http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trumps-epa-clears-pesticide-tied-childrens-health-problems?fbclid=IwAR1mRjHMwlv74_B-xEnhLzEk9Lsbi6oKSc82W50CeyE03iJHlLPwyq1dHgI
"This week, as the New York Times reported, we learned about Team Trump doing another potentially dangerous favor for the chemical industry. The Trump administration took a major step to weaken the regulation of toxic chemicals on Thursday when the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would not ban a widely used pesticide that its own experts have linked to serious health problems in children. The decision by Andrew R. Wheeler, the E.P.A. administrator, represents a victory for the chemical industry and for farmers who have lobbied to continue using the substance, chlorpyrifos, arguing it is necessary to protect crops. Let’s circle back to our earlier coverage because it’s worth appreciating how we arrived at this point. The Obama administration originally proposed banning the pesticide’s use on food in October 2015. A risk assessment memo issued by nine EPA scientists concluded. “There is a breadth of information available on the potential adverse neuro-developmental effects in infants and children as a result of prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos.” By all appearances, this wasn’t an especially tough call. There was, after all, “extensive scientific evidence” that even tiny levels of exposure to this pesticide “can harm babies’ brains.” And then Donald Trump took office. Just two months into the new Republican administration, officials reversed course, putting the federal ban on hold. This, not surprisingly, sparked a series of legal challenges, and as the Times’ article noted, “Those lawsuits culminated in April when a federal appeals court ordered the E.P.A. to issue a final ruling on whether to ban chlorpyrifos by this month.” That final ruling from the EPA came yesterday. The administration sided with the chemical industry."
Monday, July 22, 2019
83 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks.html?fbclid=IwAR2yhjy1wOaNgnomfXymQpUY29UZGrzLzkl97jjLtwrjbfq_KONh17hMaLM
"All told, the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and lead to thousands of extra deaths from poor air quality every year, according to a recent report prepared by New York University Law School's State Energy and Environmental Impact Center. Here are the details for each of the policies targeted by the administration so far."
"All told, the Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and lead to thousands of extra deaths from poor air quality every year, according to a recent report prepared by New York University Law School's State Energy and Environmental Impact Center. Here are the details for each of the policies targeted by the administration so far."
USDA Under Trump Hides Studies Proving Effects of Climate Change: Report
https://www.thedailybeast.com/usda-under-trump-hides-studies-proving-effects-of-climate-change-politico?ref=home&fbclid=IwAR1ZdL0z4iH3nQzmVUZsFDKmjJ3Zg6IqbKoWra3ggu3lwaHXEDXHit3sglw
"The Trump administration has refused to publicize dozens of studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that conclude climate change is having negative effects on everything from rice production to allergies, a Politico investigation revealed."
"The Trump administration has refused to publicize dozens of studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that conclude climate change is having negative effects on everything from rice production to allergies, a Politico investigation revealed."
Trump’s EPA Just Made Its Final Decision Not to Ban a Pesticide That Hurts Kids’ Brains
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/07/trumps-epa-just-made-its-final-decision-not-to-ban-a-pesticide-that-hurts-kids-brains/
"The pesticide in question, chlorpyrifos, is a nasty piece of work. It’s an organophosphate, a class of bug killers that work by “interrupting the electrochemical processes that nerves use to communicate with muscles and other nerves,” as the Pesticide Encyclopedia puts it. Chlorpyrifos is also an endocrine disrupter, meaning it can cause “adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects,” according to the National Institutes of Health. Major studies from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the University of California-Davis, and Columbia University have found strong evidence that low doses of chlorpyrifos inhibits kids’ brain development, including when exposure occurs in the womb, with effects ranging from lower IQ to higher rates of autism. Several studies—examples here, here, and here—have found it in the urine of kids who live near treated fields. In 2000, the EPA banned most home uses of the chemical, citing risks to children. And here’s the dirt on the relationship between President Donald Trump and the company that markets the chemical: Dow AgroSciences’ parent company, Dow Chemical, has also been buttering up Trump. The company contributed $1 million to the president’s inaugural committee, the Center for Public Integrity notes. In December, Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris attended a post-election Trump rally in the company’s home state of Michigan, and used the occasion to announce plans to create 100 new jobs and bring back another 100 more from foreign subsidiaries. Around the same time, Trump named Liveris chair of the American Manufacturing Council, declaring the chemical exec would “find ways to bring industry back to America.” (Dow has another reason beside chlorpyrifos’ fate to get chummy with Trump: its pending mega-merger with erstwhile rival DuPont, which still has to clear Trump’s Department of Justice.)"
"The pesticide in question, chlorpyrifos, is a nasty piece of work. It’s an organophosphate, a class of bug killers that work by “interrupting the electrochemical processes that nerves use to communicate with muscles and other nerves,” as the Pesticide Encyclopedia puts it. Chlorpyrifos is also an endocrine disrupter, meaning it can cause “adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects,” according to the National Institutes of Health. Major studies from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the University of California-Davis, and Columbia University have found strong evidence that low doses of chlorpyrifos inhibits kids’ brain development, including when exposure occurs in the womb, with effects ranging from lower IQ to higher rates of autism. Several studies—examples here, here, and here—have found it in the urine of kids who live near treated fields. In 2000, the EPA banned most home uses of the chemical, citing risks to children. And here’s the dirt on the relationship between President Donald Trump and the company that markets the chemical: Dow AgroSciences’ parent company, Dow Chemical, has also been buttering up Trump. The company contributed $1 million to the president’s inaugural committee, the Center for Public Integrity notes. In December, Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris attended a post-election Trump rally in the company’s home state of Michigan, and used the occasion to announce plans to create 100 new jobs and bring back another 100 more from foreign subsidiaries. Around the same time, Trump named Liveris chair of the American Manufacturing Council, declaring the chemical exec would “find ways to bring industry back to America.” (Dow has another reason beside chlorpyrifos’ fate to get chummy with Trump: its pending mega-merger with erstwhile rival DuPont, which still has to clear Trump’s Department of Justice.)"
Giving 'Upper Hand to Corporate Polluters,' EPA Drops Surprise Inspections
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/19/giving-upper-hand-corporate-polluters-epa-drops-surprise-inspections?fbclid=IwAR2EHNw8m_CXrxQQ17v0cWatTFtSiuHpOLyUwlooASIzVbzoJ9jKkeTqgsA
"President Donald Trump's EPA is provoking criticism once again, this time over a new "no surprises" policy stopping unannounced visits to power, chemical, and waste facilities. "The Trump @EPA is just chucking aside any flimsy pretense that they care about upholding environmental laws, enforcing against big polluters, or protecting Americans," tweeted John Walke, Clean Air Director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Giving a courtesy heads up to suspected *ongoing* lawbreakers is beyond the pale even for the Trump @EPA"."
"President Donald Trump's EPA is provoking criticism once again, this time over a new "no surprises" policy stopping unannounced visits to power, chemical, and waste facilities. "The Trump @EPA is just chucking aside any flimsy pretense that they care about upholding environmental laws, enforcing against big polluters, or protecting Americans," tweeted John Walke, Clean Air Director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Giving a courtesy heads up to suspected *ongoing* lawbreakers is beyond the pale even for the Trump @EPA"."
EPA Wants Minimal Limits On Poison In Drinking Water
https://www.dcreport.org/2019/06/25/epa-wants-minimal-limits-on-poison-in-drinking-water/?fbclid=IwAR1g9el-Oikn3D7WGv5sOKXeV4UxOwUvKttSKHaPNeqswmqa2LhPa5xXhzo
"The Trump EPA calculated recommended limits of a dangerous chemical sometimes found in drinking water that can harm babies’ brain development that were more than 9 times higher than those imposed by a few states by fudging a key number in the calculation. The Trump EPA recommended a limit for perchlorate, which can harm infant brain development, of 56 micrograms per liter, far above the limit of 6 that California imposed and 2 that Massachusetts set, more than a decade ago. “I guess they think it’s just fine to have children have IQ loss,” said Betsy Southerland, a retired EPA official who oversaw science and technology issues in the EPA Office of Water. Perchlorate, which a GAO study found in the water, soil or sediment of 45 states, is particularly dangerous to babies because it can harm infant brain development if their mothers are exposed to it in food or water while pregnant. Babies can also ingest perchlorate in their mothers’ breast milk or in formula."
"The Trump EPA calculated recommended limits of a dangerous chemical sometimes found in drinking water that can harm babies’ brain development that were more than 9 times higher than those imposed by a few states by fudging a key number in the calculation. The Trump EPA recommended a limit for perchlorate, which can harm infant brain development, of 56 micrograms per liter, far above the limit of 6 that California imposed and 2 that Massachusetts set, more than a decade ago. “I guess they think it’s just fine to have children have IQ loss,” said Betsy Southerland, a retired EPA official who oversaw science and technology issues in the EPA Office of Water. Perchlorate, which a GAO study found in the water, soil or sediment of 45 states, is particularly dangerous to babies because it can harm infant brain development if their mothers are exposed to it in food or water while pregnant. Babies can also ingest perchlorate in their mothers’ breast milk or in formula."
USDA Indefinitely Suspends Honey Bee Tracking Survey as States Get Approval to Use Bee-Killing Pesticide
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/08/usda-indefinitely-suspends-honey-bee-tracking-survey-states-get-approval-use-bee?fbclid=IwAR34952k6sSQKMzPoDHVrLVZMUDj8RGgaAmg2gPzCtPzofuVQS9tY7qs66Y
"On the heels of the EPA's June approval of a bee-killing pesticide, the White House said it would stop collecting data on declining honey bee populations—potentially making it impossible to analyze the effects of the chemical and the administration's other anti-science policies on the pollinators."
"On the heels of the EPA's June approval of a bee-killing pesticide, the White House said it would stop collecting data on declining honey bee populations—potentially making it impossible to analyze the effects of the chemical and the administration's other anti-science policies on the pollinators."
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Republican and Democratic former EPA heads sound alarm on Trump administration
https://thinkprogress.org/bipartisan-epa-trump-former-administrators-science-rollbacks-5d6508460e6c/?fbclid=IwAR0M58KkQ5-Z8BEkwv0Fr-iXM0hW_d_jrGhlR4qyOvo-_YR4_hae5zF1uUE
"Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials — including three Republicans and one Democrat — sounded the alarm on Tuesday about the direction of the agency under President Donald Trump. They warned that decades of environmental progress are on the line."
"Former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials — including three Republicans and one Democrat — sounded the alarm on Tuesday about the direction of the agency under President Donald Trump. They warned that decades of environmental progress are on the line."
Monday, July 8, 2019
Sunday, July 7, 2019
The Sack Of Washington
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/epa-trump-pollution-science_n_5d163910e4b082e5536893ee?fbclid=IwAR1L614Nbrq0i77iBuaHi1dZdmCKEbrC2cAxiAcn_xh4bnFesSg9YdUShw4
"While Donald Trump mouthed populist, blue-collar bombast on the campaign trail, once sworn into office, he immediately put old-school commerce chiefs in position to run his empire. For the last two years, these corporate warriors have been chiseling through the barricade of laws, safety rules, and common-sense agreements that protect us from marauding commercial interests. Reader, beware. Barbarians have entered the city. Washington has been sacked! Journalists have rarely captured the perversity of Trump’s willing soldiers. In February, the Los Angeles Times offered a glimpse as it spotlighted Ed Calabrese, a professor of toxicology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst whose work tobacco and other poison-producers have long touted. Calabrese is now helping Trump appointees rewrite public policy to claim that pollution is good for us. Stop and ponder that for a moment: Pollution is good for us."
"While Donald Trump mouthed populist, blue-collar bombast on the campaign trail, once sworn into office, he immediately put old-school commerce chiefs in position to run his empire. For the last two years, these corporate warriors have been chiseling through the barricade of laws, safety rules, and common-sense agreements that protect us from marauding commercial interests. Reader, beware. Barbarians have entered the city. Washington has been sacked! Journalists have rarely captured the perversity of Trump’s willing soldiers. In February, the Los Angeles Times offered a glimpse as it spotlighted Ed Calabrese, a professor of toxicology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst whose work tobacco and other poison-producers have long touted. Calabrese is now helping Trump appointees rewrite public policy to claim that pollution is good for us. Stop and ponder that for a moment: Pollution is good for us."
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Trump’s EPA May Be About to Screw Over America’s Biggest Wild Salmon Run
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/06/bristol-bay-salmon-pebble-mine-scott-pruitt-trump-mining/?fbclid=IwAR3wPAPBI_oVgClXfFslobDLuUfViD4xHOhI9YrN85N9sf7f1ClNM5R5xH4
"On one side is Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., a Canadian mining company eyeing a deposit of millions of tons of gold, copper, and molybdenum ore located near the headwaters of two rivers that drain into Bristol Bay, in southwest Alaska.* In its way stand conservationists, Alaska Natives, and fishing operators, who say the company’s proposed Pebble Mine could contaminate the two river systems, endangering the ecosystem for the 40 million salmon that migrate into the pristine bay each summer. The public has until July 1 to comment on the US Army Corps of Engineers’ environmental impact statement issued for Northern Dynasty’s mining project. The United Tribes of Bristol, a consortium of 15 tribes in the Bristol Bay Area, released a statement calling the assessment “completely inadequate,” and said that it “ignores the many valid concerns about the devastating impacts this project will bring.” The American Fisheries Society, a group of more than 8,000 scientists and academics, wrote in its public comment that the Army Corp’s evaluation “fails to meet basic standards of scientific rigor,” underestimating impacts and risks to fish and their habitats while drawing conclusions unsupported by data or other evidence."
"On one side is Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., a Canadian mining company eyeing a deposit of millions of tons of gold, copper, and molybdenum ore located near the headwaters of two rivers that drain into Bristol Bay, in southwest Alaska.* In its way stand conservationists, Alaska Natives, and fishing operators, who say the company’s proposed Pebble Mine could contaminate the two river systems, endangering the ecosystem for the 40 million salmon that migrate into the pristine bay each summer. The public has until July 1 to comment on the US Army Corps of Engineers’ environmental impact statement issued for Northern Dynasty’s mining project. The United Tribes of Bristol, a consortium of 15 tribes in the Bristol Bay Area, released a statement calling the assessment “completely inadequate,” and said that it “ignores the many valid concerns about the devastating impacts this project will bring.” The American Fisheries Society, a group of more than 8,000 scientists and academics, wrote in its public comment that the Army Corp’s evaluation “fails to meet basic standards of scientific rigor,” underestimating impacts and risks to fish and their habitats while drawing conclusions unsupported by data or other evidence."
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