ENVIRONMENT POLICIES, ANALYSIS, AND RESOURCES
Latest Environment Posts
Increased Oversight on HHS Word hoice and EPA employees
In a recent budget preparation meeting, members of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a subset of the Division of Health & Human Services (HHS), were informed that a list of seven words were not to be used in budgets and budget proposals. These seven words were “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender” …
Trump Announces Downsizing of Two National Monuments
Trump announced on Monday that he would reduce the size of two Utah national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, by about two million acres as recommended by Interior Secretary Zinke. The Bears Ears national monument was downsized by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 50 percent [see map], which is the…
White House Releases Report on Human Responsibility for Climate Change
Earlier this month, thirteen federal agencies published a report through the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) that claims humans are primarily responsible for global warming through the increased production of greenhouse gases in the last century. The White House has released this report, despite its direct…
Nebraska Approves Keystone XL Pipeline
Last Monday, five members of an obscure Nebraska committee voted three-to-two in favor of TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline route through their state. Overcoming this regulatory obstacle was cited as a victory for the 1,179 mile-long pipeline nine years after its initial proposal. In 2011, President Obama delayed construction…
Trump and EPA Move to Repeal Clean Power Plan
Earlier this week, the Trump administration released a draft of the proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The CPP is an Obama initiative to regulate the power sector and curb the emission of climate-warming gasses, as well as specific carbon-cutting targets for corporations. While this draft represents the first substantial…
Interior’s Review of National Monuments
About four months after Trump’s Executive Order calling for the review of 27 National Monuments, Ryan Zinke, the Secretary of the Interior, has submitted his final report. While Zinke has not recommended the elimination of any monuments, a few have been suggested for resizing, including Bears Ears National Monument, Grand…
Scott Pruitt Reverses Decision to Delay Ozone Regulation
On August 2, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed the agency’s June announcement to delay implementation of a 2015 Obama-era ozone regulation for another year. The reversal came one day after 15 states and DC filed a lawsuit against the EPA Administrator over the delay. While the reversal was a win for health and environmental…
Department of the Interior Starts to Rescind Fracking Rules
On July 25, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management published a rescission of an Obama-era hydraulic fracturing rule. The “fracking” rule was specifically targeted by Trump’s Energy Executive Order, which directed agency heads to eliminate all policies which burden the development of energy resources. The regulation…
Disapproval of Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation
After the GOP failed attempt to reverse the Obama-era methane flaring restriction, Donald Trump attacked the rule using his energy plan, and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt placed a two-year moratorium on the rule’s enforcement. On July 3rd a federal appeals court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot suspend…