweets-twitter-bots-analysis
"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #626 on: March 27, 2020, 01:08:41 AM »
Trump Administration Eases Environmental Enforcement During Outbreak
https://news.yahoo.com/u-epa-eases-back-enforcement-192959076.html

(Reuters) - The Trump administration has decided to ease enforcement of environmental regulations covering polluting industries to help them cope with impacts from the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday.

The decision follows requests by the oil lobby and other industry groups for regulatory relief as governments around the world scramble to contain fallout from the pandemic, which has infected nearly a half a million people, decimated travel, and forced massive disruptions in daily life.

----------------------

Let's see ... We just gave the oil industry a multi-billion dollar bailout and in grateful thanks they get to dump their pollution into our rivers and air scot-free ... win-win!
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Wherestheice

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #627 on: March 27, 2020, 04:54:27 AM »
The people of this country are gonna have to rise up here pretty soon if we want to have any meaningful future.....
"When the ice goes..... F***

wili

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #628 on: March 27, 2020, 05:31:41 AM »
Trump now has only about a 50% disapproval rating, nearly as low as he's ever had.

I've given up on hoping for any kind of rational response from much/most of the American populace, uprising or otherwise, sadly.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/
"A force de chercher de bonnes raisons, on en trouve; on les dit; et après on y tient, non pas tant parce qu'elles sont bonnes que pour ne pas se démentir." Choderlos de Laclos "You struggle to come up with some valid reasons, then cling to them, not because they're good, but just to not back down."

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #629 on: March 31, 2020, 02:41:12 PM »
New Trump Mileage Standards to Gut Obama Climate Effort
https://phys.org/news/2020-03-trump-mileage-standards-gut-obama.html

The Trump administration is expected to release a final rule Tuesday on mileage standards through 2026. The change—making good on the rollback after two years of Trump threatening and fighting states and a faction of automakers that opposed the move—waters down a tough Obama mileage standard that would have encouraged automakers to ramp up production of electric vehicles and more fuel-efficient gas and diesel vehicles.

"When finalized, the rule will benefit our economy, will improve the U.S. fleet's fuel economy, will make vehicles more affordable, and will save lives by increasing the safety of new vehicles," EPA spokeswoman Corry Schiermeyer said Monday, ahead of the expected release.

Opponents contend the change—gutting his predecessor's legacy effort against climate-changing fossil fuel emissions—appears driven by Trump's push to undo regulatory initiatives of former President Barack Obama, and say even the administration has had difficulty pointing to the kind of specific, demonstrable benefits to drivers, public health and safety or the economy that normally accompany standards changes.

The Trump administration says the looser mileage standards will allow consumers to keep buying the less fuel-efficient SUVs that U.S. drivers have favored for years.

Even "given the catastrophe they're in with the coronavirus, they're pursuing a policy that's going to hurt public health and kill people," said Chet France, a former 39-year veteran of the Environmental Protection Agency, where he served as a senior official over emissions and mileage standards.

"This is first time that an administration has pursued a policy that will net negative benefit for society and reduce fuel savings," France said.

Delaware Sen. Tom Carper, the senior Democrat on the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, called it "the height of irresponsibility for this administration to finalize a rollback that will lead to dirtier air while our country is working around the clock to respond to a respiratory pandemic whose effects may be exacerbated by air pollution.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

Juan C. García

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #630 on: April 19, 2020, 08:42:35 PM »
This is a Trump assault on Science that I was not expecting...
Quote
President Trump tweeted a series of all-caps messages Friday that Virginia, Michigan and Minnesota —states with responsible stay-at-home orders — should “LIBERATE" themselves. It’s not clear whether this was a suggestion for armed insurrection, as his Virginia tweet referenced the Second Amendment, or simply a grossly irresponsible call for Americans to congregate in protests at a time when large gatherings risk infection spread and possibly more deaths. Either way, by encouraging violation of state measures to fight the pandemic, Trump abandoned his position of a day earlier, when he declared that governors should call their own shots. Trump was already morally responsible for the lost lives that could have been saved by prompt action to combat the coronavirus. He has no national plan to ramp up testing, which is critical to safe reopening. He should be held accountable for endangering those people encouraged by his irresponsible tweets.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/19/hold-these-republicans-accountable-deaths-caused-by-recklessness/

Especially if the people stops looking to have a safe distance:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/anti-shutdown-protests-erupt-across-the-us-as-states-remain-closed-for-coronavirus/2020/04/19/7131ff15-ce3b-4034-8baf-903a3de1b997_video.html

Which is the best answer to Sep-2012 ASI lost (compared to 1979-2000)?
50% [NSIDC Extent] or
73% [PIOMAS Volume]

Volume is harder to measure than extent, but 3-dimensional space is real, 2D's hide ~50% thickness gone.
-> IPCC/NSIDC trends [based on extent] underestimate the real speed of ASI lost.

TerryM

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #631 on: April 19, 2020, 10:56:16 PM »
Juan


Probably the best we can hope for is that Darwin's demands come due prior to the elections in November. :P


Terry

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #632 on: May 02, 2020, 02:45:08 PM »
Trump Administration Cuts Requirement to Monitor Atrazine in Midwest Rivers, Streams

WASHINGTON— The Trump administration has lifted a long-standing requirement that pesticide maker Syngenta must monitor rivers, streams and lakes in the Midwest for dangerous levels of atrazine.

Citing the COVID-19 crisis, the Environmental Protection Agency granted Syngenta a reprieve from the monitoring requirement for the rest of 2020.

Due to atrazine’s well-documented links to reproductive harm in people and wildlife, Syngenta since 2004 has had to closely track the pesticide’s levels in waterways across much of the Great Plains and Midwest, where it is sprayed on corn. If water monitoring revealed that safety thresholds were exceeded, Syngenta was required to take steps to bring those waterways back into compliance.

The waiver of that requirement went into effect April 1 but the document was only recently posted on Regulations.gov.

“The public will now have no idea whether dangerous levels of atrazine are reaching rivers and streams throughout the Midwest. That’s absurd and reckless,” said Nathan Donley, a senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Syngenta should suspend the sale and use of this extremely toxic pesticide until it can safely ensure it’s not polluting Corn Belt waterways.”

The EPA’s decision to grant Syngenta’s request to suspend monitoring comes less than seven months after the agency denied the pesticide maker’s request for a permanent waiver from the Atrazine Ecological Exposure Monitoring Program. The monitoring program identifies areas where water quality criteria are exceeded and mandates action from Syngenta to bring those waterways back into compliance. Without data from this program there is no way to know if rivers, lakes or streams are being contaminated with high levels of atrazine, and no mitigations will be taken.

Atrazine, the nation’s second most-used pesticide after glyphosate, is banned in Europe but widely present in U.S. waterways and drinking-water supplies. Independent research and an EPA multi-year risk assessment found it to be extremely harmful to fish, frogs and other aquatic animals.

The monitoring program was implemented in 2004 as part of a condition of the atrazine reapproval that occurred during that year. In August 2019 Syngenta requested that the requirement be eliminated. The EPA denied that request because it “…has continued to show atrazine concentrations of potential ecological concern in the most vulnerable watersheds, even when stewardship programs are employed.”

The monitoring program’s importance was highlighted late last year when the EPA proposed a 50% increase in the amount of atrazine allowed in waterways across the United States. In increasing the amount of atrazine considered safe for frogs and other aquatic organisms, the Trump EPA’s plan reversed a 2016 EPA plan to reduce the levels by threefold.

In 2016 the EPA found that atrazine is commonly present in water at levels much higher than what kills frogs and other amphibians, whose populations are declining steeply across the United States. Numerous studies have shown that atrazine chemically castrates and feminizes male frogs, even at concentrations lower than the level currently allowed in drinking water by the EPA.

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-administration-cuts-requirement-monitor-atrazine-midwest-rivers-streams-2020-04-29
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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #633 on: May 03, 2020, 09:44:56 AM »
Don't see why the pandemic would prevent them from monitoring pesticide levels?

gerontocrat

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #634 on: May 03, 2020, 03:13:09 PM »
Don't see why the pandemic would prevent them from monitoring pesticide levels?
Trump & his bunch of fellow loonies are using Covid-19 as camouflage for a very significant roll-back of Obama-era and even much earlier environmental regulations.

If he is re-elected the damage to the ability of the land that is the USA to support life, including human life, will be be permanently reduced, and in some cases , probably irrevocably ruined beyond repair.
"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
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vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #635 on: May 11, 2020, 12:22:56 PM »
Trump's Environmental 'Blitzkrieg' Advances Under Cover of Coronavirus
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/10/trump-environmental-blitzkrieg-coronavirus

The Trump administration is diligently weakening US environment protections even amid a global pandemic, continuing its rollback as the November election approaches.

During the Covid-19 lockdown, US federal agencies have eased fuel-efficiency standards for new cars; frozen rules for soot air pollution; proposed to drop review requirements for liquefied natural gas terminals; continued to lease public property to oil and gas companies; sought to speed up permitting for offshore fish farms; and advanced a proposal on mercury pollution from power plants that could make it easier for the government to conclude regulations are too costly to justify their benefits.

The government has also relaxed reporting rules for polluters during the pandemic.

Trump’s ambitions reach even to the moon, which he has announced he wants the US to mine.

... “People right now are hunkered down trying to put food on the table, take care of people who are sick, worry about educating their children at home,” Gina McCarthy, formerly Barack Obama’s environment chief and current head of  Natural Resources Defense Council, said. “How many people are going to really be able to sit down and scrutinize these things in any way?”

McCarthy said the government was “literally not interested in the law or science”, and that “is going to become strikingly clear as people look at how the administration is handling Covid-19”.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #636 on: May 28, 2020, 11:23:45 PM »
New Trump Public Land Rules Will Let Alaska Hunters Kill Bear Cubs in Dens
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/alaska-bears-wolves-trump-rules-hunters

The Trump administration is finalizing rules that will allow hunters in Alaska’s national preserves to shoot bears and wolves, and their cubs and pups, while they are in their dens.



The National Park Service is reversing regulations written by the Barack Obama administration, which banned some of the much-criticized practices for hunting the predators, including luring bears with food like doughnuts.

Jesse Prentice-Dunn, policy director for the Center for Western Priorities, called the rule change “amazingly cruel” and said it was “just the latest in a string of efforts to reduce protections for America’s wildlife at the behest of oil companies and trophy hunters”.

... Peter Christian, a spokesman with the park service in Alaska, told the Anchorage Daily News that the changes will allow hunters to draw black bears, including cubs and females with cubs, out of their dens with artificial light; to use bait to attract black and brown bears; to hunt wolves and coyotes during the denning season and to shoot caribou while they are swimming or from motorboats.

“These harvest practices would be allowed in national preserves where authorized by the state of Alaska,” Christian said.

The Obama administration said its rules were necessary to avoid artificially reducing Alaska’s predator populations and destabilizing its ecosystems.

Trump’s Department of the Interior has consistently sought to expand access to public lands to hunters and fossil fuel companies. Last month, it proposed expanding public hunting and fishing access by more than 2.3m acres on 97 national wildlife refuges and nine national fish hatcheries.

“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #637 on: June 05, 2020, 08:22:04 AM »
Court Overturns EPA Approval of Popular Herbicide Made by Monsanto
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/04/monsanto-herbicide-court-overrules-epa

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law in approving agricultural weedkilling products sold by Bayer and two other chemical giants, ignoring clear evidence that the new herbicides would cause widespread damage to crops, a federal court ruled on Wednesday.

The decision by the US court of appeals for the ninth circuit invalidates the registrations for dicamba-based herbicides made by Monsanto, which is owned by Bayer AG, BASF and Corteva Agrisciences that are designed to be sprayed on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton. The court order effectively makes it illegal for farmers to continue to use the dicamba herbicides this summer as they tend to millions of acres of crops.

In a stinging rebuke, the court said it had no choice but to cancel the EPA’s approval of the herbicides because the agency had strayed so far from its duty to properly assess the dangers presented by the “new use” of dicamba.

“The EPA made multiple errors in granting the conditional registrations,” the court said. 

https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Court-decision-on-dicamba.pdf

Monsanto, BASF and Corteva Agriscience told the EPA that their herbicides would have low volatility and if farmers followed instructions on the product labels, they could prevent drift. But since the introduction of the new dicamba crops and herbicides, farmer complaints have been filed with state agricultural officials, reporting dicamba damage across several million acres in at least a dozen states.

The Guardian reported in March that Monsanto predicted its dicamba crop system would lead to thousands of damage claims from US farmers but pushed ahead anyway, and risks were downplayed to the EPA.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/30/monsanto-crop-system-damage-us-farms-documents
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #638 on: June 05, 2020, 01:19:16 PM »
Trump Waives Environmental Reviews, Citing Pandemic Economic Emergency
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/04/870098279/trump-waives-environmental-reviews-citing-pandemic-economic-emergency

President Trump is directing federal agencies to bypass requirements of some of the country's most significant environmental laws. The stated goal is to fast-track big new infrastructure projects to boost the economy, which has been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. But critics question the legality of the move, and say it would shut down input from those affected by such projects.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/eo-accelerating-nations-economic-recovery-covid-19-emergency-expediting-infrastructure-investments-activities/

Trump's order directs federal agencies to look for ways to avoid time-consuming processes and build transportation and energy infrastructure, including highways, oil and gas pipelines, and fossil fuel export terminals.

Usually big projects like these require long approval processes under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). ... It gives people a chance to see how a project might affect them and weigh in on what decision the government should make.

But the President is now directing agencies to look for ways to work around these laws.

... "Gutting NEPA takes away one of the few tools communities of color have to protect themselves and make their voices heard on federal decisions impacting them"
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

gerontocrat

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #639 on: June 06, 2020, 12:57:08 PM »
An article on how long it will take to reverse the damage done. Well worth the read.

https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/06/most-trump-environmental-rollbacks-will-take-years-to-be-reversed/
Most Trump environmental rollbacks will take years to be reversedA new administration could renew the U.S. commitment to the Paris climate agreement, strengthen air pollution standards, and more. But that will take time.
Quote
The Trump administration, after less than one full first term, has every likelihood of being adjudged the most anti-climate, anti-science, and anti-environment executive branch in U.S. history. With numerous high-level Trump nominees having cut their teeth as lobbyists with major polluting industries, the administration has been steadfast in weakening or eliminating major conservation and environmental regulations and programs.

Notwithstanding President Trump’s claims to want “crystal clean water and the cleanest and the purest air on the planet,” his administration has determinedly gone about reversing at least 100 environmental rules. While initial Trump EPA cutbacks under Administrator Scott Pruitt were hampered by his self-inflicted scandals, the agency under Administrator Andrew Wheeler has quietly worked to achieve many of the same ends. Wheeler’s environmentalist critics are fond of saying that he is “so bad because he is so good at being bad,” thereby often avoiding incriminating headlines that had plagued Pruitt.

The extensive regulatory cutbacks raise questions about how much long-term damage they might pose to air and water quality and to serious efforts to address climate change. With a presidential election now five months away, they also raise “What if…” questions about whether such cutbacks might be sustained or how quickly they might be reversed by a new administration.
(...........read on)
"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)

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #640 on: June 06, 2020, 11:12:41 PM »
Trump Rolled Back Yet Another Obama-Era Environmental Protection
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2020/jun/05/george-floyd-protests-donald-trump-hydroxychloroquine-live

The president signed a proclamation today that opened the Atlantic Ocean’s only fully protected marine sanctuary to commercial fishing.

Trump’s proclamation allows fishing to resume at the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, reversing a policy from the Obama era banning crabbing and fishing in the monument in order to protect endangered whales and other marine life.

Obama had blocked off 5,000 miles of the monument off the coast of New England in 2016 over opposition from crabbers and lobster catchers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/09/15/obama-to-designate-the-first-ever-marine-monument-off-the-east-coast-in-new-england/?itid=lk_inline_manual_3
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

morganism

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #641 on: June 16, 2020, 08:11:35 AM »
https://www.nytimes.com./2020/06/15/climate/climate-science-trump.html

A War Against Climate Science, Waged by Washington’s Rank and File

Efforts to block research on climate change don’t just come from the Trump political appointees on top. Lower managers in government are taking their cues, and running with them.

"survey in 2018 of more than 63,000 federal employees across 16 agencies identified the E.P.A. and Department of Interior as having the least trustworthy leadership in matters of scientific integrity.

Findings published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE in April on a subset of those agencies found that 631 workers agreed or strongly agreed that they had been asked to omit the phrase “climate change” from their work. In the same paper, 703 employees said they avoided working on climate change or using the phrase."

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #642 on: June 18, 2020, 09:27:19 PM »
Trump Administration Will Not Regulate Rocket Fuel Chemical In Drinking Water
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/18/epa-water-perchlorate-trump-rocket-fuel

US environmental regulators have decided they will not put restrictions on perchlorate – a rocket fuel ingredient known to harm fetal brain development – in drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency argued that the federal government, states and public water systems have already taken proactive steps to reduce perchlorate levels.

... The chemical disrupts the thyroid function and can harm the developing brains of fetuses and young children. The chemical has been found in the water, soil or sediment of 45 states, according to a 2010 Government Accountability Office study.

https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-769

Andrew Wheeler, the EPA administrator, said the decision is “built on science”, and “fulfills President Trump’s promise to pare back burdensome ‘one-size-fits-all’ overregulation for the American people”.

Betsy Southerland, the former director of the EPA’s water office, called the decision “shameful”, and “unconscionable”. She said the EPA in a proposed standard “cooked the books” in evaluating how much perchlorate in drinking water is harmful, using “uncalibrated models and an insensitive health endpoint”.

The EPA then determined that almost none of the drinking water in the US had high enough levels of perchlorate to be regulated, she said.

The agency is revoking its 2008 finding that no more than 15 parts per billion (ppb) of perchlorate in drinking water was safe. EPA in its proposed rule suggested 56 ppb of perchlorate in water would be safe.

Massachusetts and California have set their own standards far lower, at 2ppb and 6ppb.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #643 on: June 24, 2020, 03:37:36 PM »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #644 on: June 24, 2020, 06:02:17 PM »
US Moves to Exempt Companies From Reporting Harmful Chemical Releases
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/24/epa-pfas-chemical-releases-exemption-us

Federal regulators are crafting an exemption for polluters releasing harmful perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS) into the environment in a way that environmental advocates say circumvents a new law meant to address widespread contamination.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a rule Monday adding 172 PFAS chemicals to a list of those that are required to report when they release them into the air or water, or on land.

Dubbed ‘forever chemicals,’ PFAS have been found in drinking water around the country. They are used in weatherproof fabrics, nonstick cookware and firefighting foam, and they are linked with cancer, low infant birth weights, immune issues and thyroid disruptions.

Under pressure from health experts and states, Congress late last year directed the EPA to require better reporting on some of the thousands of PFAS chemicals.

Specifically, lawmakers said manufacturers should be required to report to the government if they release 100 pounds or more of the chemicals annually into a waterway. But EPA’s new regulation would allow them to bypass that requirement, as long as no single PFAS chemical in a mixture released exceeded 1% of the total.

EPA is also skipping the usual step of allowing the public to comment before finalizing the rule, arguing that because the rule is needed to comply with an act of Congress, EPA “has no discretion as to the outcome”.

... “Because these are forever chemicals … we’re living with what grandma’s generation used and we just keep adding to it,” Donovan said. “We have been overexposed for so many decades that we can’t afford another drop.”

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“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

gerontocrat

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #645 on: June 25, 2020, 01:01:29 PM »
The defence  getting themselves organised - (hoping for NOT 4 More Years?)
One can only wish them the best of luck, because assuredly they will need it. At least they have a wide range of friends (see 2nd quote below).

https://www.skepticalscience.com/43_steps_for_restoring_science.html
   
Restoring Science, Protecting the Public: 43 Steps for the Next Presidential Term
Posted on 22 June 2020 by Guest Author

A guest repost by the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF). Fundraising is not the objective of this article but readers may wish to know that CSLDF is currently conducting a summer fundraiser to support the important work of defending research scientists and research integrity from anti-science interference by politicians and industrial interests.
Quote

We’re one of the dozens of organizations working to advance good government, public health, and environmental, consumer, human, and civil rights, who today [June 11] collectively released Restoring Science, Protecting the Public: 43 Steps for the Next Presidential Term.

The COVID-19 crisis shows what can happen when science is sidelined from policy decisions or subverted for political purposes. When data is suppressed or manipulated, or medical experts and scientists are prevented from sharing their expertise with the public, the result is a dearth of information the public needs to operate safely during a pandemic—and more people get sick and die.

The politicization of science isn’t new, but it has escalated into a full-blown crisis under the Trump administration. In the Silencing Science Tracker we maintain with Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Law, we’ve documented 428 instances of science being censored or restricted since November 2016. Many of these actions pose troubling risks to public health.

The next administration must prioritize repairing the culture of scientific integrity in the federal government. Federal scientists must be free to pursue valid research and communicate their findings to the press and taxpaying public without fear of political interference or manipulation. Those in federal agencies who have decision-making authority on matters that involve or use science must fully consider the best available science. And much more.

This series of memos provides concrete steps the next administration can take to restore a culture of scientific integrity across the federal government. These would help rebuild public trust in scientific institutions and ensure that scientific evidence informs government decisions. They also represent simple, low-cost, good government reforms that would improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability.

The memos offer recommendations in eight categories:

  • Federal advisory committees
    Personnel policy
    Agency scientific independence
    Restoring strength to scientific agencies
    Whistleblower protections
    Scientific communications
    Data collection and dissemination
    Regulatory reform
We will share these recommendations with major presidential campaigns and transition teams. We encourage all who have influence over White House and executive branch priorities in 2021 to read these short documents and take them to heart.[/size]

https://www.csldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/restoring-science-protecting-the-public.pdf
Quote
ENDORSED BY..
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO / Californians for Pesticide Reform / Center for Biological Diversity / Center for
Reproductive Rights / Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) / Climate Science Legal Defense Fund /
Environmental Protection Network / Equity Forward / FracTracker Alliance / Friends of the Earth / Government Accountability Project
/ Government Information Watch / Greenpeace USA / Inland Ocean Coalition / Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health / Milwaukee
Riverkeeper / National Center for Health Research / National Children’s Campaign / National Federation of Federal Employees /
National Freedom of Information Coalition / National Parks Conservation Association / National Women’s Health Network / Ocean
Conservation Research / Oceana / Oceanic Preservation Society / Open the Government / Pesticide Action Network / Project on
Government Oversight / Public Citizen / Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility / Revolving Door Project / Society of
Professional Journalists / United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) / Union of Concerned
Scientists / Virginia Association of Biological Farming
"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)

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #646 on: July 15, 2020, 03:45:44 PM »
Trump Looks to Scale Back Environmental Reviews for Projects
https://phys.org/news/2020-07-trump-scale-environmental.html

President Donald Trump is expected to announce a new federal rule to speed up the environmental review process for proposed highways, gas pipelines and other major infrastructure, a move that critics are describing as the dismantling of a 50-year-old environmental protection law.

Trump will travel to Atlanta on Wednesday to announce the federal rule as he seeks to make it easier to meet some of the country's infrastructure needs. When he first announced the effort in January, the administration set a two-year deadline for completing full environmental impact reviews while less comprehensive assessments would have to be completed within one year. The White House said the final rule will promote the rebuilding of America.

Critics call the Republican president's efforts a cynical attempt to limit the public's ability to review, comment on and influence proposed projects under the National Environmental Policy Act, one of the country's bedrock environmental protection laws.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #647 on: July 20, 2020, 12:57:25 PM »
US Scientists Rebuke Trump Over Coronavirus Response and Other Affronts
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/20/national-academy-sciences-donald-trump-coronavirus-response

More than 1,200 members of the US National Academy of Sciences have rebuked Donald Trump’s “denigration of scientific expertise”, an unusual move for a community which has historically avoided the political sphere.

The co-organizers of an open letter seeking to “restore science-based policy in government” say they have rapidly gained signatures during the coronavirus pandemic.

https://scientistsforsciencebasedpolicy.org/

Scientists have watched the Trump administration downplay the crisis and ignore expert advice, including the need to wear masks and the dangers of using unproven drugs.

... “These repeated efforts to subvert sound public health guidelines introduce chaos and uncertainty while unnecessarily putting lives at risk"

... “It’s one thing for the political establishment not to respond very well to a crisis that happens around the world,” ... “It’s quite another thing to be actively denigrating the science and making things up routinely."

... “We no longer have the luxury, in my opinion, of retreating to our offices and closing the door and hoping bad stuff will go away,” ... “That’s a singularly poor survival strategy when you’re facing a global pandemic or global climate change. Bad stuff isn’t going to go away.”

... The Trump administration has ignored or silenced science so many times that the Union of Concerned Scientists maintains an archive of incidents. They range from contradicting hurricane forecasting to dismantling health protections at pork processing plants.

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #648 on: August 02, 2020, 01:13:51 AM »
US Officials Seek Limits On "Habitat" for Imperiled Species
https://phys.org/news/2020-08-limits-habitat-imperiled-species.html

The Trump administration is moving to restrict what land and water areas can be declared as "habitat" for imperiled plants and animals—potentially excluding locations that species could use in the future as climate change upends ecosystems.

An administration proposal obtained in advance by The Associated Press and publicly released Friday would for the first time define "habitat" for purposes of enforcing the Endangered Species Act, the landmark law that has dictated species protections efforts in the U.S. since 1973.

A final decision is expected by year's end, with broad implications for how lands are managed and how far the government must go in protecting plants and animals that could be sliding toward extinction.

Democratic lawmakers and wildlife advocates said the proposal ignores shifting threats to wildlife and plants due to climate change and habitat loss.

It follows other steps under Trump to scale back or alter endangered species rules, including lifting blanket protections for animals newly listed as threatened and setting cost estimates for saving species.

Legal observers said the Republican administration's two-sentence definition of habitat would limit what areas the government can designate as critical to a species' survival.

Its declaration that habitat includes areas with "existing attributes" appears to rule out land or water needing restoration work or sites that could become suitable in the future as climate change forces species to relocate, said J.B. Ruhl with Vanderbilt University Law School.

"To me, they are clearly trying to rule out restoration and climate change," Ruhl said.

... Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Democrat, said if the Friday's proposal had been in place decades ago, iconic species such as the bald eagle would not have recovered widely, and instead would be limited to scattered patches of land.

"The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to help endangered species flourish and expand back into their former habitat." said Grijalva, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

vox_mundi

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Re: Trump Administration Assaults on Science and the Environment
« Reply #649 on: August 12, 2020, 11:40:28 PM »
Quoting ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Judge Strikes Down Trump Administration Rollback of Historic Law Protecting Birds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/08/11/quoting-kill-mockingbird-judge-struck-down-trumps-rollback-historic-law-protecting-birds/?outputType=amp

A federal judge in New York has invalidated rule changes by the Trump administration that allowed individuals and corporations to kill scores of birds as long as they could prove they did not intentionally set out to do so.

In a blistering ruling that cited Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni ripped the administration’s interpretation of “takings” and “killings” of birds under the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act as applying only if the animals are specifically targeted.

... “It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime,” Caproni wrote. “That has been the letter of the law for the past century. But if the Department of the Interior has its way, many mockingbirds and other migratory birds that delight people and support ecosystems throughout the country will be killed without legal consequence.”

... Tuesday’s ruling was the latest legal setback for the Trump administration as it has systematically tried to weaken or nullify scores of federal environmental protections. In her decision, Caproni said the administration had gone too far.

The changes made by the Trump administration largely benefited oil companies, which have paid most of the fines for violating the act, according to an analysis by the National Audubon Society.

In the administration’s view, even BP, the company responsible for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that led to the deaths of an estimated 1 million birds, would not be liable for punishment under the law.

... The 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted after several species of common birds became extinct. The administration’s action reversed decades of efforts by Republican and Democratic administrations to protect the animals as they navigate the globe. The law covers such disparate birds as eagles, red knots, Canada geese and vultures.
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late