Reading Time: 4 minutes President Donald Trump wants to cut the number of federal advisory panels by one-third. Critics say this will make it much harder for agencies to rely on objective facts to do their job protecting the environment as well as public health and safety.
Reading Time: 6 minutes Federal agencies had already been reeling from the Trump administration’s disdain for regulation. The shutdown adds insult to injury — and puts Americans at risk.
Reading Time: 4 minutes The battle of humankind vs. nature might have been a draw this year — with several huge blows to the environment as the planet metaphorically struck back with devastating natural disasters. It is a fight with no winners.
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hurricane Harvey was supposed to be a 500-year event. Instead, it became the third and most destructive in three years. Whether Americans can outlast more catastrophic disasters will depend on the GOP’s willingness to acknowledge and combat the threat of climate change.
Reading Time: 7 minutes For 40 years, the federal government has failed to protect the public from toxic chemicals. Last year, a bipartisan Congress passed a law to change that state of affairs. Public health advocates worry that the Trump administration is now undermining it.
Reading Time: 2 minutes Government agencies continue to delay Obama-era regulations, leading to an influx of legal challenges from states.
Reading Time: 2 minutes Over half of the EPA’s Board of Scientific Counselors have been dismissed to make way for fossil fuel advocates, leading many to worry about the vanishing role of independent scientific review within the agency.
Reading Time: 3 minutes A former EPA official involved in a controversial study of the health effects of Monsanto’s glyphosate is being taken to court by public interest advocates who want to know more about his ties to the company and the chemical industry.
Reading Time: 4 minutes Last spring, a report published on the EPA’s website said glyphosate does not cause cancer. It disappeared within a week and an advocacy group’s efforts to obtain the information has been met with silence. Now it is suing for access.
Reading Time: 6 minutes Pro-business lawyers, scholars dominate Hill conference pushing deregulatory agenda.