Friday, October 27, 2017

Scott Pruitt denies he meets with ‘polluters’ as his agency dismantles environmental safeguards

https://thinkprogress.org/scott-pruitt-meets-with-polluters-431f63887058/
"As Oklahoma attorney general, Pruitt also maintained a close relationship with polluting industries, particularly the oil and gas industry. In 2014, the New York Times broke a story showing that Pruitt had taken a letter written by Devon Energy lawyers and sent it to the EPA on state letterhead, essentially acting as an official voice for one of his state’s biggest polluters. Devon Energy is a major natural gas producer based in Oklahoma City."

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Trump's EPA: Radiation Not That Bad, Actually

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Scott Pruitt’s back-to-basics agenda includes 30 personal security guards

https://thinkprogress.org/scott-pruitt-expands-security-detail-93012a4cb4c8/
"The Environmental Protection Agency is expanding the number of security personnel dedicated to protecting agency chief Scott Pruitt by 12, raising the administrator’s total security detail to 30 guards. Prior to the latest boost in protection, the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division was providing an 18-member security team that worked in shifts to guard the administrator around the clock. The millions of dollars spent on guarding Pruitt is coming at a time when the Trump administration wants to cut the EPA’s budget by 30 percent, including major cuts to the agency’s environmental enforcement program. The salaries for Pruitt’s security detail will cost at least $2 million per year, CNN reported Monday. That cost does not include funding to cover training, equipment, or travel. No previous EPA administrator has ever received a 24/7 security detail. Two prior administrators were guarded when getting transported to meetings or on trips. During the first three months of Pruitt’s tenure at the EPA, the government spent more than $800,000 on security for him, almost twice the cost of security for each of his two predecessors — Gina McCarthy and Lisa Jackson — over similar time periods."

Trump gives chemical industry insider power on regulating chemicals

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-gives-chemical-industry-insider-power-regulating-chemicals
"Voters who supported Donald Trump because they hoped he’d “drain the swamp,” preventing corporate insiders from helping call the shots in government agencies, are getting the exact opposite of what they wanted."

Corporations Don't Want You To Know How Lethal Their Pollution Is

Conflicts of Interest? NOAA’s Nominees AccuWeather CEO Barry Myers, and Dr. Neil Jacobs of Panasonic

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/10/12/conflicts-interest-noaas-nominees-accuweather-ceo-barry-myers-and-dr-neil-jacobs
"Simply put, NOAA does a wide range of basic and applied scientific research to better understand our oceans and atmosphere, from deep sea exploration to space weather. (If you can’t imagine why we care about weather in space, you can find out how it can affect everything from satellites to cellphones!) NOAA’s research provides information to the public, policy makers, and other scientists in the US and around the world. NOAA scientists partner with a huge number of scientists in academia, industry, and private institutions in collaborative research in addition to providing critical long-term data series that no one else has the resources nor the mandate to collect and share with the public. So NOAA is a science agency, but its science is applied to create weather forecasts, manage fisheries, protect whales and other marine mammals, help states manage coastal areas, create charts, inform international negotiations on addressing the challenges of management of shared resources in the oceans and atmosphere, forecast tsunami risks, measure and monitor the ongoing process of climate change, and more. The leadership of the agency can impact all of us in one way or another. Care about severe weather and risks to your life and property? Better thank NOAA. Care about your favorite beach and whether it is eroding or will it be clean and safe? Better thank NOAA. Care about your farm and the coming growing season’s weather? Better thank NOAA. Or the fish you enjoy to catch or eat? Better thank NOAA."

Rick Perry's Department of Energy Is Worse Than You Could Even Imagine

Rick Perry's Department of Energy Is Worse Than You Could Even Imagine:

"It appears that the Trump administration's budget-cutting, its search of short-term solutions to long-term problems, and its "willful ignorance," as Michael Lewis termed it, is being writ large over how the DOE is proceeding. Given current indicators, Rick Perry's greatest "Oops" moment is yet to come."

EPA Head Keeps Meeting With Fossil Fuel Executives While Ignoring The Environment

EPA Spends $25K On Soundproof Room For Scott Pruitt To Hold Private Conversations

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Amazing Graphic Shows Why Cannabis Is a Medication Worth Legalizing @alternet

Amazing Graphic Shows Why Cannabis Is a Medication Worth Legalizing @alternet:

"According to clinical studies, the chemical compounds found in cannabis (CBD and THC) can successfully treat chronic pain and many other health ailments. This was evidenced in the largest ever study on cannabis which examined over 10,000 studies on the drug. The results found that, not only is cannabis an effective defense to chronic pain, but also a wide range of other health problems such as: muscles spasms in those suffering from multiple sclerosis, nausea in those undergoing chemotherapy, inflammation, arthritis, fibromyalgia, anxiety, stress, and PTSD."

Space Marijuana YES SPACE MARIJUANA

Herban Planet Launches 'Space Weed Bro' Marijuana Into Space

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/herban-planet-launches-space-weed-bro-marijuana-into-space-300529678.html
"Herban Planet made intergalactic history by launching one pound of marijuana flower, "Space Weed Bro," 35 KM above the Earth's surface into space."