How Trump's EPA is changing the environment.
On February 17th, the Senate confirmed Scott Pruitt as the head of the EPA. In his former role as the Oklahoma Attorney General, Pruitt sued the EPA on a baker’s dozen occasions. He's stated that he believes that greenhouse gasses and humans role in the Earth’s changing climate remain “unclear.” Under Pruitt, the EPA has cut budgets, been reticence on enforcing environmental laws, and the EPA’s Office of Science and Technology removed the word “science” from its mission statement.
Executive Summary:
- The Keystone XL pipeline was approved.
- Although not Pruitt’s decision, he recommended that the US pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, which Trump did.
- The EPA announced the repeal of the Clean Air Act, which was devised to shut down polluting coal-fired power plants, and freeze construction of new coal plants while replacing them with wind and solar farms.
- The EPA removed climate change resources from its website that local governments used to address climate change, curb emissions, and devise strategies for adapting to weather extremes. An EPA spokesman said the resources are available by searching through the agency’s archive.
- Pruitt’s security detail added a dozen more agents as the number of threats against the EPA head has increased “four to five times.” Pruitt also purchased a secure soundproof communications booth for his office at a cost of nearly $25,000, even though similar rooms already exist at the EPA.
- The EPA blocked three agency scientists from discussing climate change at a conference. The scientists contributed substantial material to a 400-page report about how climate change is affecting air and water temperatures, precipitation, sea level and fish in and around the Narragansett Bay estuary.
In 2016, Scott Pruitt said Trump would take "unapologetic steps to use executive power to confront Congress in a way that is truly unconstitutional." (Axios)
Scott Pruitt was personally involved in erasing climate data from EPA website and directed staff to manipulate search results on the site, according to a Freedom of Information Act request. (Think Progress / Environmental Defense Fund)
On climate change: "There is a warming and there is a cooling … I believe in crystal-clear beautiful water. I believe in just having good cleanliness and all."
Scott Pruitt told friends and associates that he'd like to be attorney general if Jeff Sessions leaves the administration. (Politico)
Trump tweets that the US could use some "good old Global Warming" right now while most of the Northeast is experiencing record-breaking cold weather. Weather and climate change are two different things: Weather is the short-term atmospheric conditions, while climate change is how the atmosphere acts over long periods of time. (The Hill)
More than 700 people have left the EPA since Trump took office and most are not being replaced. Of the employees who have left, more than 200 are scientists. (New York Times)
The EPA terminated its contract with a GOP opposition research firm after Senate Democrats said Definers Public Affairs' close ties to the GOP "presents an appearance of impropriety to which you as administrator should never be a party." (The Hill)
Witch Hunt at the EPA: Multiple employees have come under scrutiny after speaking out about the agency. Within a matter of days, requests were submitted for copies of their emails that mentioned either Scott Pruitt or Trump, or any communication with Democrats in Congress that might have been critical of the agency. (New York Times)
The EPA hired an opposition research firm to track and shape press coverage using taxpayer money. Scott Pruitt's office signed the no-bid $120,000 contract with Definers Corp. (Mother Jones)
Trump's pick to regulate toxic chemicals at the EPA has withdrawn his nomination due to his ties to the chemical industry. Michael Dourson spent decades conducting research that chemical manufacturers used to downplay the risks of hazardous substances. (NBC News)
Scott Pruitt will continue to roll back the Clean Power Plan despite a government report that finds climate change to be "unambiguous" with "no convincing alternative explanation" that anything other than humans are the cause. Pruitt said that the National Climate Assessment was part of the ongoing debate between scientists over the causes of global warming and the report won't deter him from rolling back the rule aimed at combating climate change. Trump has dismissed climate change as a "hoax" perpetrated by the Chinese in order to gain an edge over the US. (USA Today)
Syria will join the Paris climate agreement, leaving the US as the only country to reject the global deal. France, meanwhile, said that Trump, "for the time being," is not invited to December's climate change summit in Paris. (New York Times / Reuters)
The Trump administration approved a report that contradicts its position on climate change. The National Climate Assessment finds the global, long-term warming trend to be "unambiguous" and that there is "no convincing alternative explanation" that anything other than humans are the cause. Scott Pruitt, Rick Perry, and Trump have all questioned the extent of humans’ contribution to climate change. (New York Times / Washington Post)
Sam Clovis has withdrawn his nomination for the Department of Agriculture's chief scientist role after coming under criticism for his lack of science credentials (he's not a scientist) and for his role supervising George Papadopoulos. In a letter to Trump, Clovis wrote that he does "not want to be a distraction or a negative influence." Clovis is a self-described skeptic of climate change. (Politico / Bloomberg)
Rick Perry suggested that expanding the use of fossil fuels could help prevent sexual assault. "From the standpoint of sexual assault," Perry said. "When the lights are on, when you have light that shines, the righteousness, if you will on those types of acts." The energy secretary also said that while he thinks climate change is real, "I still think the science is out on" whether humans are the cause of it. (The Hill / Axios)
The EPA barred anyone that receives EPA grant money from serving on panels that counsel the agency on scientific decisions. In doing so, EPA head Scott Pruitt removed six scientists and academics from advisory positions at the EPA. Pruitt is expected to now appoint several industry representatives to the panels. (New York Times / Washington Post)
The EPA blocked three agency scientists from discussing climate change at a conference. The scientists contributed substantial material to a 400-page report about how climate change is affecting air and water temperatures, precipitation, sea level and fish in and around the Narragansett Bay estuary. The EPA helped fund the report. (New York Times)
The EPA removed from its website climate change resources that local governments used to address climate change, curb emissions, and devise strategies for adapting to weather extremes. An EPA spokesman said the resources have been archived and are available by searching through the agency’s archive. (New York Times)
The EPA issued new guidelines that claim higher radiation levels "usually" pose "no harmful health effects." The change is part of the EPA's "guidance" on messaging and communications in the event of a nuclear power plant meltdown or dirty bomb attack, and sets a level of acceptable radiation ten times the drinking water standard for radiation recommended under Obama. A 2007 version of the same document said that no level of radiation is safe and concluded that "the current body of scientific knowledge tells us this." (Bloomberg)
Scott Pruitt directed the EPA to stop settling lawsuits with environmental groups behind closed doors, saying the groups have had too much influence on regulation. Pruitt sued the agency he now runs more than a dozen times while he was the attorney general of Oklahoma. The practice of "sue and settle" is used by green groups to push the EPA to speed up regulation on issues such as air and water pollution, as well as climate change. (Reuters)
Trump nominated a climate change skeptic to lead the White House’s environmental policy board. While a fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Kathleen Hartnett White led a project to "explain the forgotten moral case for fossil fuels." She's written that carbon dioxide is the gas "that makes life possible on the earth and naturally fertilizes plant growth" and that "global warming alarmists are misleading the public about carbon dioxide emissions." She's called the Obama administration’s environmental initiatives a "deluded and illegitimate battle against climate change." Her TPPF fellowship received funding from the fossil fuel industry. (The Hill)
The phrase "climate change" does not appear in the EPA's draft four-year strategic plan. Scott Pruitt outlines his agency's prioritizes as a focus on the "core mission" of clean air, land, and water, "rebalance" the federal role in environmental regulation, and enforce laws "as Congress intended." The plan does not mention carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions. (CNN)
Scott Pruitt wants to eliminate the federal tax credits for the wind and solar power industries, saying the credits prevent utility companies from making the best decisions about power generation. “I’d let them stand on their own and compete against coal and natural gas and other sources," the EPA chief said. (The Hill / Bloomberg)
The Trump administration will roll back the Clean Power Plan. Scott Pruitt will sign the new rule tomorrow, which will override Obama's policy to curb greenhouse gas from power plants. "The war on coal is over," Pruitt declared. (Associated Press / New York Times)
Trump nominated a coal lobbyist to help lead the EPA. Andrew Wheeler, who is an outspoken denier of established science on climate change, would become the second most powerful person at the EPA. (New York Times)
The EPA will propose repealing the Clean Power Plan, a central piece of Obama's plan to cut carbon emissions from power plants, fight climate change, and meet emissions goals promised in the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump signed an executive order in March directing the EPA to start the legal process of withdrawing and rewriting the Clean Power Plan. The EPA will solicit input on “developing a rule similarly intended to reduce CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel electric utility generating units.” (Reuters)
Scott Pruitt has held almost daily meetings with top corporate executives and lobbyists from all the sectors that he regulates. The EPA chief has held almost no meetings with environmental groups or consumer or public health advocates. (New York Times)
Tom Price will repay taxpayers for his private jet travel, saying "I regret the concerns this has raised regarding the use of taxpayer dollars." He added: "The taxpayers won’t pay a dime for my seat on those planes." Price has taken at least 26 charter flights costing more than $400,000 since May to conduct official business. Price, however, will only reimburse taxpayers for just under $52,000. Meanwhile, EPA chief Scott Pruitt has taken at least four noncommercial and military flights since mid-February, costing taxpayers more than $58,000. House Democrats introduced legislation to prevent Trump administration officials from using private jets with taxpayers funds. (Politico / Washington Post / The Hill)
Nicaragua plans to join the Paris Agreement "soon," leaving the United States and Syria as the only two countries outside the climate pact. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega had previously refused to enter the agreement because it did not go far enough in combatting climate change and was "not very strict with the richest nations of the planet." (Bloomberg / CleanTechnica)
Trump visited Florida, where he praised recovery efforts and contradicted his previous comments on hurricanes. In Naples, he and Melania passed out sandwiches. When asked about climate change, Trump said "we've had bigger storms than this." He'd previously called Hurricane Irma "of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen." (Orlando Sentinel / CNN)
Scott Pruitt doesn't want to talk about climate change right now. The EPA chief said that with Hurricane Irma, “to have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm – versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm – is misplaced." Experts have said that climate change has contributed to the increased strength of hurricanes this season. (CNN)
The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a $10 million spending bill to help fund the United Nations’ climate change group that oversees the Paris Climate Agreement, despite Trump’s decision to stop funding it. The panel approved funding for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (Reuters)
Almost 400 EPA employees have left the agency in recent days, mostly due to buyouts. When combined with retirements in the same time window, the departures amount to a workforce reduction of about 2.5%. (Wall Street Journal)
The EPA hasn't visited 13 of the 41 Superfund sites in Texas that are “experiencing possible damage” because they had “not been accessible by response personnel." The Associated Press, however, accessed 12 of the sites by vehicle or on foot, and used a boat to reach that last Houston-area Superfund site that was flooded. The EPA, citing Breitbart, labeled the Associated Press' reporting as “misleading” but did not dispute any of the facts of the story. (Associated Press / New York Magazine)
Trump's pick to lead NASA doesn't believe that humans are causing climate change. Representative Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma would be the first elected official to hold the job and will need to be confirmed by the Senate. The two senators who represent Florida's Space Coast have publicly objected to the choice of a politician as head of the space agency. (NPR/ New York Times)
Less than two weeks before Hurricane Harvey, Trump rescinded Obama's coastal flood protections, which required federal, state, and local agencies to take steps to protect infrastructure from flooding caused by climate change. The Federal Flood Risk Management Standard aimed to “reduce the risk and cost of future flood disasters” and “help ensure federal projects last as long as intended." (HuffPost)
Scott Pruitt cast doubt on the idea that climate change poses a threat to the US, despite a recent report concluding that Americans are already feeling the effects of climate change. The EPA chief called for “red team/blue team” to try and challenge what he says is “so-called settled science” on climate change. Pruitt is skeptical of the scientific consensus that human activity is far and away the primary cause of climate change. NOAA and the American Meteorological Society published their annual "State of the Climate" report today, which concludes that 2016 was the third consecutive warmest year on record in 137 years of record keeping, with the highest levels of greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level, and sea surface temperature. (The Hill)
Scientists fear the Trump administration could suppress a report that concludes climate change is real and Americans are already feeling its effects. The findings contradict Trump and members of his cabinet who claim that the human contribution to climate change is uncertain. The report finds it “extremely likely” that more than half of the global mean temperature increase since 1951 can be linked to humans. (New York Times)
The EPA is one of 13 agencies that must approve the report by August 18th, which is headed by Scott Pruitt, who has said he does not believe that carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming.
Read the Draft of the Climate Change Report. The draft report by scientists from 13 federal agencies concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now. (New York Times)
The USDA is censoring the use of "climate change" and advising staff to use the phrase "weather extremes" instead. A series of emails from February between staff at a USDA unit that oversees farmers’ land conservation shows the incoming Trump administration's impact on language by federal employees around climate change. Instead of “climate change adaption," staff were told to use “resilience to weather extremes.” Instead of “reduce greenhouse gases," use "build soil organic matter, increase nutrient use efficiency." (The Guardian)
The Trump administration will notify the United Nations today that the US intends to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, despite planning to participate in UN climate negotiations later this year. Under the terms of the Paris deal, the US can’t fully withdraw until one day after the next presidential election. (New York Times / Politico)
A federal court blocked the EPA's effort to suspend an Obama restriction on methane emissions from new oil and gas wells. The court concluded that the EPA could reconsider a 2016 rule limiting methane and smog-forming pollutants emitted by oil and gas wells, but couldn't delay the effective date while it rewrites the regulation. The EPA had proposed extending the initial delay to two years. (New York Times / Washington Post)
Scott Pruitt is launching an initiative to "critique" climate science at the EPA. Pruitt's stated that he believes the climate is changing and humans have some role, but is skeptical that greenhouse gases are the primary cause of climate change, despite overwhelming scientific consensus. (Climatewire / The Hill)
The EPA, the Army, and the US Army Corps of Engineers are proposing a new rule to rollback Obama's Waters of the United States. Scott Pruitt's EPA has prioritized the economic concerns of industry and agricultural interests over environmental concerns. (Wall Street Journal)
Rick Perry wants an "intellectual conversation" about the impacts of humans on the climate. While Perry said he believes in climate change, he doesn't believe carbon dioxide is the main driver of climate change, putting him at odds with climate scientists. (Politico)
Michael Bloomberg tells Trump to "stop tweeting and focus on running the government." The former mayor of New York City added that Trump's refusal to acknowledge that climate change is real is an embarrassment. "No reputable person or scientist doubts that we are creating an environmental and a climate change problem," he said. (CNN)
The EPA plans to buy out more than 1,200 employees this summer as part of a push by the administration to shrink the agency Trump once promised to eliminate “in almost every form.” It would be about an 8% reduction of the current 15,000-person EPA workforce. The administration has also proposed a 31% cut to the EPA budget. (Washington Post)
poll/ 18% of Americans support Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord. 44% of Americans are "very concerned" and 26% are "moderately concerned" that withdrawing from the agreement will hurt the country’s standing in the world. 64% of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the issue of climate change, with 34% approving. (Associated Press)
Energy Secretary Rick Perry said he doesn't believe CO2 emissions from human activity are the primary driver of climate change, a view that is at odds with the conclusions of the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (CNBC)
The Energy Department closed its office working on climate change abroad. The office was formed in 2010 to help the United States provide technical advice to other nations seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (New York Times)
Scott Pruitt falsely claimed that "almost 50,000 jobs" have been added in coal. The actual gains were in "mining" jobs, which have nothing to do with coal. 1,000 coal jobs have been added since Trump became president. (Washington Post)
Cities, states, and companies are banding together to form a climate alliance. Washington, California, and New York – representing about a fifth of the US economy – have formed the United States Climate Alliance, which will serve as a way for states interested in dealing with climate change to coordinate. At least 80 mayors, three governors, more than 80 university presidents, and more than 100 businesses are preparing to submit a plan to the UN pledging to meet the United States’ greenhouse gas emission target, despite Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / NBC News)
Michael Bloomberg pledges $15 million to help foot the Paris Climate Agreement bill. Bloomberg Philanthropies and its partners will cover part of the United States' share of the operating budget. Trump's budget could cut as much as $2 billion in funding for UN climate change programs as a result of leaving the Paris agreement. (CNN Money)
poll/ A majority of Americans in every state say that the US should participate in the Paris Climate Agreement. 69% of all voters say the US should participate in the agreement, while 47% of Trump voters want the US to participate. (Yale - Climate Change in the American Mind)
Trump will withdraw from the Paris climate deal. A small team is now deciding on whether to initiate a full withdrawal, which could take 3 years, or exit the underlying United Nations climate change treaty, which would be a faster, more extreme move. World leaders, the Pope, major oil companies, and even Ivanka and Kushner have pushed Trump to stay in the deal. (Axios / Politico / New York Times)
Trump privately said he plans to leave the Paris agreement on climate change, despite his public position that he hasn't made up his mind. Leaving the Paris agreement is the biggest thing Trump could do to unwind Obama's climate policies and signal to the rest of the world that climate change isn't a priority for his administration. (Axios)
Pope Francis urged Trump to meet US commitments on climate change. He gave Trump copy of his 2015 encyclical (a type of papal document used for significant or important issues) calling for urgent, drastic cuts in fossil-fuel emissions. Trump has called climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. (Bloomberg)
EPA – 31.4% decrease
The EPA may allow a massive gold and copper mine at the headwaters of one of Alaska’s salmon fisheries. The Trump administration will allow a Canadian-owned company to seek a federal permit to build a mine near Bristol Bay. In 2014, the EPA released a study that concluded large-scale mining in the bay posed significant risk to salmon and could adversely affect Alaska Natives in the region. (Associated Press)
Rex Tillerson signed a declaration acknowledging climate change. The move is at odds with the Trump administration's skepticism of climate change and comes at a time when he is weighing a potential withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. The Fairbanks Declaration acknowledges the threat posed by climate change to the Arctic and the need for action to curb its impact on the region. (The Hill)
The EPA dismissed half of its scientific advisers on a review board, which provides guidance on whether research has sufficient rigor and integrity. The move, which Scott Pruitt cited as his desire to make a “clean break” with the Obama administration, came as a surprise to members of the board, who had been informed both in January and recently by EPA career staff members, that they would be kept on for another term. (Washington Post / New York Times)
The EPA removed its climate science site the day before march on Washington. The website previously housed data on greenhouse gas emissions and reports on the effects of climate change and its impact on human health. (The Guardian)
Corporate America is uniting on climate change. While consumer brands and industrial giants have been supporting government action on climate change for years, the biggest and most important US energy companies are now dropping their resistance to a global climate deal. The consensus is the broadest it's been in a decade. (Axios)
The EPA becomes a target after Trump asks manufacturers how to boost domestic manufacturing. Nearly half of the 168 recommendations submitted were aimed at the EPA. (Washington Post)
Scott Pruitt called for an "exit" from the Paris climate agreement. It's the first time a high-ranking official has explicitly disavowed the agreement endorsed by nearly 200 countries to fight climate change. It would takes three years under the accord's terms for a party to withdraw, followed by a one-year waiting period — about the same length as Trump’s first term in office. (Washington Post)
Scott Pruitt will receive around-the-clock security detail as the EPA budget shrinks by 31%. The proposed budget would double the agency’s infrastructure and operations staff as it gets slashed from $8.1 billion to $5.7 billion, eliminating a quarter of the agency’s 15,000 jobs. (New York Times)
The EPA moves to dismantle programs that protect kids from lead paint. The proposed cuts would roll back programs aimed at reducing lead risks by $16.61 million and more than 70 employees. 38 million U.S. homes contain lead-based paint. (Washington Post)
The Energy Department's climate office banned the use of the phrase "climate change." It's also the only office with the word "climate" in its name. Staff were told not to use "emissions reduction" or the "Paris Agreement" in written memos or briefings. (Politico)
EPA chief Scott Pruitt rejected the agency's scientific conclusion to permanently ban one of the most widely used insecticides at farms nationwide. The agency’s own chemical safety experts said that exposure to chlorpyrifos potentially causes learning and memory declines. The insecticide was banned in 2000 for use in most household settings, but is still used at about 40,000 farms on about 50 different types of crops, ranging from almonds to apples. (New York Times)
Trump signs an executive order to dismantle Obama's climate change policies. Trump celebrated the move as a way to promote energy independence and restore thousands of lost coal industry jobs. The executive order directs the EPA to start the legal process of withdrawing and rewriting the Clean Power Plan. (New York Times)
EPA chief Scott Pruitt says Trump will sign a new executive order this week that unravels Obama's plan to curb global warming. The order will undo the Clean Power Plan, which restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants. (Talking Points Memo)
The White House is preparing to dismantle Obama’s climate change policy. Trump will order Scott Pruitt, EPA chief, to withdraw and rewrite a set of Obama-era regulations known as the Clean Power Plan, which was devised to shut down hundreds of heavily polluting coal-fired power plants and freeze construction of new coal plants, while replacing them with vast wind and solar farms. (New York Times)
Trump's budget slashes funds for the EPA and State Department. The budget would funnel an additional $54 billion into defense programs, beef up immigration enforcement, and significantly reduce the nondefense federal work force to further the “deconstruction of the administrative state,” in the words of Trump’s chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon. Major elements of the plan have already been declared dead on arrival by the Republican leadership in Congress, and much of the fiscal fine print will be filled in by Capitol Hill lawmakers and their aides over the next month. (New York Times)
Trump will reexamine fuel efficiency standards set in place during the Obama administration, opening the door for the regulations to potentially be reduced in the coming years. Trump will not take steps to revoke a waiver that allows California and a dozen other states to enforce emissions standards beyond those of the EPA. If those regulations remain intact, automakers will still be compelled to produce more fuel efficient cars regardless of any changes at the federal level. (Washington Post)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used an email alias to discuss climate change while he was CEO of Exxon Mobil. Tillerson used the account for "secure and expedited communications between select senior company officials and the former chairman for a broad range of business-related topics," after his primary account began receiving too many messages. (Bloomberg)
Trump is set to sign a sweeping directive to dramatically shrink the role climate change plays in decisions across the government, ranging from appliance standards to pipeline approvals. Trump’s order also will compel a reconsideration of the government’s use of a metric known as the "social cost of carbon" that reflects the potential economic damage from climate change. (Bloomberg)
Scott Pruitt’s phones have been ringing off the hook since he questioned the link between human activity and climate change. Pruitt’s comments on the CNBC program “Squawk Box” — that “we need to continue the debate and continue the review and the analysis” over climate change — prompted an immediate pushback from many scientists and environment groups. (Washington Post)
EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming. Pruitt's view is at odds with the opinion of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (CNBC)
Planned EPA cuts will hit black and Hispanic communities the hardest, which already suffer disproportionately from toxic pollution. (The Guardian)
Some of the EPA's longstanding and best-known programs are facing potential elimination. Details of an Office of Management and Budget proposal would cut the EPA's budget by 24% and reduce its staffing by 20%. (CNN)
Senate approves Trump's nominee, Ryan Zinke, for the Department of the Interior. The Republican congressman promised to review Obama-era actions limiting oil and gas drilling in Alaska and said he rejected President Donald Trump's past comment that climate change is a "hoax." (CNN)
Trump begins E.P.A. rollback with executive order on clean water rules. The order, which will have almost no immediate legal effect and could take longer than a single presidential term to dismantle, directs E.P.A. chief Scott Pruitt to rewrite the 2015 rule known as the Waters of the United States. The rule gives the federal government broad authority to limit pollution in major bodies of water as well as in streams and wetlands that drain into them.
Trump is also expected to sign a similar order instructing Pruitt to begin the process of withdrawing and revising Obama’s 2015 climate-change regulation, aimed at curbing emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants. In his former job as attorney general of Oklahoma, Pruitt led or took part in 14 lawsuits intended to block the E.P.A.’s major regulations, including the clean water and climate rules that he is now charged with dismantling. (New York Times)
Recently confirmed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt used a private email for state business. The revelation is in direct conflict with the former Oklahoma Attorney General's written and oral testimony before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Pruitt told lawmakers he had never used private email for state business in his confirmation process. (Fox 25 - KOKH)
Thousands of emails show that the E.P.A. chief worked to battle environmental regulation as attorney general of Oklahoma. Scott Pruitt, now head of the Environmental Protection Agency, closely coordinated with major oil and gas producers, electric utilities, and political groups to roll back environmental regulations. (New York Times)
The White House recently deleted all of the data on its open data portal, which serves as the public clearinghouse for data on everything from federal budgets to climate change initiatives. Most of this data should still be available through an archived version of the portal. (The Hill)
"Not My President": Thousands of demonstrators turned out across the US to challenge Trump on Presidents Day and call attention to Trump’s crackdown on immigration, his party’s response to climate change and the environment. Organizers said they chose to rally on the holiday as a way to honor past presidents by exercising their constitutional right to assemble and peacefully protest. (Washington Post)
Senate on track to confirm Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator despite calls from Democrats to delay until he turns over thousands of requested emails from his time as attorney general as part of a public records lawsuit. Democrats boycotted a committee vote on Pruitt's nomination last month in an effort to delay his confirmation. Republican leaders have shown no signs they intend to wait for the documents to be released before voting to confirm him. (ABC News)
Senate confirms climate-change skeptic Scott Pruitt to lead EPA, an agency he sued as Oklahoma attorney general. Pruitt’s confirmation marked a serious defeat for environmental advocacy groups. Pruitt has sued the EPA more than a dozen times during the Obama administration, challenging the agency’s authority to regulate toxic mercury pollution, smog, carbon emissions from power plants and the quality of wetlands and other waters. In Oklahoma, he dismantled a specialized environmental protection unit that had existed under his Democratic predecessor and established a “federalism unit” to combat what he called “unwarranted regulation and systematic overreach” by Washington. Pruitt cleared the Senate by a vote of 52-46. (Washington Post)
The EPA posted a mirror of its site before Trump can cut the real one. The mirror is an archive of the site the way it appeared the day before Trump took office. (Vice)
EPA workers try to block Trump’s contentious nominee to run the agency in show of defiance. Employees of the EPA have been calling their senators, urging them to vote against the confirmation of Scott Pruitt. Many of the scientists, environmental lawyers and policy experts who work in EPA offices say the calls are a last resort. Pruitt has made a career out of fighting the agency. Trump has vowed to “get rid of” it. (New York Times)
Oklahoma judge orders EPA nominee Scott Pruitt to turn over emails to watchdog group. The Center for Media and Democracy charges Pruitt violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act for declining to make public official documents the group has requested since 2015. (CNBC)
Republican congressman reveals bill to abolish the EPA. The freshman congressman from Florida has finally released a summary of the agency-killing bill. It tops out at just more than 40 words. This news item is 37 words. (CNBC)
Trump aims to sign executive orders cutting into the EPA's climate work shortly after his nominee to lead the agency is confirmed by the Senate. Trump has vowed to roll back Obama-era EPA actions, including major climate change regulations like the Clean Power Plan and a water jurisdiction rule opposed by many conservatives. (The Hill)
GOP bill would gut EPA. A House Republican is sponsoring legislation to do away with large portions of the Environmental Protection Agency, including environmental justice and greenhouse gas programs. The Wasteful EPA Programs Elimination Act would save $7.5 billion annually and would leave the EPA with a budget of less than $1 billion. Major EPA climate change programs would be eliminated under the measure. (The Hill)
Republicans push carbon tax at White House. A carbon tax, long favored by economists as the most straightforward way to address climate change, could gain traction as part of a broad tax overhaul. (Bloomberg)
Hundreds of current, former EPA employees urge Senate to reject Trump’s nominee for the agency. The controversial nomination advanced out of a Senate committee last week after Republicans used their majority to suspend committee rules and approve Pruitt despite the absence of all Democrats, who boycotted the nomination vote partly because of his anti-regulatory bent. He could be approved by the full Senate as early as this week. (Washington Post)
Scott Pruitt, Trump’s EPA pick, is approved by Senate committee. Senate Republicans pressed forward with the confirmation of Trump’s controversial nominee, suspending the Environment and Public Works Committee’s rules to approve the cabinet pick despite a Democratic boycott. The 11-0 vote sends the nomination to the full Senate, where Mr. Pruitt is most likely to be approved next week. (NY Times)
A National Park deleted tweets on climate change after Trump silenced federal scientists. The tweets were posted by a former employee and officials decided to delete them because the account had been “compromised,” a National Parks official said. (Buzzfeed)
All references to climate change have been deleted from the White House website. The only mention of climate on Trump’s new website is under his “America First Energy Plan” page, in which he vows to destroy Obama’s Climate Action Plan, which is a government-wide plan to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change. (Motherboard)
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