February 11, 2020 10:11 AM EDT
Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists releases a storybook for people who care about kids. With colorful illustrations and amusing rhymes, it illustrates how science keeps our children protected—and how the current administration is working to dismantle that. You’ll see from the storybook passages used as headers below, it is both entertaining and disturbing to be confronted with the reality of new threats to our children’s health. Read more >
February 3, 2020 9:48 AM EDT
Late Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a batch of emails between high-level agency officials around Sharpiegate; BuzzFeed broke the news. Most of the emails are further verification of what was previously understood about how things played out at the agency when its leaders betrayed their own scientists after the President doubled down on his inaccurate Dorian forecast and doctored a weather map. But an important take-away for me is a new window into just how unfit Acting Administrator Neil Jacobs is to lead the agency. Read more >
January 28, 2020 5:07 PM EDT
Today I had the opportunity to testify to Congress on an important bill, The Transparency in Energy Production Act of 2020, that would require energy companies that lease federal land to disclose more about their social and environmental impact. This is an important idea that I have been advocating for over many years and several reports. Read more >
December 5, 2019 9:01 AM EDT
This week I’m at the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) meeting in North Carolina and an expected but disappointing outcome has just occurred: The committee has failed to reach consensus recommendations for the EPA head on the particulate matter (PM) standards, thus putting the nail in the coffin on any hope of official and robust scientific advice reaching the Administrator’s desk. This is unprecedented. It is a big deal for EPA, for the courts, and for the nation’s health. Read more >
October 31, 2019 12:28 PM EDT
This post is a revamp of a 2017 post here. It is (sadly) more applicable today.
Halloween is here, and we have a lot to be spooked about when it comes to the future role of science in this country. In addition to the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on science, companies are now enjoying greater access to decisionmakers than they’ve ever had. And no industry has capitalized on inappropriate access to decisionmakers more than the fossil fuel industry. Indeed, with very little accountability, the industry has deceived the public and policymakers, and enjoyed friendly policies from decisionmakers with clear conflicts of interest.
