While we will all suffer, blue states will enact their own pollution control policies and regulations more stringent than current EPA policies. The ones that will suffer the most are the people in red states, in particular, the Trump voters in those states.
16
While I may disagree with mr. Pruitt, I am unsure the news, as reported, is not biased, nothing is said about how onerous these Rules might have been! When you are able to read both sides, you are then able to make decisions! This News article is obviously biased and therefor, useless!
Clean water is already a problem in the United States, just ask the people in Flint, Michigan. Class action lawsuit movies like Erin Brockovich and a Civil Action are artistic attempts to bring a social justice issue like clean water to the people. Big business needs to care but doesn't, and Republicans have a history of ignoring science and worrying about consequences later. With Pruitt and crew, profit trumps safety.
9
So... the power to make money outweighs rolling back pollution and protecting the environment. This is the legacy we bequeath to our children and grandchildren. Do those exercising this power really take pride in their actions?
9
Hopefully this nightmare of a human will be out of his office in a couple of years.
5
Cough, cough, hack, hack... really (cough)? I (cough, sniff, sniff) hadn't noticed. I thought my eyes constantly watering was just the result of the sadness of having Looney Tunes tweeting from the White House bathroom every morning.
5
He's effective because the republicans are the party of destruction, to creation. They take apart laws, cut taxes, rip up regulations, support destructive military budget. All their proposals amount to one of this actions with a doublespeak name like Building America's Climate when they are tearing up laws that protect it. With his outrageous reactions, Trump is the destroyer in chief and only reveals that wizard behind the curtain of their false civility. Helping America is not their DNA.
17
While I've been a life-long Republican, didn't vote for Trump, and had deep reservations about the Obama administration, in environmental policy, it sustained an important appreciation of certain regulatory guidelines that made up probably only a baseline of protections. That is, they did not even go anywhere near far enough to really get at the profound array of pollution risks in the US. For example, there famously remain thousands of unregulated industrial chemicals that can find their way into water sources. Good old fashioned air pollution remains woefully under-managed, while oceans are effective waste dumps. And when one visits China, India, Russia, Mexico and others, the offenses are almost incomprehensible. To merely "roll back" the previous administration's modest environmental protections, including, of course, the infamous pipeline project, is inherently counter-productive, even for business, as it leaves them less motivated to invest in modern, cleaner, more efficient technologies. Somewhat counter-intuitively, a focus on global warning and climate change has made it more difficult, not less, to enforce environmental law, because it makes the issue too abstract. The public, corporations and Congress, need to see, feel, taste, hear and breath the actual pollution if they are expected to respond proactively. Warming and change, while certainly an overwhelming existential story, are simply too easy to justify backing away from as they are too conceptual.
18
We are so lucky to have you Mr. Pruitt:
-Reverse restrictions of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide known to cause developmental damage in children.
-Repeal laws that limit the use of fertilizers near waterways.
-Roll back rules on methane leaks from drilling wells.
As long as it helps improve corporate profitability and increase shareholder value we are all behind you! All this time I thought you were just a shill for oil and gas companies, I didn't realize you also had the good interests of Monsanto, Dow, and Dupont at heart.
Maybe now you can help bring back PCBs and genetically modified foods that also seem to get in the way of corporate profitability. Oh, and while you are at it, can you talk to someone at the FDA, they also seem to have a lot of pesky rules about what can go into our food.
-Reverse restrictions of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide known to cause developmental damage in children.
-Repeal laws that limit the use of fertilizers near waterways.
-Roll back rules on methane leaks from drilling wells.
As long as it helps improve corporate profitability and increase shareholder value we are all behind you! All this time I thought you were just a shill for oil and gas companies, I didn't realize you also had the good interests of Monsanto, Dow, and Dupont at heart.
Maybe now you can help bring back PCBs and genetically modified foods that also seem to get in the way of corporate profitability. Oh, and while you are at it, can you talk to someone at the FDA, they also seem to have a lot of pesky rules about what can go into our food.
6
As "blazing" as the climate change-induced wildfires and forest fires in Arizona and California today...
2
Sure, leave environmental regulation to the states. Here in Massachusetts I'll just refuse to breathe air coming from coal plants in Ohio, just as I'm sure folks in Little Rock will refuse to metabolize the contaminants in the water that comes down the Arkansas River from Kansas fracking sites. Makes perfect sense.
14
Once again, the cruelty, cowardice, and greed of the Republicans seeks to hurt a vulnerable population, our kids, in the service of profit. Has Flint, Michigan been forgotten already?! Where is the national outrage?
4
An industry-friendly EPA would be guiding industry to where it will need to be in 2050, along the most cost-effective and technically-achievable path possible. Enabling industry to retreat to the 1950's is doing nobody any favor.
Leaders of industry are supposed to be smart people. Our pension funds have entrusted them with our life savings. Presumably they know what they will need to be doing, with our life savings, over the next 30 years. Why are they so solidly in bed with Trump and Pruitt?
Leaders of industry are supposed to be smart people. Our pension funds have entrusted them with our life savings. Presumably they know what they will need to be doing, with our life savings, over the next 30 years. Why are they so solidly in bed with Trump and Pruitt?
1
Keep it up and there will be no environment left to protect.
6
Pruitt is willing to target “tangible” pollution in hazardous waste dumps but refuses to limit “invisible” pollution from tailpipes and smokestacks. Perhaps when he is done dismantling the EPA, Trump will appoint him to be Surgeon General. He can close the Center for Disease Control and redirect the funding to orthodontics and wart removal.
5
I am saddened and angry over what Scott Pruit is doing at the EPA.
Why is it that to propose a new rule the EPA must do a cost/benefit analysis. Then a comment period is allowed. But rolling back a rule is effected in days - no analysis?
The cost of rolling back these rules is enormous!
Why is it that to propose a new rule the EPA must do a cost/benefit analysis. Then a comment period is allowed. But rolling back a rule is effected in days - no analysis?
The cost of rolling back these rules is enormous!
6
I believe that it is now time to charge the entire Republican Congress, both House and Senate with Treason against the Constitution of the US. Presently Congress has conspired to place people who will destroy the segment of Government to which they have been Nominated by Trump and Confirmed by the Senate and aided and abetted by the House. The EPA is supposed to Regulate industry; it was always meant to operate separate from the industries regulated so as to prevent this very kind of Industrial Corporate takeover and damage.
Health, clean air, water and food are RIGHTS. The way corporate farming has pushed people into the cities and suburbia means that we are mostly at the whims of the corporations for employment anyhow. It is bad enough that we are treated as wage slaves to maximize Their Profits, but for Pruitt to start removing all of these badly-needed-for-decade regulations, then he is directly trying to kill those very children he is Supposed to protect, JUST to save Industry Insiders their 30 silver.
Wealth is a Priveledge, not a right like breathing is. Making money is nowhere near as important as protecting our environment is. Yes, pollution controls can be expensive. Lack of clean air and water is at least 10 times as expensive when societal costs are figured, and there is no way that these industries will save enough money to be able to cover the court cases, tons of lawyers and fines that will arise when the damage accrues. Money is easily made, not the air.
Health, clean air, water and food are RIGHTS. The way corporate farming has pushed people into the cities and suburbia means that we are mostly at the whims of the corporations for employment anyhow. It is bad enough that we are treated as wage slaves to maximize Their Profits, but for Pruitt to start removing all of these badly-needed-for-decade regulations, then he is directly trying to kill those very children he is Supposed to protect, JUST to save Industry Insiders their 30 silver.
Wealth is a Priveledge, not a right like breathing is. Making money is nowhere near as important as protecting our environment is. Yes, pollution controls can be expensive. Lack of clean air and water is at least 10 times as expensive when societal costs are figured, and there is no way that these industries will save enough money to be able to cover the court cases, tons of lawyers and fines that will arise when the damage accrues. Money is easily made, not the air.
7
EPA regulations don't just protect people, nature, and environmental quality from harm caused by industrial and commercial activities, they also protect regulated corporations, industries and their products from private litigation and liability.
Do away with EPA regulations and standards and, upon harm or injury, expect a tidal wave of private and class action litigation not unlike the massive civil litigation that bled out the industrial behemoth Johns-Manville, the major producer of asbestos products, after millions of people were exposed to asbestos and suffered tragic, often lethal, consequences.
What EPA regulations do is protect people from avoidable harm and death through prevention. And insulate corporations that conform to EPA regulations from civil litigation and product liability.
What Mr. Pruitt is doing is effectively declaring open season on American companies by removing the shield of government regulation.
Of course reckless corporations think they come out ahead by defending individual lawsuits filed by injured parties instead of spending millions on compliance. Like Ford's infamous Pinto, which exploded when rear-ended due to a flawed gas tank design, some companies price into the product the projected loss of life or injury instead of designing a safe product. Ford estimated a human life was worth about $120,000 and chose to roll the dice.
Thanks to people like Pruitt, Pinto drivers lost a bet they didn't know Ford made and paid with their lives.
Do away with EPA regulations and standards and, upon harm or injury, expect a tidal wave of private and class action litigation not unlike the massive civil litigation that bled out the industrial behemoth Johns-Manville, the major producer of asbestos products, after millions of people were exposed to asbestos and suffered tragic, often lethal, consequences.
What EPA regulations do is protect people from avoidable harm and death through prevention. And insulate corporations that conform to EPA regulations from civil litigation and product liability.
What Mr. Pruitt is doing is effectively declaring open season on American companies by removing the shield of government regulation.
Of course reckless corporations think they come out ahead by defending individual lawsuits filed by injured parties instead of spending millions on compliance. Like Ford's infamous Pinto, which exploded when rear-ended due to a flawed gas tank design, some companies price into the product the projected loss of life or injury instead of designing a safe product. Ford estimated a human life was worth about $120,000 and chose to roll the dice.
Thanks to people like Pruitt, Pinto drivers lost a bet they didn't know Ford made and paid with their lives.
22
Thanks Pa., Wisconsin, and Michigan; we couldn't have done it without you.
15
Yet another example of the corruption that is rampant in this "administration." It will take decades, if it happens at all, to correct the damage that these bought and paid for hacks are doing in the name of jobs and economic prosperity. Be assured that economic prosperity will be enjoyed only by the influence peddlers and those who do their bidding. Everyone else is going to be left behind.
14
"t will take decades, if it happens at all, to correct the damage that these bought ...."
Please, stop the hysteria. We can elect better people.
Please, stop the hysteria. We can elect better people.
1
Pruitt does not understand the fact that no one acts alone. No corporate pollution stays within its fenced boundaries. No river stays in place. No mass of air clings to one person or city or state. No pesticide stays on the farm. The economy and money won't matter when there is no edible food, or drinkable water, or air to breathe that doesn't kill. The rules are for folks who forget this. Those who put profit over our children's lives and the future Earth. Pruitt is much like the disruptive kid in class who just can't understand that EVERYTHING he does effects EVERYONE else. Profoundly.
12
If and when NYC stops dumping raw sewage into the navigable waters, we can start worrying about the puddle on farmland in flyover country.
2
It's easy to get angry at Pruitt and his industry supporters. But what environmentalists really need to do is draw a list of objectionable actions that Pruitt has done, and carefully show how each action has damaged or is likely to damage the environment. For example, if we can show a statistically-significant increase in the number of children with developmental disabilities growing in areas where the pesticide chlorpyrifos, then we have a good argument against the reversal of the ban. And we should continue to press the need to regulate the emissions of greenhouse gases.
8
The damage has been studied and recorded for the last 45 years. The facts are in. Or we could ask you to allow chlorpyrifos testing on your children. No? Would you like to reduce one of your children to a rank statistic? However, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. There is ample evidence now to ban this pesticide and others a million times over. All the records of the last 45 years were on the EPA website, but I believe Pruitt has been removing them so the public cannot be reminded of just how bad it used to be.
25
Clearly Mr. Pruitt and the purely self-interested mega money behind him don't believe in karma. Big mistake. The actions he and his cabal are taking amount to knowingly enacting harm on the American people and the environment. That's why Pruitt proceeds without consulting any of the thousands of scientists who would read him the riot act. Or his own staff. I don't see how this is not sedition. Even if it's not, I say there's a special place in Hell waiting for those who would defile and destroy the American ecosystem for profit.
10
Your comment is adorable. You are asserting that violating karma constitutes sedition.
Not to worry, the unicorns and angels are counteracting any negative karma.
Liberals make such logical arguments.
Not to worry, the unicorns and angels are counteracting any negative karma.
Liberals make such logical arguments.
2
Under Obama the EPA became a shadowy government agency with a whole list of abuses.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2016/03/09/epa-remains-a-parago...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhendrickson/2013/03/14/the-epa-the-wors...
http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-epas-abuse-of-power/article/590334
The list goes on and on.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2016/03/09/epa-remains-a-parago...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhendrickson/2013/03/14/the-epa-the-wors...
http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-epas-abuse-of-power/article/590334
The list goes on and on.
1
So then what is the alternative under Pruitt's plan? Trust dark money corporations with
questionable environmental safety records to monitor themselves and hope that consumer safety takes priority over their bottom line?
questionable environmental safety records to monitor themselves and hope that consumer safety takes priority over their bottom line?
14
When farmworkers and their children die from exposure from the chemicals that Pruitt is promoting, he should be held responsible, in other words he should be put on trial for murder. He knows full well what he is doing, and he just doesn't care.
19
Nothing this oilman can do will force states to roll back their own rules. Any attempt to do so would certainly wind up in court and the cases will be dropped after Pruitt is fired. The air in California is much cleaner than 20 years ago and as a result the rest of America is cleaner too.
Woe to those citizens of Oklahoma who have some of the weakest regulations possible. Thanks Scott! You loser you!
Woe to those citizens of Oklahoma who have some of the weakest regulations possible. Thanks Scott! You loser you!
12
California has seven of the top ten cities with toxic air pollution, which is a big improvement over the air quality in California 20 years ago. It has nothing to do with the air quality in the rest of the country.
Great -- so with this setback in clean air standards we'll be suffering from increased asthma and COPD but many of us won't even have health insurance to receive treatment. Is this the "Make America Great" part?
22
At least try and be scientifically accurate. The molecule CO2 does not have any impact on asthma or COPD.
2
It has been hot and humid in NYC for the past few days. Air "quality" warnings have been issued. Pollution, heat and humidity can be toxic to some people. It has NOTHING to do with C02.
4
Scott Pruitt - another Evangelical Christian who believes God gave man the Earth to what ever it wants with it. Pollute it, scar it, whatever.
Scott Pruitt doesn't believe in Science. He only believes the Bible.
Scott Pruitt doesn't believe in Science. He only believes the Bible.
16
This makes me sick...
11
The country will ultimately survive appointments like Pruitt. But when were done with Trump and his henchmen, let's make sure they pay for their crimes against humanity. Jail maybe too good for them.
12
Fox in the hen house = dead chickens.
17
It's probably a good idea to give the power back to the states where the environment is concerned. Maybe those states who support Pruitt will create enough carbon gases for their Trump Supporters to suffocate themselves before the next Presidential election.
14
Won't poorer states be susceptable to taking kickbacks and bribes from corporations to build whatever toxic industries they wish to build in order to balance the budget?
3
This is wonderful news for a reenergized American economy.
The EPA staff have a left-wing agenda, and it's wise for Pruitt to ignore them.
The EPA staff have a left-wing agenda, and it's wise for Pruitt to ignore them.
4
Left wing agenda? Clean air and water, isn't that a human agenda? What has Pruitt said or done to indicate this plan will protect our water supply, the air we breathe and the food we eat? Or do you honestly believe big business will save human lives even if it affects the bottom line? It's so easy for a wealthy man like Pruitt to hide in his bunker if the poisoning of our air, water, and food supply continues at an unmonitored rate but where does that leave the rest of us poor folks?
11
I doubt it.
3
Ummm, if Congress wishes for these things to be the law of the land Congress has the power to enact the necessary laws to make it so.
That is what we ELECTED them to do.
That is what we ELECTED them to do.
5
Gerrymandering is responsible for this Congressional body. Particulary the Republican portion.
6
A Big Fat Thanks to Pruitt for wrecking the United States of America... another nail in the coffin!
10
Leave it to Trump to pick the "worst of the worst".
19
What Trump and Pruitt have done is sickening, but the entire GOP is guilty because they voted Pruitt in. The President appoints, but the Congress approves. They are undoing the fabric of our democracy piece by piece so it is imperative that the Democrats regain Congress in 2018. We must be vigilant to Russian hacking, voter suppression, lies in their ads, and any all efforts of the GOP to destroy democracy.
21
Wonder which planet Pruit plans to live on.
12
He's already living on it. Ir's called The Planet of Alternate Facts".
1
Outrageous. We should all be praying to save our environment.
1
And paying for it in gas leaks, oils spills, car accidents due to lack of safety measures...
1
Perhaps American voters are not presented with the choice in a form that they can understand. If we made this a game show...
Behind Door #1 lies pollution of your air, water, and soil. It may not kill you immediately, but it will certainly have a dramatic impact on your health and on that of your family, particularly your children. You can tell if you're in this predicament if the water is brown, smells funny, and can be set on fire, if the earth is barren like a Mar's landscape, and if the air is brownish gray and makes you cough.
Behind Door #2 lies a substantial tax increase as you try to figure out how to clean up at least part of the godawful mess that has been created.
And behind Door #3 lies the possibility of forcing the corporations that created the mess to pay for the clean-up, to promise not to do it again, to be sent to bed without any supper, and to be grounded forever or at least until they can prove that they've learned their lesson. And no, we won't accept any, "But Mom, everyone's doing it" excuses.
If the American public ever had a real chance to choose, I have no doubt whatsoever about which door they would pick. We've purposefully made the issue more complicated than it needs to be.
Behind Door #1 lies pollution of your air, water, and soil. It may not kill you immediately, but it will certainly have a dramatic impact on your health and on that of your family, particularly your children. You can tell if you're in this predicament if the water is brown, smells funny, and can be set on fire, if the earth is barren like a Mar's landscape, and if the air is brownish gray and makes you cough.
Behind Door #2 lies a substantial tax increase as you try to figure out how to clean up at least part of the godawful mess that has been created.
And behind Door #3 lies the possibility of forcing the corporations that created the mess to pay for the clean-up, to promise not to do it again, to be sent to bed without any supper, and to be grounded forever or at least until they can prove that they've learned their lesson. And no, we won't accept any, "But Mom, everyone's doing it" excuses.
If the American public ever had a real chance to choose, I have no doubt whatsoever about which door they would pick. We've purposefully made the issue more complicated than it needs to be.
15
Too bad the Democrats have been lying. Too bad the evil corporations are not going to pay the costs for whatever fairy tale the Democrats have come up with.
Reading your Constituion, in which the powers of the Federal government are explicitly listed with all other power devolved to the individual States, it's difficult to understand how the Federal E.P.A. is in existence at all! While interstate commerce is a Constitutionally mandated Federal power, intrastate commerce is a State power not Federal. If, for example, West Virginia doesn't mind a coal company spewing toxins into its' waters and if those waters do not cross state boundaries there seems no Constitutional mandate for the Federal government to take any action at all.
5
Ah! There's the problem "If those waters do not cross state boundaries".
Mother nature did not form the rivers into states made by us and build dams at the state borders. The waters flow and flow above ground and seepage goes under ground. Aye, there's the rub. Why would Tennessee want West Virginia's toxins?
Thus it does make sense to have the Federal Government monitor and rule on toxic waste.
Thi
Mother nature did not form the rivers into states made by us and build dams at the state borders. The waters flow and flow above ground and seepage goes under ground. Aye, there's the rub. Why would Tennessee want West Virginia's toxins?
Thus it does make sense to have the Federal Government monitor and rule on toxic waste.
Thi
12
Except, of course, that air and water do cross state borders. The classic example is the midwestern coal-fired power plants that spewed sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere, resulting in acid rain in New England.
11
The problem with your theory is that the coal fired electricity generators no longer spew sulfur dioxide and NOx into the atmosphere, so acid rain is gone. [New England had plenty of its own, home-grown, pollution.]
A few Americans thought by 2011 that the Republican Party was in sabotage mode. This is not a united Republican Party. Deeply fragmented and divided, Trump is able to act as a Presidential foil to distract the Public and The Media.
Our Allies are turning away. Poverty in America is rampant. Health Care for People of All Ages has become a national concern. Violence is on the rise. There are towns, even cities, that may never recover from the Recession. Our children are showing signs of emotional disorders. Our core values are slowing eroding.
The E.P.A. is the latest link that has been corroded and impacted. Our water resources are dwindling. It is time for the Powers-in-Authority and Governance to declare that The People and The Constitution are in a state of emergency.
Save America from the Enemy Within, Save our Children.
Our Allies are turning away. Poverty in America is rampant. Health Care for People of All Ages has become a national concern. Violence is on the rise. There are towns, even cities, that may never recover from the Recession. Our children are showing signs of emotional disorders. Our core values are slowing eroding.
The E.P.A. is the latest link that has been corroded and impacted. Our water resources are dwindling. It is time for the Powers-in-Authority and Governance to declare that The People and The Constitution are in a state of emergency.
Save America from the Enemy Within, Save our Children.
11
We have a President and a Congress who are in charge. Who are you proposing for the "Powers-in-Authority" and Governance if not the President and Congress? The EPA?
1
Scott Pruitt's agenda was already written and signed off on by the big oil, gas and the coal producers before he got in office. Let's clear that up right away.
The Koch Bros did what needed to be done, get dirty donald in the "Not So White House" and it's back to the good old days of rivers on fire, black lung, child labor, and emphysema for us poor folks who work outside.
Of course the koch's had help from the scotus... big bucs buy votes and win elections (its the american way). The path this country is going down with us focusing on fossils and not renewable energy alternatives is mind bogglin
Remember Soylent Green!
The Koch Bros did what needed to be done, get dirty donald in the "Not So White House" and it's back to the good old days of rivers on fire, black lung, child labor, and emphysema for us poor folks who work outside.
Of course the koch's had help from the scotus... big bucs buy votes and win elections (its the american way). The path this country is going down with us focusing on fossils and not renewable energy alternatives is mind bogglin
Remember Soylent Green!
12
I'm not surprised by this. Liberals were out of control during the Obama administration. Did you know that there is now a federal requirement for business owners to make reasonable accommodations for miniature horses as service animals? It’s true. You can now take a mini horse into any restaurant in America, and if you claim it’s a service animal, they have to make reasonable accommodations for you under federal law. This was put into the ADA rules in 2011 by Loretta Lynch because a half dozen Americans use these horses as service animals and wrote letters to the Justice Department pleading for them to be given special consideration. Now business owners all across America have to make special accommodations for mini horses. This is also why you’re seeing dogs in grocery stores, retail stores, restaurants, and airplanes all the time now. Dogs basically became people in 2011 because of the new ADA rules created by the Obama administration. You see, liberals start with an idea: Expand the ADA so that people with disabilities don’t fear discrimination. Who's not for that? The problem is now basically anyone can claim to be disabled and that their dog, or mini horse, is a service animal. And since business owners can’t ask many questions under the new rules, they’ve basically given up on protecting the public. And now, people with real disabilities are being marginalized. This is the result of liberalism run amok and it’s a big reason why Trump is president.
3
What in the world does this have to do with the EPA? Seems you just don't like animals.
5
Not seeing horses in restaurants in Colorado- maybe get an eye exam.
4
I'd rather have a dog be treated like people than a corporation. And I don't think we're going to hear about a mini horse stampede problem because too many of them are service animals in the coming news. These are your greatest examples for your concern of regulations gone wild? What about toxins in our food supply because some corporate big wig wanted to add a few extra million to his golden umbrella exit package by not doling out the dough to pay for safety measures and hey, there is no government oversight so who cares? He's already done his cost/benefit ratio and sevetal thousand people getting terribly sick just isn't worth the cash. Those are the concerns that come up from Pruitt's deregulation, Mark.
6
Once again people who voted for Trump have a lot to answer for. Pruitt's actions are pure vandalism of our government and of the environment. One of the reasons I emigrated to this country was because the air was cleaner here than the UK (much less diesel smoke here for example) and I was impressed by the lengths the EPA went to enforce restrictions on pollution in general. Pruitt is destroying America's leadership in this area and untold numbers of lives will be threatened by his disgraceful onslaught against the people's interests at the behest of corporate greed.
13
Are you saying that the air quality in Great Britain deteriorated after the EU follows the diktat of the UN under Kyoto?
The air quality in the US is far superior to that in the UK because we do not take direction from the UN. Air quality has improved in the US because we drive gasoline powered vehicles that get fewer miles to the gallon, instead of diesel engines which produce less CO2 per mile driven, but spew 40 times the amount of air pollutants. That's a choice Americans made, that we did not want air quality to deteriorate as it did in the UK. And yet, America reduced its CO2 production far more than the UK did, without sacrificing air quality or cost.
Ya gotta love American ingenuity.
If you want to introduce UK standards in the US, please go home instead.
The air quality in the US is far superior to that in the UK because we do not take direction from the UN. Air quality has improved in the US because we drive gasoline powered vehicles that get fewer miles to the gallon, instead of diesel engines which produce less CO2 per mile driven, but spew 40 times the amount of air pollutants. That's a choice Americans made, that we did not want air quality to deteriorate as it did in the UK. And yet, America reduced its CO2 production far more than the UK did, without sacrificing air quality or cost.
Ya gotta love American ingenuity.
If you want to introduce UK standards in the US, please go home instead.
The old "States rights" trope is really nothing more than the desire to gut regulations, many of which protect American citizens and our communities. We knew what we were getting with Pruitt so no one should be surprised.
12
yes drain the swamp including regulations
2
Well deserved, all 48% if you who sat out the presidential election. We are a stupid nation.
10
The 48% sat out the election because they didn't like either Hillary or Trump. If you could have compelled them to vote, it is a big assumption on your part that they wouldn't have selected Trump over the deplorable Hillary.
And so we are returning to the heartbreaking television scene of the Indian seeing what the white man had done to his beautiful untouched world. The crystal clear water and the bracing fresh air now to be fouled again. And the tears roll freely once more. The Great White Father Trump with his band of greedy capitalists will reverse decades of conversation and plunder the land. And Republicans all across the land will cheer them on. Evangelicals who believe God gave them this blessed land as stewards will turn their backs on this solemn responsibility and will sacrifice our Eden for a seat on the Supreme Court. And the Party of Teddy Roosevelt will turn its allegiance to the greed and whims of Wall Street. How tragic.
10
Trump has no policies. He is the conservative Republicans' Distractor in chief, keeping the public's attention focused on outrageous tweets while his small band of ideologues like Pruitt proceed right along with doing the bidding of corporate America, no matter the terrible impact on our people.
11
The environment is so over rated. Really...who needs it?
2
Mr. Pruitt..don't worry about clean air and clean water...the richer you are, the less you need. Future generations?...not your problem...
9
The idea of living in a filthier, more polluted, more toxic, and more dangerous environment does nothing to make America great, it merely exposes tens of millions of people to filth, pollution, and toxic substances. Pruitt and his stooges are carrying out the assignment given to them by the galactically ignorant Trumpolini and their billionaire paymasters – destroy the agency created by Richard Nixon – seriously, NIXON – and ignore the wishes and health of the American people. Neither my opinions nor the opinions of thousands of other people will matter to Pruitt, Trump, or the Republican eunuchs on Capitol Hill, but when future archaeologists sift through the polluted, deforested, eroded landscapes of the Great American Experiment, they will ask “how and why did this happen?” The answer should be self evident - GREED.
15
Now that we know about this, what can we do as voters and concerned citizens? I hate articles like this that talks about a problem but doesn't offer city solution!
2
The solution ultimately lies at the ballot box. Meanwhile, donate to groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council that are taking legal action to stop Pruitt.
10
Never vote for any Republican. Ever. Simple as that.
16
Research. Get primary source facts from non-partisan sources, call your Rep in Congress and lay out these facts and voice your concern. Get like-minded friends who want to help and ask them to do the same, particularly if they live in states where Reps are climate deniers. Support candidates who share your views, pay attention to local politics and find out if these mandates are affecting your community. Listen to people who disagree and find out where their getting their information too and ask questions. Fight illogic with logic. Knowledge is power.
1
Eventually Pruitt's dismantling of environmental protections will reflect the Grifter Trump's inner most soul: a toxic waste dump.
9
Oh, "Green Party" (whatever THAT means), you have outdone yourselves this time.
SHAME.
SHAME.
6
It is always easier to destroy than to create, as any toddler learns, but this administration is stuck forever in the terrible twos and lashes out at anything Obama has achieved -- as though it were a mortal threat to have clean air and water and health care for everyone.
18
Good, that is what he is there to do. It is shame that people who care about the environment have fallen sway to anti-development ideologues.
1
Keeping rural Americans off federal lands that they and their families have enjoyed for generations is like shutting down all of the Broadway theaters, all the museums, all of the coffee shops and all of the 5th Avenue stores for New Yorkers. Well, this is how rural and much of semi-rural Americans is effected. The desert tortoise, etc, etc are well regarded and well respected. You do not need to banish people from millions of acres and take away their main source of relaxation and enjoyment.
2
Wow this is really unacceptable! I hope you Jill Stein liberals are happy now with your vote!
14
Trump's campaign lies of draining the swamp is no more evident in Pruitt;Pruitt is the faces of fossil fuel and works to keep them going by denying climate change and now by undoing all the good President Obama did;the lie to miners that regulations were designed to close down coal;NO,coal was outdone by cheaper and cleaner liquid gas from fracking;coal was long on the decline on its own;the Coal Museum uses solar panels for power, NOT COAL;everyone has seen people in China using face masks to deal with the pollution from coal;China will be the leader in renewables because the backward,unaware current president lives in the past when he was attractive;those days are gone and so is his ability to understand anything complex, like climate change, health care, foreign policy, not threatening war to other countries, abandoning allies, and putting a thorn in the side of allies like Quatar. Pruitt and Trump, bottom feeding swamp dwellers par excellence.
11
Corporations can loot, pillage, burn, strip , pollute and desecrate anything they want and there is nothing any one can do to stop them. This is the true face of America shining through.
9
Who picked Pruitt for the job? Pence, Ryan, McConnell? I doubt Trump even knew who he was.
8
ANYTHING to cancel out what the Black guy did...
20
Why does the NYT continue to sensationalize this administration's dismantling of American government by labeling everything constructed in the previous 8 years as "Obama's"?
Instead, why not prompt readers of your headlines to understand that it's the American People who were protected by these EPA's regulations, the American People who were cared for by the Affordable Care Act, and the same American People who benefitted from the various protections afforded by their government over the last 8 years to individuals whose lives, liberties and happiness were being threatened by the rampant and craven worship of corporate profit. It's their same democratic govenment that is being destroyed, not Mr. Obama's.
I don't doubt that personal animus based on vitriolic racisism, raw hatred of the highly educated and intellectual, and destructive narcissim, is behind the Trump administration's attempt to erase any and all evidence of social progress achieved over the last 8 years. None of these factors take into accont the serious harm such eradication might do to individual Americans (See, e.g. CBO analysis of the last 2 Republican attempts at passing health legislation to replace the ACA),
But, it's not Mr. Obama who will suffer most from all this administration's destruction of individual protections. It will be each and every American. Why doesn't the NYT support that view, instead of implying the contrary?
Instead, why not prompt readers of your headlines to understand that it's the American People who were protected by these EPA's regulations, the American People who were cared for by the Affordable Care Act, and the same American People who benefitted from the various protections afforded by their government over the last 8 years to individuals whose lives, liberties and happiness were being threatened by the rampant and craven worship of corporate profit. It's their same democratic govenment that is being destroyed, not Mr. Obama's.
I don't doubt that personal animus based on vitriolic racisism, raw hatred of the highly educated and intellectual, and destructive narcissim, is behind the Trump administration's attempt to erase any and all evidence of social progress achieved over the last 8 years. None of these factors take into accont the serious harm such eradication might do to individual Americans (See, e.g. CBO analysis of the last 2 Republican attempts at passing health legislation to replace the ACA),
But, it's not Mr. Obama who will suffer most from all this administration's destruction of individual protections. It will be each and every American. Why doesn't the NYT support that view, instead of implying the contrary?
12
Too bad Obama didn't understand that if he used his pen rather than the legislative process, that the ink would disappear on inauguration day. By ignoring the rule of law, Obama created a temporary illusion.
Scott Pruitt, 100% Republican - who but a believer in god could be so vile to the earth?
13
Steve Bannon is baaaaaack creating chaos around the world. This frees Trump to tweet his brains out at maximum capacity: 140 characters at a time.
TV commentators love pontificating about "strategies." There are no strategies. These require a SERIES of anticipated outcomes. Chaos is no strategy but it keeps Bannon busy creating it and Trump playing his cover 140 characters at a time. Puppet master and puppet.
TV commentators love pontificating about "strategies." There are no strategies. These require a SERIES of anticipated outcomes. Chaos is no strategy but it keeps Bannon busy creating it and Trump playing his cover 140 characters at a time. Puppet master and puppet.
6
So this is a story that begins by asserting that Mr. Pruitt is doing what the voters whose candidate won the presidency want to be done. But the emphasis quickly shifts to a review of selected inside-outers who don't like what he is doing. So one more piece that is offered as news ends up as opinion.
BTW, does anyone like my term, "inside-outers"?
BTW, does anyone like my term, "inside-outers"?
3
To the many people who care about the impact of these industries - the answer is simple - stop buying their products.
10
As with almost everything involved in the federal government's purview, the Trump Administration is revealing how much we've relied in the past on the good faith of people in government to do what--oh, I don't know--the title of the agency indicates. But Messrs. Trump and Pruitt are helpfully demonstrating how the age of good faith is over. Enter the law. Who knew that we need to make laws and regulations that require the Environmental Protection Agency to do things that, in fact, "protect" the environment? I hope a few other state attorneys general will sue the EPA for false advertising, identity theft, or something similar to get the ball rolling on this.
11
It's not necessary to sue the EPA for fraud or anything like that, although truly, what it's doing is criminal and is sure to result in death and destruction. Because the limits of the EPA's authority are not set by the executive branch, the legislative mandate pursuant to which federal agencies are established cannot be changed by any president, or his chosen EPA chief, alone. That is the law, and if the Supreme Court needs to order an agency to perform its mandate, so be it. I believe there was an instance where that court did so with respect to the EPA under G.W. Bush's administration.
Let's hope that ball gets rolling a.s.a.p.
Let's hope that ball gets rolling a.s.a.p.
2
Psychologically, how does a person understand the actions of Mr. Pruitt? I do not think we are dealing with simply not knowing on the part of Pruitt, so the actions need another explanation.
5
Trump's whole deal is being perverse, his cabinet choices included.
4
Greed.
11
Mr. Pruitt and trump are working overtime to abolish all the hard fought accomplishments of Obama's administration. This doe on behalf of Koch' Brothers and Murray the coal industry tycoon. Mr. Pruitt has shut the down EPA website devoted to climate change and stopped all fundings for scientific research in this field. I am hoping the progressive and the people who care about the environment and climate change will establish website to counter Mr. Pruitt anti-science and humanity stand and people like Mr. Gates and Bloomberg will fund this effort and scientific research that Mr. Pruitt had defunded.
10
A couple more regulation rollbacks and you'll have your retirement fund in pretty good shape. Nice job Scott.
9
One legacy of the Trump administration will be that lawyers will emerge as the most powerful people in American society. Protests are great, but lawsuits will be the only way to slow this trainwreck.
I understand these people feel a need to "get even" with liberals, scientists, teachers, gun safety advocates and anybody they don't like. But why punish the environment?
I understand these people feel a need to "get even" with liberals, scientists, teachers, gun safety advocates and anybody they don't like. But why punish the environment?
9
And who are the kids we are so cavalierly dismissing? Why, the disadvantaged kids who live in neighborhoods most likely to be affected by pollution. The kids whose parents can't afford lawsuits, or for that matter, health care.
This is beyond disgusting. It is downright malevolent.
This is beyond disgusting. It is downright malevolent.
15
Someone needs to point out that the P in EPA stands for PROTECTION. This is what you get when Republicans are running the show. They ruin everything they touch. They will approve strip mining in the Grand Canyon next.
14
Make no mistake. Pruitt knows exactly what he's doing. People like Pruitt will admit to their short-sighted, greed-inspired mistakes about the same the catastrophic damage they've inflicted on our environment manifests itself irreversibly, and their grandchildren discover they can't eat dollar bills. Pruitt and his climate-denying ilk will get what they deserve. The problem is WE will get what they deserve, too.
7
Gates Buffett Bloomberg Zuckerberg et al need to step up now with their Giving Pledge to stop this administration.
10
For God's sake, please buy out Fox News and stop the weaponizing of fake news and corrosive propaganda to destroy government and the civil order in the U.S. and elsewhere.
10
He will be held accountable. For sure.
4
Similar to their financial philosophy of "take the profits then sue or declare bankruptcy when the debts come due," Republican's environmental damages will mostly play out over coming decades. A legacy of protection of our environment and our health will take awhile to erode as pollution accumulates, nature reserves are developed and the climate inexorably shifts. Only those who understand this will be capable of slowing the oligarchs before they wreak complete destruction.
8
Isn't the agency supposed to protect the environment? Ugh.
4
I, like so many others, have enjoyed the cleaner air and cleaner water here in the mountains of Western North Carolina since the EPA moved to enforce rules and laws to prevent pollution and the degradation of our beautiful area.
You can now actually see 50 miles on some days in the Great Smokies National Park, where the haze that give these mountains their name is now mostly a natural event and not caused by pollution from coal-powered power plants and factories in Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and elsewhere. The rivers and streams are running clear and cold and are again full of trout and other fish and wildlife.
If changes in the EPA under Trump and Pruitt have a tangible impact on us, if we can see the changes wrought by these actions, I believe we also will see the impact at the polling places in 2018 and 2020. We native Tar Heels and others in this area love our mountains and wont' stand for them being polluted again by industry.
You can now actually see 50 miles on some days in the Great Smokies National Park, where the haze that give these mountains their name is now mostly a natural event and not caused by pollution from coal-powered power plants and factories in Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and elsewhere. The rivers and streams are running clear and cold and are again full of trout and other fish and wildlife.
If changes in the EPA under Trump and Pruitt have a tangible impact on us, if we can see the changes wrought by these actions, I believe we also will see the impact at the polling places in 2018 and 2020. We native Tar Heels and others in this area love our mountains and wont' stand for them being polluted again by industry.
18
Does Mr. Pruitt understand his actions are hastening our planet towards extinction. If he does, there are not sufficient words to describe the immortality.
10
Mr Pruitt should be learning what the primary mission of the EPA is before just making decisions to help rich folks. This is not even goingn to help workers in these industries. It is just to put more money in the pockets of the rich Sad...The workers could be put to better use building green technologies.
4
America, we all share this planet you know
6
Profits and cancer rates rising in tandem. Thank you mr. Pruitt, for making America sick again.
15
No one voted the Green Party into office. Why should they be running the EPA? Is it possible to provide facts rather than good vs evil rhetoric?
3
The scientific consensus, or fact, is we will be extinct unless we take steps now to preserve the planet.
5
The consensus is I live in a Democratic Republic not under a Theocratic dictatorship.
If you want to rule win an election.
If you want to rule win an election.
1
Yes, we do live in a democratic republic, not to mention a constitutional democracy in which all Americans are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
How much suffering has to be endured, how much personal liberty has to be curtailed and how many lives have to be taken by environmental toxins, pesticide in our foods, poisoned air and water, and the extinction of vital species in the food chain on top of which we currently enjoy the privilege of life?
What will it take for those who worship money and business over individual lives and their inalienable rights to realize that, despite their wealth and power, God doesn't accept cash?
How much suffering has to be endured, how much personal liberty has to be curtailed and how many lives have to be taken by environmental toxins, pesticide in our foods, poisoned air and water, and the extinction of vital species in the food chain on top of which we currently enjoy the privilege of life?
What will it take for those who worship money and business over individual lives and their inalienable rights to realize that, despite their wealth and power, God doesn't accept cash?
3
t
There is no doubt in my mind that the EPA has overreached in many area especialy on private properties large and small with darconian regulations. Private property rights should out weigh the public rights.
There is no doubt in my mind that the EPA has overreached in many area especialy on private properties large and small with darconian regulations. Private property rights should out weigh the public rights.
2
Unless exploitation of those private property rights generate costs borne by the public, not the private property owner. Why should the public be forced to pick up the tab for those costs?
7
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few....or the one." Mr. Spock
9
Not if your pollution travels off of your private property.
11
Do Pruitt's actions constitute crimes against humanity? The information presented leads me to believe that the answer is a resounding "YES!" Can we survive even 4 years of this type of behavior?
10
deplorable is too kind for trump, appointees and supporters!
9
Pruitt should make Americans ask what does the GOP stand for besides doing exactly what industry and the wealthy want regardless of the damage it would do to our environment, its citizens, and the world. Name any policy that the GOP supports that does not enrich the wealthy and powerful. Wait, the GOP does stand for one more thing, bigotry! What a sorry bunch of people.
11
Who wants this? Who in West Virginia wants this where well water has been so polluted by the coal companies that you can't even take a bath in it? Who wants to let the coal companies off the hook, again?
What are we to make of Mr. Pruitt's own statement that his changes will disproportionately harm children, but he is going ahead anyway? What kind of man who would do that?
How can we allow these companies to control their own regulation? What would have happened in the past had we done that?
It isn't as if things are perfect now. Our air is better than it was. All the same, recent studies indicate it is still bad enough to cause considerable disease.
The so-called "administrative state" is nothing but a Republican falsehood, that demonizes the competent professionals at these agencies, and makes excuses for the Trump administration.
By historical standards, the present regulatory regime is moderate and centrist. This shift is without hyperbole a return to the regimes of a time of DDT (no bald eagles), leaded gasoline, acrid smog, and burning rivers.
The so-called "war on coal" is another Republican falsehood. The cause for the decline of coal is the low price of natural gas, and the main factor harming coal workers is automation.
Republicans claim the present state of affairs is caused by Democrats. That is a joke, and they know it. Republican obstruction has made any and all reasonable centrist legislation regarding the environment impossible.
What are we to make of Mr. Pruitt's own statement that his changes will disproportionately harm children, but he is going ahead anyway? What kind of man who would do that?
How can we allow these companies to control their own regulation? What would have happened in the past had we done that?
It isn't as if things are perfect now. Our air is better than it was. All the same, recent studies indicate it is still bad enough to cause considerable disease.
The so-called "administrative state" is nothing but a Republican falsehood, that demonizes the competent professionals at these agencies, and makes excuses for the Trump administration.
By historical standards, the present regulatory regime is moderate and centrist. This shift is without hyperbole a return to the regimes of a time of DDT (no bald eagles), leaded gasoline, acrid smog, and burning rivers.
The so-called "war on coal" is another Republican falsehood. The cause for the decline of coal is the low price of natural gas, and the main factor harming coal workers is automation.
Republicans claim the present state of affairs is caused by Democrats. That is a joke, and they know it. Republican obstruction has made any and all reasonable centrist legislation regarding the environment impossible.
19
This administration has gone from swearing to drown government in a bathtub to drowning it in an Olympic swimming pool of foul waste; Republican treacle for an unwilling patient, the citizenry of the USA.
Can anyone name one cabinet officer who isn't trying desperately to destroy any need for the post he or she holds?
Can anyone name one cabinet officer who isn't trying desperately to destroy any need for the post he or she holds?
8
$4.2 Million did not buy Scott Pruitt.
Everybody's got this wrong. They're assuming it's corruption, payola, corporate contributions. It's none of that. Do people really imagine 4.2 mil could buy this kind of fixation?
It's the Bible, people, Genesis, devout Dominionism.
Democrats, progressives, environmentalists just don't get how powerful a grip devout evangelicalism has on its politically activist adherents.
Pruitt is extremely smart, extremely motivated, and extremely devout.
For the Kochs, maybe it is all about the petro-profits, but not for Pruitt. For him it's the Bible.
As long as people think that money & corporate/industrialist influence is the secret culprit in what's driving that particular ant-environmentalist, they'll be completely misreading Scott Pruitt.
Really, I dare ya, journalists, go grill Pruitt on what's really behind his obsession with deregulation of resource exploitation, ask him if its his supporters in industry, his law clients, a Libertarian states-rights political ideology, or is it the Bible?
I virtually guarantee if you grill him hard enough, this is all about God & the Bible.
Just go ask folks at the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, where Pruitt serves as deacon. They'll tell you.
Everybody's got this wrong. They're assuming it's corruption, payola, corporate contributions. It's none of that. Do people really imagine 4.2 mil could buy this kind of fixation?
It's the Bible, people, Genesis, devout Dominionism.
Democrats, progressives, environmentalists just don't get how powerful a grip devout evangelicalism has on its politically activist adherents.
Pruitt is extremely smart, extremely motivated, and extremely devout.
For the Kochs, maybe it is all about the petro-profits, but not for Pruitt. For him it's the Bible.
As long as people think that money & corporate/industrialist influence is the secret culprit in what's driving that particular ant-environmentalist, they'll be completely misreading Scott Pruitt.
Really, I dare ya, journalists, go grill Pruitt on what's really behind his obsession with deregulation of resource exploitation, ask him if its his supporters in industry, his law clients, a Libertarian states-rights political ideology, or is it the Bible?
I virtually guarantee if you grill him hard enough, this is all about God & the Bible.
Just go ask folks at the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, where Pruitt serves as deacon. They'll tell you.
9
Stephen Hawking said our greed and stupidity will cause the demise of mankind. Thanks to this reprobate it will happen sooner rather than later.
21
Well said.
3
He's a vandal.
11
Big business campaign donations are bribes and payoffs. The money used to be in envelopes, now it's checks right out in the open. We are no longer shocked by it. It may very well be the collapse of our democracy.
12
Blame Trump and the republicans! They knew what Pruitt is!
8
Republicans and the Justice Department and F.B.I. are corrupt because they support big business that pays off Republican politicians. They're all leeches.
3
Every day we see how much damage small-minded ideologues and opportunists can wreak on our country. We have an idiot as a President who appoints other idiots to cabinet positions. Rick Perry. Betsy DeVoss. Scott Pruitt. ad nauseum.
Since the election, I have learned a new word: "kakistocracy," i.e., the government of a State by the worst citizens (OED).
Since the election, I have learned a new word: "kakistocracy," i.e., the government of a State by the worst citizens (OED).
14
Small minded ideologues are who weaponized the EPA, turning it into a partisan political organization. As such the EPA was derelict in it's duty in Ferguson and who knows where else in the country.
2
Following in the footsteps of communist Romania.
2
I really don't understand your reply. Are you making the Environmental Protection Agency somehow complicit with the Michael Brown rioting in Ferguson, Missouri?
And, are you also opposed to Americans having clean water to drink and clean air to breathe?
And, are you also opposed to Americans having clean water to drink and clean air to breathe?
2
This is the legacy we wish to leave to future generations--pollution of air and water and many extinct species.
7
this guy is really scary...God help us....let us all be able to drink clean water....God bless..
9
What a legacy to leave behind, "I did everything in my power to destroy the environment ".
20
It is outrageous and sickening to watch Pruitt mowing down all the environmental protection regulations that has taken decades to put in place. But it shouldn't be surprising at all. Coch brothers are the biggest threat to our environment, they ordered Trump to hire Pruitt as the E.P.A. Chief , mainly based on his track record, to do the damage to our air, land, and water. Obama was responsible for placing regulations that can clean and save the planet, they all hate Obama, and the rest is history.
5
Ever heard of or read about Ida Tarbell; well then find out what a dedicated
muckraker does ...that is a dedicated journalists who digs and digs and digs
for the truth...sort of like Bob Mueller...but in the open arena...every day..
taking all the abuse...from those who sling mud or muck at these valiant
forensic journalists.
Yes Ida Tarbell...same as Sinclair Lewis...or ...even Rachel Maddow..nowadays.
we must start gearing up to save ourselves from the ...sordid enticements
of the corporated savages who seeminly cannot help themselves from
their sick avarice....Let's Just Call It ...Let's Save The Koch Brothers Souls..
since if we do not ...surely they are going to HELL !!!
muckraker does ...that is a dedicated journalists who digs and digs and digs
for the truth...sort of like Bob Mueller...but in the open arena...every day..
taking all the abuse...from those who sling mud or muck at these valiant
forensic journalists.
Yes Ida Tarbell...same as Sinclair Lewis...or ...even Rachel Maddow..nowadays.
we must start gearing up to save ourselves from the ...sordid enticements
of the corporated savages who seeminly cannot help themselves from
their sick avarice....Let's Just Call It ...Let's Save The Koch Brothers Souls..
since if we do not ...surely they are going to HELL !!!
3
In a previous life, Scott Pruitt excelled as the Grim Reaper.
4
Clearly a man who does not care about the health of his children or the generations they will spawn. This mental midget does not even understand the time-tested folk saying, "As you sow, thus shall you reap."
History is full of examples of mis-leaders like this who put their ideology above the preservation of the environment. i suggest good folks read "Collapse" by Jared diamond, in particular the chapter on Easter Island
History is full of examples of mis-leaders like this who put their ideology above the preservation of the environment. i suggest good folks read "Collapse" by Jared diamond, in particular the chapter on Easter Island
5
Now with the advent of total control of the government by Republicans, those who followed my comments all these years knows I was right, that Republicans have criminal minds. They're a Mafia of their own.
3
Well, by doing this he's just ensuring that people know he hates the environment. Which is odd, since the very agency he 'leads' is charged with the 'protection' of the environment, which these sorts of actions assuredly don't do. He works for big business and that's it.
5
Trump, Pruitt, McConnell, Sessions - Pluto needs slave colony administrators and quick. Lie, tweet, drill, burn, incarcerate, take their health insurance, ban Frisbyterians; do what you want when you want. What are the slaves going to do about it?
Wait a minute...
Wait a minute...
The name could be changed from Environmental Protection Agency to Environmental Destruction agency. Let's be accurate.
9
Back we go more than a hundred years to the times of "The Jungle" (Upton Sinclair) and "Octopus" (Frank Norris), the shirtwaist factory fire, the unprotected workers, lands and natural resources--abuses which Republican Teddy Roosevelt and the Progressive Era did much to stop. They paved the way to a healthy environment and now we're heading back to the last decades of the 1800's. All of Europe is more humane! TAKE AMERICA BACKWARDS AGAIN!
6
And all it takes is $4.2 million to destroy the US environment. Who needs enemies when we have compatriots like this.
7
I don't have grandchildren. Does Mr. Pruitt ?
1
I don 't have grandchildren, but I want gorgeous Earth and humanity to survive.
4
I thought whoever held the Presidency was supposed to be an important figure in the country. We now have a President who can't seem to get anything done (besides offensive tweets), while his cabinet is busy dismantling the government. Nice play, Mr. Tangerine Man.
7
He makes his measly $180,000 or so for four years. He leaves government at age 53, starts making millions as a corporate shill, consultant, speaker et al. And the more destructive he will prove to have been, the higher his bidding price. And he sleeps like a babe covered in silver coins.
11
Pruitt obviously is disinterested in — or never savored — clean air, fresh water, unsullied farmland or acreage not infused with toxins and chemical waste. Looking forward to the day when his grandchildren climb onto his knee and ask, "Grandpa, will you tell us again how you helped to destroy the United States of America?"
5
How did he not perjure himself when he took the oath for his position?
9
Things will only change when the white working class suffer serious enough health issues that they decide to change their votes. Until then it's #notmycountryanymore
10
Environmental terrorism perpetrated by Pruitt, Trump and the vested interests that put them in office. But before the pollution and lead and pesticides in our water reduce our brain cells to mush---start remembering Pruitt's enablers, especially the big ones doing the greatest damage. And let's all pledge to go after them and make them pay when we take back the White House. We did it once before.
Dow Chemical hey hey
How many kids did you kill today?!
Koch Brothers hey hey
How many Americans did you kill today?!
Exxon Mobile hey hey
How many did you kill today?!...
Let's put an end to Agent Orange atrocities!...
Dow Chemical hey hey
How many kids did you kill today?!
Koch Brothers hey hey
How many Americans did you kill today?!
Exxon Mobile hey hey
How many did you kill today?!...
Let's put an end to Agent Orange atrocities!...
11
But by all means let's freak out over Trump and the voting registration rolls... Imagine the horror of THE GOVERNMENT getting hold of your Social Security number!
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
3
Right. More like the Trumpers re-election Krew getting their mitts on how everyone voted- they are up to no good. Work that PhD though.
5
The Government ? You mean the Trump team, the executive branch of the Government. There are two other branches, the legislative and the judicial branches.
Yes imagine people freaking out that the White House, all handpicked trumpettes aligned to big business, are demanding that States break their own laws to supply information to them, information that goes way beyond just social security numbers.
Say no to Big Government the Republicans say. Hum!
Yes imagine people freaking out that the White House, all handpicked trumpettes aligned to big business, are demanding that States break their own laws to supply information to them, information that goes way beyond just social security numbers.
Say no to Big Government the Republicans say. Hum!
1
Nothing will stop this travesty save the ousting of Republicans from office.
11
Thanks for reporting on important issues and events. Trump is
successfully controlling the news with his antics, and the press
are largely not reporting on
(1) Investigations of treason, nepotism, emoluments violations
(2) Careless/treasonous declassification of state secrets
(3) Subjective interpretation of travel ban
(4) Practical ideas to pay down debt and address health care crisis,
trade, climate change
(5) Diplomacy/war in Syria, N Korea, Iran
Please write 1000 words about substantive issues for every word
about Trump's calculated distractions.
Thanks.
successfully controlling the news with his antics, and the press
are largely not reporting on
(1) Investigations of treason, nepotism, emoluments violations
(2) Careless/treasonous declassification of state secrets
(3) Subjective interpretation of travel ban
(4) Practical ideas to pay down debt and address health care crisis,
trade, climate change
(5) Diplomacy/war in Syria, N Korea, Iran
Please write 1000 words about substantive issues for every word
about Trump's calculated distractions.
Thanks.
12
Children will be disproportionately effected, but we must think of the needs of the oil and gas industry first. Kids have no value, in comparison.
7
Pruitt does NOT protect any environment other than his own bank's vault. Change his agency's name, and his administrative title to something more fitting his obsequious decision making processes.
6
May his children and grandchildren suffer with the rest of the world from the pure evil of this man.
12
Roll back the Affordable Care Act. Roll back laws protecting our land and water and air. Roll back taxes on the wealthiest. This will make America great again? What world are we living in that any of this makes any sense at all? Rubbish ideas. Rubbish policies. Leadership that is arrogant, unintelligent, vain and intent on harming our nation.
GoP voters - what have you done?
GoP voters - what have you done?
20
"GoP voters - what have you done?"
Done?
Putin's bidding, of course.
Led by the ring of hate and greed in their nose. Pulled by the con artist himself.
"Our National Disgrace" the Trump.
Done?
Putin's bidding, of course.
Led by the ring of hate and greed in their nose. Pulled by the con artist himself.
"Our National Disgrace" the Trump.
3
Regulations harm liberty? Following that logic, laws in general harm liberty, too. A speed limit of 40mph? Nope, I have to right to go at 80mph!
7
Pruitt wants to make you sick. McConnell and the Republican Congress wants to make sure you die miserably. There's a special place in Hell for all of them.
16
pruitt is evangelical. he thinks god is on his side.
6
He thinks he is god, well, only when Trump is not within ear shot because they have all agreed to let the 45th believe he holds that title and position.
3
If there are any progressive Christians, they need to speak out in a LOUD voice against this Pruitt perversion of what the Bible says about God's creation.
3
Between destroying schools, the social safety net, health care, international agreements, civil discourse and all else, I think this is the one area we may not have sufficient time to recover when the Trumpuppets are finished. Our fresh water supplies, the oceans, forests, agricultural areas, and heat balance of the atmosphere are at tipping points. Going backwards should not be seen as an option.
Jobs and profits, at what cost? Are we that short-sighted?
Jobs and profits, at what cost? Are we that short-sighted?
12
As a hereditary Republican when I came to Washington, DC to work on air pollution control in the Public Health Service (PHS) in 1966, I was impressed with the honesty and dedication of management in protecting the public.
Several years later, Nixon took pollution control programs out of the PHS and placed them into a new EPA under Ruckelshaus. The new mission leaders joked that the new goal was to protect birds and bunnies, not people.
In 1971, EPA weakened the air pollution control regulations and I became a Whistleblower. See some of the results described at http://www.legalreader.com/interview-louis-lombardo-on-whistleblowing-an...
Several years later, Nixon took pollution control programs out of the PHS and placed them into a new EPA under Ruckelshaus. The new mission leaders joked that the new goal was to protect birds and bunnies, not people.
In 1971, EPA weakened the air pollution control regulations and I became a Whistleblower. See some of the results described at http://www.legalreader.com/interview-louis-lombardo-on-whistleblowing-an...
3
Scott Pruitt is enabling public policy which will ultimately KILL people. Think about it.
12
The arrogance of Obama trying to extend federal jurisdiction over every mud puddle and drainage ditch in this country is nothing short of astounding and scandalous!
3
If you're a Republican, you repeal environmental regulations. That's what you do.
5
Not all. Let's not paint with overly broad brush,and let's not lose some working to protect our waterways, states, environment.
Build bridges, and educate more,
Build bridges, and educate more,
1
The country would rather remain as lemmings who commit mass suicide than risk standing up to Trump and his gang.
Suppose he ordered the police and the military to round up and arrest all the Jews or Journalists or Environmentalists (all that data is available thanks to Internet tracking). Is anybody going to stand up and defy the Trump iron fist?
This is a nation of cowards. If we want to be great again, maybe standing up to the Trump policies that are poisoning our minds and our waters would be a good place as any to begin.
Suppose he ordered the police and the military to round up and arrest all the Jews or Journalists or Environmentalists (all that data is available thanks to Internet tracking). Is anybody going to stand up and defy the Trump iron fist?
This is a nation of cowards. If we want to be great again, maybe standing up to the Trump policies that are poisoning our minds and our waters would be a good place as any to begin.
17
However, this administration is shamefully ignoring the whale-oil industry. Not one ship has been built in New England to bring back this fine industry, which faithfully brought oil to the lamps of America for decades. How are we to bring back the 19th century without this needed resource?
6
Because he sued the EPA he should have been disqualified for this position. Puppet; trumps puppet. I am unable to explain this my children - or myself.
12
I was surprised that you didn't credit Congressman Meadows (N.C.) of the Freedom Caucus. Meadows had the master-list of their top 282 laws they wanted passed. These laws in the EPA are but a small part of the larger Great Dismantling that will be accomplished once the other government departments cease to be "mired down".
What will come into existence in the end will be an unrecognizable America.
These are only 30 out of another 250.
In the famous words of Someone: "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
What will come into existence in the end will be an unrecognizable America.
These are only 30 out of another 250.
In the famous words of Someone: "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
8
To deal with the drug problem of this country I think that we should ask the drug suppliers, the drug dealers and the drug users on what to do about it.
At least people would start to die at a much faster rate than letting our very own environment destroy us...but then again, the environment could change so radically, so quickly, that drugs will the option of choice in the end.
At least people would start to die at a much faster rate than letting our very own environment destroy us...but then again, the environment could change so radically, so quickly, that drugs will the option of choice in the end.
4
The only thing Scott Pruitt is good for is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
9
There should be a special place in hell for those damaging the environment.
15
He would have to be the number one candidate for a charge of crimes against humanity in twenty years time. If it gets as bad as predicted, I don't think he will find much support in the US for a process harboring him away from the ICC given that the US may wear the effects of climate change more harshly than others.
Of course that assumes that some sort of societal order exists in twenty years time.
Of course that assumes that some sort of societal order exists in twenty years time.
10
All I can think of is "despicable". One man tries to destroy 50 years of progress. Remember the flaming river?
10
Pruitt's handwork illustrates why we are more "polarized." When the GOP, scorning any moderate stance, immediately tears down everything that protects individuals (other than the 1%) and the commons, those of us in the 99% who are paying attention to reality and can see where this leads HAVE to work against them to protect ourselves, society, and the earth. We "liberals" are not working against Pruitt & the GOP because we refuse to compromise. Rather, we are just trying to survive -- something that cannot be said for the businesses courting the GOP and the 1% -- all of whom profited enormously through the past 8 years. But evidently that was not good enough for them. They want it all. They are willing to kill off any number of us and make the planet unlivable for humans -- all for their own greed. And to think some of these folks claim to be Christian! They used to hide their intentions. Now they act unashamedly.
So let's call it what it is. Murder for profit. From the 45,000 people estimated to die each year if the GOP pass their "healthcare"-tax-repeal bill, to our children who suffer irreversible brain damage from lead and other chemicals allowed in food and water among Pruitt's many many anti-environment actions -- The GOP and their wealthy donors are knowingly killing US citizens for profit right now and ruining all of humanity's ability to live on the earth in future. It is murder for profit. How sick can they be?
So let's call it what it is. Murder for profit. From the 45,000 people estimated to die each year if the GOP pass their "healthcare"-tax-repeal bill, to our children who suffer irreversible brain damage from lead and other chemicals allowed in food and water among Pruitt's many many anti-environment actions -- The GOP and their wealthy donors are knowingly killing US citizens for profit right now and ruining all of humanity's ability to live on the earth in future. It is murder for profit. How sick can they be?
9
Except the Koch Brothers have to breathe the air, too.
Nah, they breath bottled air.
4
Is it your position that Gates, Soros, Buffett, Imelt are Republicans?
Mr. Pruitt should be concerned about personal FOIA subpoenas and state Attorney Generals at this point. One may rise, but the fall comes for certain.
7
People: for those who don't know, the most common form of the chemical chlorpyrifos was marketed u dear the brand name Dursban.
It is an insecticide that was outlawed in 2000.
Before that it was widely used in USA and Canada for mosquito control, termite control, boll insects attacking corn, cotton and other crops.
It is truly bizarre to consider bringing it back, and strong questions should be asked of Pruitt regarding what pests he is claiming it is needed for, which other products are not available for?
Believe me, he isn't going to be able to say honestly that we need it for Zika or anything else.
One more thing not being discussed in reader comments: The number of people in this administration who ,add their fortunes in the oil industry is presently affecting how Trump and administration look favorably on reducing EPA influence and opening more areas up to drilling.
Meanwhile, for a while Ohio was the world leader in manufacturing for the solar industry. But guess what: Chinese now can claim that.
NYT: there are plenty of in depth stories you can do related to this story and the readers' comments.
And readers seem to say in these comments they welcome more such coverage. So p,ease, consider some great multi-disciplinary series.
It is an insecticide that was outlawed in 2000.
Before that it was widely used in USA and Canada for mosquito control, termite control, boll insects attacking corn, cotton and other crops.
It is truly bizarre to consider bringing it back, and strong questions should be asked of Pruitt regarding what pests he is claiming it is needed for, which other products are not available for?
Believe me, he isn't going to be able to say honestly that we need it for Zika or anything else.
One more thing not being discussed in reader comments: The number of people in this administration who ,add their fortunes in the oil industry is presently affecting how Trump and administration look favorably on reducing EPA influence and opening more areas up to drilling.
Meanwhile, for a while Ohio was the world leader in manufacturing for the solar industry. But guess what: Chinese now can claim that.
NYT: there are plenty of in depth stories you can do related to this story and the readers' comments.
And readers seem to say in these comments they welcome more such coverage. So p,ease, consider some great multi-disciplinary series.
8
I agree, we need to know specifically who in the administration will benefit financially from these actions. Names, please. We need public confrontation in order to let them know how we feel.
5
Don't forget that Texas AG Ken Paxton who feels "heard" is up for multiple felonies for defrauding investors. He has a trial soon.
Sounds about right for the Trump-Pruitt bunch. Trump settled up for millions for defrauding customers at his Fake University.
Sounds about right for the Trump-Pruitt bunch. Trump settled up for millions for defrauding customers at his Fake University.
10
Mr. Pruitt just giving Canadian companies another market to sell canned Canadian air.
Honest, there are people in major Chinese cities, who buy Canadian air in a can.
Give Mr. Pruitt and his bunch enough time many U.S. cities will look like Los Angeles from the early 1980's.
Honest, there are people in major Chinese cities, who buy Canadian air in a can.
Give Mr. Pruitt and his bunch enough time many U.S. cities will look like Los Angeles from the early 1980's.
8
Pruitt needs to be taken on a tour of Chinese cities in order to experience heavy air pollution. No masks!
4
In spite of all the hysteria, I see this as a perfectly understandable reaction to an agency that has grown too large, too powerful, and too unresponsive to ordinary citizens. I get the view from "beyond the Beltway" that the EPA is staffed with career lawyers and bureaucrats, who have little or no understanding of the real-world impact of their myriad rules and regulations. Has anyone ever successfully fought the EPA without courting personal bankruptcy? Who would be foolish enough to try? Good for Pruitt for bringing this organization down a few pegs. Richly deserved.
1
This article gives specific laws that have been rolled back that have been made to deal with well documented dangers and here you are implying that they are on a power trip with their "their myriad rules and regulations" without giving any examples.
So many people just parrot what they hear... once they have already decided that "big government" is the enemy.
So many people just parrot what they hear... once they have already decided that "big government" is the enemy.
9
Maybe you richly deserve poisons in your water, poisons in the air you breathe, cancer and neurological damaging chemicals sprayed on your food, the storms, floods and heat brought on by global warming.
We don't !
We don't !
9
I reread Chapter Four of Jane Mayer's "Dark Money" after reading this article about Pruitt. This chapter details the Koch brothers utter disregard for human life as the company willfully disregarded existing regulations, all the while proclaiming against the evil nature of regulations as a threat to liberty. Like Trump, when found forced to pay millions by the courts, the Kochs were usually able to pay up without any admission of guilt. Getting rid of regulations on Trumped up principled grounds has been part of the Republican playbook for years. It's not libertarian ideology that is the driving force: it's donors.
I recognize that this kind of letter is pretty much preaching to the choir. Tomorrow, I will call my Republican representative (Tiberi) and my Republican senator (Portman, who is showing signs of backbone and conscience lately in regard to health care) and will read a very short part of the chapter to whoever answers the phone. I would like to see millions and millions of us do that on a daily basis...just as much part of the daily routine as brushing our teeth. We can't just make ourselves feel better: we have to confront.
I recognize that this kind of letter is pretty much preaching to the choir. Tomorrow, I will call my Republican representative (Tiberi) and my Republican senator (Portman, who is showing signs of backbone and conscience lately in regard to health care) and will read a very short part of the chapter to whoever answers the phone. I would like to see millions and millions of us do that on a daily basis...just as much part of the daily routine as brushing our teeth. We can't just make ourselves feel better: we have to confront.
19
When you phone Portman, thank him for being one of the strongest inCongress fighting to protect the quality of the Great Lakes!!
Also thank him for fighting to expand Medicaid funding to fight opiate addictions. He is the very strongest voice in US Congress fighting for that.
PS--Note, readers: Portman, and Kasich, are the types of Republicans fighting on forefront of some battles.
Build your bridges, and help give vocal support , as they are out there alone in Republican politics!!!
Also thank him for fighting to expand Medicaid funding to fight opiate addictions. He is the very strongest voice in US Congress fighting for that.
PS--Note, readers: Portman, and Kasich, are the types of Republicans fighting on forefront of some battles.
Build your bridges, and help give vocal support , as they are out there alone in Republican politics!!!
2
I'll do that. Thanks! Those guys are not great on reproductive right...in fact, they are bad.....but still, relatively speaking, they are several levels above their fellow Republicans in many areas.
Stephen Hawking's warning to the people of Planet Earth
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40461726
We will all become the baby in the back seat with the windows rolled up by Trump. The temp could reach 250 degrees. And still, Imbecile Trump insists that he, and the fossil fuel industry, know more than Earth's greatest scientists.
Trump; "Our National Disgrace"
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40461726
We will all become the baby in the back seat with the windows rolled up by Trump. The temp could reach 250 degrees. And still, Imbecile Trump insists that he, and the fossil fuel industry, know more than Earth's greatest scientists.
Trump; "Our National Disgrace"
12
I truly hope scientists have ways of carefully monitoring and publicly reporting any damage done to the environment (and citizens) by the decisions of this person. Based upon the article, he appears beholden to big money and not little people...is there additional evidence available? Is fast and loose now the name of the game? Nature has a memory all its own -
www.thewaryouknow.com
www.thewaryouknow.com
2
Yes, there is. Follow, for example, the story of how prolific the expansion of drilling is in Colorado--one of two fastest growing drilling states in USA.
Drillers there are not permitted to drill within a certain distance of housing. However, people in Housing construction business do not have same restriction to keep distance from already existing wells.
Consequently, houses within housing developments have been exploding because old well leaks enter the basements of homes. no one can smell the leaks, and then..boom. Houses demolished.
The maps of the number of existing gas wells in Colorado, and proximity to large housing subdivisions, is astounding.
Drillers there are not permitted to drill within a certain distance of housing. However, people in Housing construction business do not have same restriction to keep distance from already existing wells.
Consequently, houses within housing developments have been exploding because old well leaks enter the basements of homes. no one can smell the leaks, and then..boom. Houses demolished.
The maps of the number of existing gas wells in Colorado, and proximity to large housing subdivisions, is astounding.
5
Pruitt to Industry - It's okay, go ahead an poop in your own nest, the taxpayers will clean it up.
10
I'd love to see an editorial with a listing of the best major environmental and/or health groups I can donate to, to fight for the cause of a clean environment.
7
Good idea.
In meanwhile: I recommend Nature Conservancy; Audubon ; National Geographic; Sierra Club; Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts of America; Soil and Water Conservation Group; the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
And don't forget to support your local and regional science museums.
In meanwhile: I recommend Nature Conservancy; Audubon ; National Geographic; Sierra Club; Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts of America; Soil and Water Conservation Group; the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
And don't forget to support your local and regional science museums.
7
One idea: access the website for Earthwatch.
Did you know that many scientists around the globe need the extra hands of volunteers, who get training, then enter the field as helpers for data collection on research projects?
Through Earthwatch, you donate your time for usually 1-3 weeks. You pay the costs --tax deductible--it costs for your overhead as member of the team on any project, plus an extra 33% or so.
Your extra portion goes into the kitty that provides funds for scientists who cannot obtain grants from government or other groups--but who have projects Earthwatch deems vital to the wellbeing of the planet.
Decades ago, when I first joined an Earthwatch team, they were the second largest US headquartered scientific funding group, surpassed only by National Geographic.
Nowadays, I wonder how National Geographic stacks up compared to them, when government have so badly grants cut.
Did you know that many scientists around the globe need the extra hands of volunteers, who get training, then enter the field as helpers for data collection on research projects?
Through Earthwatch, you donate your time for usually 1-3 weeks. You pay the costs --tax deductible--it costs for your overhead as member of the team on any project, plus an extra 33% or so.
Your extra portion goes into the kitty that provides funds for scientists who cannot obtain grants from government or other groups--but who have projects Earthwatch deems vital to the wellbeing of the planet.
Decades ago, when I first joined an Earthwatch team, they were the second largest US headquartered scientific funding group, surpassed only by National Geographic.
Nowadays, I wonder how National Geographic stacks up compared to them, when government have so badly grants cut.
2
Senator Collins probably reached the low point in her career when she supported the nomination a Pruitt. Of all of the unqualified people in the Trump Administration Pruitt may be the second most dangerous...second only to Sessions.
10
"cut and paste"Pruitt,plagiarizing oil companies data..are we surprised??this bozo bro is just as useless and just as much of crook as his boss and the rest of this revolting cabinet.There are so few quality people[if any] surrounding trump that it sure gives everyone a taste of what trump's prior life was like.I hope they all end up in jail where they should have been before they joined trump in destroying our country.uphold the constitution??what a joke.
6
This is what the Republicans call WINNING: it is the degradation of our environment; the reversal of all of our environmental clean-ups in the last half-century; the complete frustration and non-enforcement of our environmental laws; the dismantling of the EPA; and purposeful neglect of the environment for as long as Trump and other Republicans hold office. The clean up will start from scratch when another party takes office.
The fault here is that of the Republican Party. Republican Senators knew what they were getting when they confirmed Pruitt, and they joyfully voted to confirm. Our country has no future as long as Republicans hold office.
The fault here is that of the Republican Party. Republican Senators knew what they were getting when they confirmed Pruitt, and they joyfully voted to confirm. Our country has no future as long as Republicans hold office.
10
I thought I would throw in a quote from "Ecology and the Politics of Scarcity" by William P. Ophuls, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and environmental writer who wrote that “History ... shows that regulatory agencies tend to be captured by the interests they are supposed to be regulating, so that they rapidly turn into guardians of special instead of public interest.” The blatant corruption of the EPA by "special [big business] interests" courtesy of Scott Pruitt is case in point unique in history.
5
All we caring citizens get to do is complain. The voice of the people has been silenced. We are powerless observers of the actions of those who will devour us. Frightening for sure, and the stuff of which revolutions are made.
6
We can boycott all Koch Industries products. The Kochs are the force behind Trump's anti-environmental appts. There are lists online of their products.
And, you can go solar. Defeat the fossil fuel industry!
And, you can go solar. Defeat the fossil fuel industry!
5
Off to a blazing start - so appropriate for the callous disregard for the environment and global health shown by Pruitt and the Prez.
4
All this while most of the press still let's Trump distract them with stupid, but effective, Tweets.
5
The truly frightening thing about Pruitt's ongoing rape and murder of the EPA is that there are millions of soft-headed Americans, brainwashed by years of lies and propaganda from Fox News and their partners in mendacity, who support what he is doing. Clean air and water? Unspoiled wilderness? Restrictions on fracking and methane emissions? All impediments to corporate profit. At this rate much of America will soon come to resemble the ravaged landscapes, smoke-filled skies and "Satanic mills" of England during the worst excesses of the Industrial Revolution.
The foul progeny of Rush Limbaugh and the other Goebbels-like figures of our time have come home to roost. How long will it take before Americans reach their limits of tolerance for these birds of carrion who massively befoul their own nest?
The foul progeny of Rush Limbaugh and the other Goebbels-like figures of our time have come home to roost. How long will it take before Americans reach their limits of tolerance for these birds of carrion who massively befoul their own nest?
9
Pruitt has no formal training in environmental matters. So he has no idea how particular regulations affect the environment. As he guts important EPA regulations, he learns how that helps industry. And because that is his goal, that's how he sets his priorities. But Pruitt has one major shortcoming as head of the EPA. He doesn't know anything about what's good or bad for the environment.
5
Let's be Frank. Trump is a vampire sucking the life blood out of the country. Pruitt is his Igor ready to do anything to destroy the environment and increase the profit margins of his resource industry buddies. It's a horror show alright and we're all the victims.
8
Now we can bring Flint to every town in America!
13
I assume Pruitt hasn't any grandchildren, or at least any that he expects to grow up. Wrecking the environment will not end well for any of our grandchildren.
11
“I personally handed him the letter, and the next day the rule was personally withdrawn,” Mr. Ken Paxton, Texas State Attorney General said on 1 March 2017, thus 11 state attorney generals succeeded in having the agency withdraw a rule requiring energy companies to collect data on emissions of methane from oil and gas wells.
Keep on smirking, Ken Paxton, politician-lawyer that brags how EPA Chief, Scott Pruitt bulldozed over his agency's technical review and deliberation process.
Scott Pruitt will end up in court, explaining the process of I'm a lawyer and that trumps the science of risk mitigation; and you can be called as a co-defendant or a prosecution witness, Mr Ken Paxton, concerning these "personally" actions among lawyers that resulted in a next day rule withdrawl.
Keep on smirking, Ken Paxton, politician-lawyer that brags how EPA Chief, Scott Pruitt bulldozed over his agency's technical review and deliberation process.
Scott Pruitt will end up in court, explaining the process of I'm a lawyer and that trumps the science of risk mitigation; and you can be called as a co-defendant or a prosecution witness, Mr Ken Paxton, concerning these "personally" actions among lawyers that resulted in a next day rule withdrawl.
8
Pruitt's pathways serve the height of corruption: putting the predatory Fox (as in Fox Propaganda, which masquerades as a news organization) in charge of the federal agency whose mission it is to protect Americans from corporate malfeasance related to criminal pollution of our air, earth, water & products, as well as ensure that corporations do not deliberately or accidentally poison us with toxins in their products. All to serve the heights of greed & callous disregard for the wellbeing of Americans.
Years from now, most Americans will look back at this puerilish putsch by Conservatives with disgust, rammed down the throats of our citizens -- despite the fact that Democratic candidate Clinton won the popular vote by almost 3 million votes. As we have seen during the past 36 years, Democratic Presidents & Congresses have had to clean up the messes left by arch-Conservative Republicans.
Why do we need Regulations? Ask yourself, why do we need laws? Regulations serve essential purposes. They hold potential polluters & toxin dealers accountable by law, with severe penalties, civil and criminal, for serious violations. They also protect Americans from those actors, entrepreneurial or corporate, who would negligently or recklessly commit crimes in order to maximize profits.
It will now be up to those citizens with the means, the intent, & the integrity to note every wrong & destructive move that Pruitt and his EPA takes, & to challenge such acts as need be.
Years from now, most Americans will look back at this puerilish putsch by Conservatives with disgust, rammed down the throats of our citizens -- despite the fact that Democratic candidate Clinton won the popular vote by almost 3 million votes. As we have seen during the past 36 years, Democratic Presidents & Congresses have had to clean up the messes left by arch-Conservative Republicans.
Why do we need Regulations? Ask yourself, why do we need laws? Regulations serve essential purposes. They hold potential polluters & toxin dealers accountable by law, with severe penalties, civil and criminal, for serious violations. They also protect Americans from those actors, entrepreneurial or corporate, who would negligently or recklessly commit crimes in order to maximize profits.
It will now be up to those citizens with the means, the intent, & the integrity to note every wrong & destructive move that Pruitt and his EPA takes, & to challenge such acts as need be.
7
How is it that audiences far and wide can Identify the duplicitous con men in the movies yet vote for them in elections?
5
Pruitt is, in this order:
1. Fascist
2. Narcissist
3. Ignoramus
4. Idiot
At first I listed "Idiot" in the #1 spot; however, all one has to do is read Pruitt's loony writings and listen to his babbling nonsense to realize that it's not so much idiocy that robbed this Farce of humanity, as his worship of despotism.
1. Fascist
2. Narcissist
3. Ignoramus
4. Idiot
At first I listed "Idiot" in the #1 spot; however, all one has to do is read Pruitt's loony writings and listen to his babbling nonsense to realize that it's not so much idiocy that robbed this Farce of humanity, as his worship of despotism.
6
Trump Uber Alles, right Mr. Pruitt? Trump Uber Alles, as our only home dies from your willful ignorance. Do you and the rest of this fetid Administration have some magical spaceship to take you to a different habitable planet...?
7
It's like Jack Kevorkian was appointed to run the FDA.
5
A sincere ideologue, the price of not doing everything possible to defeat #45%.
9
“The nice thing is,” Mr. Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, said, “now we feel like we’re being heard.”
Just who is this "we" that is now being heard? I doubt it includes the largest part of the "we" inhabiting the United States who also have the right to be heard. I find it hard to believe that a majority of US citizens would like to rape and pillage the environment. We have to live here after all. But I suppose if you're one of the tiny fraction of the "we" that is now being heard you can just jump on your jet and move to one of the multiple homes you already own in other, saner countries. No need to worry about the environment here. Let the serfs eat cake, drink lead, and breathe carbon monoxide.
I guess we'd better get used to not being heard, at least until 2018. Case in point: only 12% of those polled approve of the Senate's "Health care" Bill yet I keep seeing Republicans on TV yammering on about how this is what they were elected to do because that's what "the American people" want. What people? Twelve percent? What about the other 88%?
And, thanks to McConnell & his evil gang of seditious non-patriots, we'll never have a chance to undo Citizens United now so it'll never get any better.
Just who is this "we" that is now being heard? I doubt it includes the largest part of the "we" inhabiting the United States who also have the right to be heard. I find it hard to believe that a majority of US citizens would like to rape and pillage the environment. We have to live here after all. But I suppose if you're one of the tiny fraction of the "we" that is now being heard you can just jump on your jet and move to one of the multiple homes you already own in other, saner countries. No need to worry about the environment here. Let the serfs eat cake, drink lead, and breathe carbon monoxide.
I guess we'd better get used to not being heard, at least until 2018. Case in point: only 12% of those polled approve of the Senate's "Health care" Bill yet I keep seeing Republicans on TV yammering on about how this is what they were elected to do because that's what "the American people" want. What people? Twelve percent? What about the other 88%?
And, thanks to McConnell & his evil gang of seditious non-patriots, we'll never have a chance to undo Citizens United now so it'll never get any better.
13
You earn you won't vote for them which you wouldn't anyway.
Pruitt should be put under investigation for putting an OK on a pesticide that endangers children's nervous systems. Maybe if kids just stay fertilized eggs this religious hypocrite would feel something for them.
Can we impeach these cabinet members- this is insane.
Can we impeach these cabinet members- this is insane.
11
Many of those same deadly chemicals also cause the early miscarriage, death in the womb or birth defects, so although they claim to care about the "sanctity of life" thye really do not.
It is about controlling women and their choices about when or if to have children.
It is about controlling women and their choices about when or if to have children.
4
Farm communities need to know that Scott Pruitt is A-OK with birth defects for their kids and that he has forfeited any "protection" role for whoever buys him off.
5
Disgusting! How embarrassing for the US.
7
Who knows how much damage will be done to the health of children and adults as a result of this travesty, yet this is all from the party that claims to be "pro life." They're despicable,
6
Oh, come on now. Really. Hillary would have been just as bad. Just ask the Bernie bros. Just ask Jill Stein and the "Green" party. What does the "Green" in Green Party stand for? Envy? It sure doesn't stand for any concern regarding the environment.
And while we are on the subject...how could Bernie be such an environmental champion and yet attract so many supporters who could not care less about the environment? Hypocrisy is not just an attribute of the far right, I guess.
And while we are on the subject...how could Bernie be such an environmental champion and yet attract so many supporters who could not care less about the environment? Hypocrisy is not just an attribute of the far right, I guess.
2
Time is short. By the 2018 elections in which we must re take the Senate and House, the damage that these ignoramuses can and will do tho the planet will be simply awful. If we fail the 2018 elections, the effects of the destruction that has already been heaped on the environment will be causing sickness and death in many of our communities just from the chemical poisoning of the lake, streams and oceans. Air quality will also have gone backwards ,TB and lung cancers will get big boosts in popularity.
When this destructiveness this fool is generating is added to the insanity of Trump Care we will have a planet wide catastrophe that will resemble atomic war.
get out the vote. do lots of "lert" training we need people whop are ALERT, not asleep.
When this destructiveness this fool is generating is added to the insanity of Trump Care we will have a planet wide catastrophe that will resemble atomic war.
get out the vote. do lots of "lert" training we need people whop are ALERT, not asleep.
8
These Republicans will be the death of America, I mean literally. They have no regard for the future of the country--not even the well-being of their own offspring!
Money money money. But what good is money if you have killed the air we must breathe??
Money money money. But what good is money if you have killed the air we must breathe??
9
Somebody sue!
3
I believe many Trump voters thought Gorsuch was put in place as an anti-abortion advocate. McConnell thought he was a Pruitt-corporate advocate.
3
Who is paying Pruitt off to make these changes? Please NY Times, can you find the evidence and help save this country from this awful man?
6
If there were a Nuremberg Tribunal for environmental genocide, Scott Pruitt would be one of the first to be convicted.
7
As many other readers have pointed out, in this and similar situations, people such as Pruitt are lackeys for the industries with which they are politically aligned or from which they are handsomely paid. No surprise, as aggravating as it is to see such egregious corruption.
The real question is: How do these people live with themselves, knowing what they are doing to engage in actions which in the long run harm the populace? When it comes to pollution, for example, to allowing for - even promoting - the dangerous increase of toxins in air and water, how do they explain this to their children and grandchildren? "Sorry kids, I am poisoning your air and food and water so that a few people I know can become even wealthier than they already are."
It is, of course, foolish to ask such questions of morality, because people at the very top of the economic food chain often are beguiled by their wealth and misplaced sense of self-importance, and that's aside from varying degrees of sociopathy.
In short, they don't care. And never will. Morality is not on their radar.
The real question is: How do these people live with themselves, knowing what they are doing to engage in actions which in the long run harm the populace? When it comes to pollution, for example, to allowing for - even promoting - the dangerous increase of toxins in air and water, how do they explain this to their children and grandchildren? "Sorry kids, I am poisoning your air and food and water so that a few people I know can become even wealthier than they already are."
It is, of course, foolish to ask such questions of morality, because people at the very top of the economic food chain often are beguiled by their wealth and misplaced sense of self-importance, and that's aside from varying degrees of sociopathy.
In short, they don't care. And never will. Morality is not on their radar.
9
ALB from Maryland said: "The free market will never function in a way that protects our environment, because the cost of all the damage industry does gets socialized."
This nails it. When a truck tire blows up on the highway, who literally picks up the pieces? The state and its taxpayers. For decades, corporations have taken advantage of governments at all levels to clean up after their business activities, whether it be environmental burdens or otherwise. This socialized financial burden on the people has occurred for way too long and it appears it will only get worse.
And how dare we ask for "socialized" single payer healthcare.
This nails it. When a truck tire blows up on the highway, who literally picks up the pieces? The state and its taxpayers. For decades, corporations have taken advantage of governments at all levels to clean up after their business activities, whether it be environmental burdens or otherwise. This socialized financial burden on the people has occurred for way too long and it appears it will only get worse.
And how dare we ask for "socialized" single payer healthcare.
6
Man's war on the environment.
The only war we are fighting without even knowing we are fighting it.
The only war the ultimately matters.
The war that we are losing...badly.
I'm glad I will be long dead with my grandchildren ask me why WE destroyed the Earth and made it mostly inhabitable.
The only war we are fighting without even knowing we are fighting it.
The only war the ultimately matters.
The war that we are losing...badly.
I'm glad I will be long dead with my grandchildren ask me why WE destroyed the Earth and made it mostly inhabitable.
4
In Santa Fe County, New Mexico, where I live, an offender can be fined $5000 and jailed for up to 90 days per incident for improper disposal of hazardous waste. What then should be an appropriate penalty for Scott Pruitt, whose actions at the EPA amount to environmental vandalism on a national scale, with global consequences?
9
For dooming life on Eaarth? I would say a fair judgment would be spending the rest of his pathetic life stewing in a pot of fracked gas.
5
Americans are getting exactly what the majority of voters realized they were going to get on November 9th - A nightmare of Trump-like proportions.
4
Just a reminder to the rest of the US, the efforts made by the much maligned west coast liberal elites to clean up our air benefits the entire country.
Scott Pruitt is a champion of states rights. Thankfully my neighbors and I don't see polluting as a CA state right. Instead we are going to the trouble and expense of covering our homes with solar panels and driving electric cars. Pollution knows no borders!
Scott Pruitt is a champion of states rights. Thankfully my neighbors and I don't see polluting as a CA state right. Instead we are going to the trouble and expense of covering our homes with solar panels and driving electric cars. Pollution knows no borders!
5
Can the administration point to specific reasons these regulations are being rolled back or is it simply, "If Obama Did It, then I want to undo it?"
Do they give reasons when they deregulate...or it is like Inaugural Crowd Size..."If I said it, it must be true"?
Do they give reasons when they deregulate...or it is like Inaugural Crowd Size..."If I said it, it must be true"?
4
The proposition is simple - in a democracy.
If the Democrats had won the Presidency, they could have continued their policies. They were not re-elected, because the people, the voters wanted something else.
Is there something about this proposition that the NY Times does not understand?
If the Democrats had won the Presidency, they could have continued their policies. They were not re-elected, because the people, the voters wanted something else.
Is there something about this proposition that the NY Times does not understand?
1
The voters chose Hillary Clinton.
4
Pruitt deserves a place alongside the other enemies of human life in the Hall of Infamy.
If there were any justice he would do time for crimes against humanity.
If there were any justice he would do time for crimes against humanity.
5
I support many of the regulations that the EPA and Trump are rescinding. However, I have always been opposed to the manner of their origination. I don't think it is wise for presidents to have the power to create these regulations. I think lawmaking properly belongs occurring in Congress
When activists haven't been able to get what they want from Congress, they have turned to the president to unilaterally create law. Now those same activists are seeing how easily and quickly those laws can be undone when their opponents gain the presidency, But that is the lesser of their problems What happens when the president opposed to them issues his regulations which restrict them?
Presidents have become much too powerful. We need to be protected from them, ALL of them.
When activists haven't been able to get what they want from Congress, they have turned to the president to unilaterally create law. Now those same activists are seeing how easily and quickly those laws can be undone when their opponents gain the presidency, But that is the lesser of their problems What happens when the president opposed to them issues his regulations which restrict them?
Presidents have become much too powerful. We need to be protected from them, ALL of them.
1
The EPA is currently one of the most bloated and political pieces of our Federal government. There are many "time bandits" that work there. Many Federal EPA regulations that could be just be tweaked are not and it causes small businesses to go out when it could have been prevented. A good over hall is in order for the EPA. Cut the fat and the most unnecessary regulations that don't harm the environment.
The fact that corruption is legal in America lays the foundation for this travesty and for irresponsible governance in many other realms. We may spin furiously from one topic to another (our health system, education, foreign policy, gun control) and try to nudge policy so that it is ever-so-slightly more aligned with what the population wants. Overwhelmingly, even as people vote with their wallet in mind, they don't want their kids exposed to harmful chemicals. But the effort is poorly spent if we cannot address the fact that corruption is quite legal in America. This is no longer a democracy if policies are crafted solely to appease and enrich the biggest campaign donors. Conversely, if we were able to address political corruption, many of these issues (including environmental regulations) would naturally sort themselves out. https://represent.us
3
Scott Pruitt cannot be shamed into fulfilling his agency's mandate. He has no shame. Perhaps the real shame is that our criticism only seems to embolden him. What's the answer? How do you fight ignorance and corruption on this scale? Not sure. Maybe in the courts. Perhaps that's all we have in the face of this assault. Support your environmental legal defense groups.
3
Do we know the details of the rollback - why, what, when, and where? It sounds from the article that the regulations that were rolled back were those not voted on by Congress, but mandated by the Obama administration - many of which were created in his last 6 months. Is this really a rollback or is it a cancellation of regulations and rules that were not enacted yet?
Details??
Details??
Predictable and highly symbolic that after one weekend visit to Camp David, nestled in the woods, Trump returns to a more comfortable and appreciated venue, one of his elite, golf-coursed country clubs. The environment is but another commodity to be bought and leveraged for asset accumulation and personal profit. No surprise, really, that Pruitt the Polluter has found an exalted place in this Administration.
4
Pruitt is an industry guy not a servant of us all. Sorry we in Oklahoma inflicted him on the USA but as least he probably won't be our next governor as was undoubtedly his plan.
Before EPA, smog was untenable in many cities; major water ways were polluted (the Cuyahoga River burned) including the Great Lakes, which contain 95% of America’s fresh water; lead was in paint and gasoline; DDT threatened wildlife; chemicals were dumped in the ocean; and on and on... EPA, created by President Nixon and first administered by William Ruckelshaus made great progress in tackling these problems. In 1981 when President Regan appointed Anne Gorsuch (yes, the mother of the Supreme Court Justice) to downsize and in effect dismantle EPA, the public expressed its outrage. As Ruckelshaus recounts in his March 7th op ed [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/opinion/a-lesson-trump-and-the-epa-sh...], he was reappointed to bring credibility and integrity back to the Agency. True EPA floundered now and again; some argue regulations were too aggressive, others argue that they were not aggressive enough. But over the years, dedicated EPA staff—scientists, engineers, environmental protection specialists, economists—worked hard to ensure a cleaner, healthier environment, which we now take for granted.
The way to stop Pruitt is the same way the public stopped Gorsuch and Regan. Remain informed–it is incumbent on the media to investigate, expose, report. Contact your Congressional representatives–tweet, petition, demonstrate. Environmental groups lobby and when needed sue! We must raise our voices so that they are heard above those of this nation's polluters. Vote!
The way to stop Pruitt is the same way the public stopped Gorsuch and Regan. Remain informed–it is incumbent on the media to investigate, expose, report. Contact your Congressional representatives–tweet, petition, demonstrate. Environmental groups lobby and when needed sue! We must raise our voices so that they are heard above those of this nation's polluters. Vote!
4
Let's face it - deep down, Trump's EPA hatred is undoubtedly rooted in one thing and one thing only - regulations that impacted his golf courses. And we all have to pay the price now.
3
The EPA chief, in the pocket of big corporate contributors and PACs, doing what they order. Hopefully, the environment survives the next 4 years until donald leaves town.
1
Scott Pruitt will learn the same lesson that Regina McCarthy learned. Governing by executive order produces only temporary results that get washed out by a new President with alternative ideas. When the congress is weak and refuses or is unable to legislate, power passes to the chief executive moving us further and further from a democratic nation.
1
Make no mistake, this is what evil looks like--ignoring staff who might present facts you don't like, and intentionally prioritizing short-term monetary gains and interests over the lives of citizens and the care and future of our culture and planet.
2
Another reading of this fine article and I am even more frightened by the loutish behavior of Secretary Pruitt. Loutish? Yes, that fits for me.
7
I and millions of Americans will hold the Republicans responsible for ANY damage done to our environment!
This is shameful! Republicans are all about ....greed. Sad.
This is shameful! Republicans are all about ....greed. Sad.
10
Rape..while bystanders were focused on the Russian side of the street Pruitt brazenly raped the EPA. The act was non consensual, EPA officials were blindsided and assaulted without so much as a by your leave. Luckily NY Times reporters were on the scene.
11
In Russian it's called "let a goat into the garden".
4
It's a game of splitting the enemy (that would be, you, the voting public) against each other. Either way, the "current" administration wins, suckers. Does everyone forget that Eric Holder gave money and guns to the Mexican cartels, then lied to Congress about it? And then did nothing about Wall Street except to take a job with a Wall Street law firm when he finished his nap as AG? That Obama's Secretary of State sold 10 percent of the U.S. uranium to a Russian company who then turned around and donated $2 million to the Clinton Foundation? My point is they all smell, but from different garbage dumps, and are playing you like the fools you are.
2
Winning.
1
Everything is pretty much horrifying right now. These roll backs of EPA rules meant to protect both the environment and humans offers up a chance to document what works and what doesn't work to save human lives and the earth. And to measure dollars returned to investors, stockholders, and CEOs. Perhaps a simple logistic regression will be enough.
The problem with an analysis of a study like this it will take years and years of illness, deaths, pollution, and data collection. Though delaying the rule to prevent explosions and spills at chemical plants may be a short term outcome if we have a few massive explosions that kill many and pollute large areas that points to roll back is correlated to death. Hopefully it won't be said the fake media is hyping that kind of story.
The responsible response is to block, litigate, and try and stop these roll backs, fat chance. So we need to wait and see what is left of any of us to say "Mmmmm that didn't work."
The problem with an analysis of a study like this it will take years and years of illness, deaths, pollution, and data collection. Though delaying the rule to prevent explosions and spills at chemical plants may be a short term outcome if we have a few massive explosions that kill many and pollute large areas that points to roll back is correlated to death. Hopefully it won't be said the fake media is hyping that kind of story.
The responsible response is to block, litigate, and try and stop these roll backs, fat chance. So we need to wait and see what is left of any of us to say "Mmmmm that didn't work."
5
They do not care, this bunch of old white men, all they care about is instant gratification and macho posturing, its the only thing that makes them feel good about themselves. Very sad!
7
Why all the hand-wringing and comments expressing horror at the roll back of environmental regulations? Why is it a shocking surprise that industry lobbyists are basically in charge at the EPA? The US, at its core, is nation ruled by corporate capitalists. Its economic system is capitalism. The capitalists' goal is to maximize profit and minimize cost. The environmental, safety and labor regulations and all other social programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security increase cost and must be cut or eliminated.
If Americans want to have clear air and water, safety working condition, labor protection, affordable health care and living wages, they must not be scare of some forms of socialism and vote for left-leaning political candidates. The current Congress, both Dem and GOP, are incapable of changing the political and economic systems.
If Americans want to have clear air and water, safety working condition, labor protection, affordable health care and living wages, they must not be scare of some forms of socialism and vote for left-leaning political candidates. The current Congress, both Dem and GOP, are incapable of changing the political and economic systems.
5
In nearly every decision this White House makes, if there is a choice between greed or compassion, the choice is greed.
Also pushing back responsibility to the states is mind-blowing for two reasons. 1. Waterways, aquifers, winds, and clouds don't respect state borders. 2. If States are primarily responsible for regulating the environment, businesses will choose to operate in states with the least regulatory costs. States with higher environmental standards would be at a disadvantage.
Also pushing back responsibility to the states is mind-blowing for two reasons. 1. Waterways, aquifers, winds, and clouds don't respect state borders. 2. If States are primarily responsible for regulating the environment, businesses will choose to operate in states with the least regulatory costs. States with higher environmental standards would be at a disadvantage.
5
There were no environmental laws passed during the Obama administration, even during 2009-2010 when Democrats controlled the Congress. The 15,000 career employees were, nonetheless, able to issue thousands of regulations. Their mercury rule for coal fired electricity generators was sent back to them by SCOTUS because the $8 billion in cost the EPA estimated was not offset by any improvement in the environment or any health benefits.
The Clean Power Plan has not been implemented because the federal courts have determined it violates the Clean Air Act.
Congress has passed at least 15 laws under the Congressional Review Act, which Trump has signed into law, rolling back the regulations that the 15,000 employees of the administrative state implemented absent statutory authority. Pruitt is not acting unilaterally, he is acting with the full support of the elected government. It is a refreshing change from the days when the technocrats usurped the power of the voters and legislature.
Democrats: if you want different environmental laws, have Congress pass them the next time you have control. Or make reasonable suggestions and negotiate with the Republicans. Do not create rules and obligations out of whole cloth. Executive actions are written in disappearing ink which vanishes on inauguration day. When Congress rules, and the President concurs, it becomes very difficult to reverse course, as we are seeing with ObamaCare.
The Clean Power Plan has not been implemented because the federal courts have determined it violates the Clean Air Act.
Congress has passed at least 15 laws under the Congressional Review Act, which Trump has signed into law, rolling back the regulations that the 15,000 employees of the administrative state implemented absent statutory authority. Pruitt is not acting unilaterally, he is acting with the full support of the elected government. It is a refreshing change from the days when the technocrats usurped the power of the voters and legislature.
Democrats: if you want different environmental laws, have Congress pass them the next time you have control. Or make reasonable suggestions and negotiate with the Republicans. Do not create rules and obligations out of whole cloth. Executive actions are written in disappearing ink which vanishes on inauguration day. When Congress rules, and the President concurs, it becomes very difficult to reverse course, as we are seeing with ObamaCare.
1
Divestment campaigns are an effective tool. Investing in green energy is the solution to saving us and our fragile planet!
2
Sadly, it's not just the US that suffers. The whole world will pay for this selfish, short sighted lunacy
7
We need to stand up and do something. Bombard Congress and White House. Get active. Enough is enough! Too much at stake!
3
Outrageous. I hope his grandchildren remembers what their monster grandfather created when they reach for their oxygen masks.
4
The fox is not only in charge of the henhouse, he's selling tickets to the other foxes!
8
Who holds him accountable?
If our kids get sick or if their brains deteriorate because of pollution Pruitt made lawful, will he go to prison?
If our kids get sick or if their brains deteriorate because of pollution Pruitt made lawful, will he go to prison?
6
Noam Chomsky has argued that the republican party is "the most dangerous organisation in human history.” This, friends, is exactly why.
10
EPA? The ENVIRONMENT? We are living during a time when our federal government is not only unhelpful in addressing the needs and welfare of it's citizens but in fact is detrimental in the extreme. I curse every voter that cast their ballot for the "Vermin-In-Chief" for while he was transparent about his character, those that voted for him are really the culprits here and haven't a shred of moral decency about them. Long after he's gone those Neanderthal Americans will still be here and THAT is why our country is doomed to a future of much-reduced influence around the world and prosperity at home. I say "our country" when in fact I doubt that these "United" States can withstand remaining united until the century is over.
4
This is a REALLY, REALLY CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION!
Pruitt is selling the country and its citizens out to a few company owners who will directly profit from his rolling back regulations. He is not a public servant, he is a snake who is spreading poison across this country.
Pruitt is selling the country and its citizens out to a few company owners who will directly profit from his rolling back regulations. He is not a public servant, he is a snake who is spreading poison across this country.
2
If only Obama had moved as quickly to close down Gitmo. Terrible when a President keeps his campaign promises.
1
Pruitt noted that his proposal “may have a disproportionate effect on children.” “The nice thing is,” Mr. Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, said, “now we feel like we’re being heard.”
Well, isn't that nice? Who wants to hear about the effects on children, anyway?
Well, isn't that nice? Who wants to hear about the effects on children, anyway?
5
The fox is in charge of the chicken coop. God help us all.
2
Imagine wanting to ruin the very environment, though I cannot imagine doing so at this time in our history.
2
The very idea that environmental issues should be given back to the states is an absolute disaster waiting to happen! I live very close to Lake Erie. It hits two countries plus New York Pennsylvania, and Ohio!Who should deal with this,Pruitt?
4
This does not surprise me given Pruitt's background, but I am appalled. In my mind, these are not regulations. They are protections. This administration is attacking the well-being of Americans on multiple fronts. Dismantle measures that help ensure clean water and air and protect us from harmful pesticides and herbicides. Then make sure that any affected people can't get health insurance or afford medical attention.
6
While RI can suffer some from these policies being downwind of some coal plants and industrial sites, New England's environmental values will help mitigate this. But I do get some consolation that there is some kind of cosmic justice in that the states that voted for the pro-pollution politicians are likely to be the most adversely affected.
2
This, and many other things, Democrats should use to win back seats in 2018. So much for the current President to 'make our government honest once again' and be a President for the 'ordinary person'. So far, most of the people that voted for him will be hurt if any of his initiatives get through ('better/more affordable' health care, doesn't believe in climate change, give large tax breaks for Corporations that keep jobs in the US, etc..)
2
So, children's health is less important than saving the petroleum industry $170 million. In 2013 and 2014, just the top two paid executives in the petroleum industry totaled over $212 million. When will the executives at the head of our corporations take some responsibility for the effect of their companies' activities on the environment and on people? The compensation for just two executives is more than the cost of implementing one rule which as the EPA acknowledgeable "will have a disproportionate effect on children. Amazing.
3
On this I do agree with the GOP and Trump defenders.
We need to stop highlighting his tweets and focus on THESE types of issues.
Anyone want to take that video and overlay the faces of kids and nature and millions of people around the world?I don't get it ... from Pruitt and Perry and most everyone else, they scream about state's rights.
Unless it has to do with immigrants or voters or ....
We need to stop highlighting his tweets and focus on THESE types of issues.
Anyone want to take that video and overlay the faces of kids and nature and millions of people around the world?I don't get it ... from Pruitt and Perry and most everyone else, they scream about state's rights.
Unless it has to do with immigrants or voters or ....
1
All you need to do is look at Flint, Michigan, and Gary, Indiana, to see the results of lax enforcement of environmental laws and rules. Now, try to project that into the future, when (if the Trump gang has its way) there are no laws or rules.
Scared yet? You should be.
Scared yet? You should be.
3
How many times has Trump read Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring?" I heard it was on his nightstand. Maybe he just hasn't got around to it yet.
1
I think he had Hitler speeches on the nightstand- for real.
Maybe a Rachel Carson dust jacket
Maybe a Rachel Carson dust jacket
2
We only have this one beautiful planet and it is the responsibility of every single inhabitant to respect it, take care of it and preserve it. Before it was "ours" (humans, animals and plants) it was the dinosaurs planet. We can't assume it will always be "ours". We do have a responsibility to it while we're here.
I'm disgusted by the corruption & greed that Pruitt and the like-minded have..can't they see farther than their own nose? Do they even consider the future of their children and grandchildren's health on this planet? Do any of them wonder about the universe? Are they really in that much denial of science & all the expertise of those who know?
I'm disgusted by the corruption & greed that Pruitt and the like-minded have..can't they see farther than their own nose? Do they even consider the future of their children and grandchildren's health on this planet? Do any of them wonder about the universe? Are they really in that much denial of science & all the expertise of those who know?
2
Donald Trump is public enemy number one to a majority of Americans and an overwhelming majority of the rest of the world. Pruitt is public enemy number two here in the U.S. (a name not known to the rest of the world).
How the rest of the Republicans tolerate Pruitt is a mystery to me. Fracking, oil pollution, climate warming denier, thick as thieves with the oil industry, this man is heading a demolition derby against what we all want to preserve: Our fragile planet. There is no other planet that we can escape to.
How the rest of the Republicans tolerate Pruitt is a mystery to me. Fracking, oil pollution, climate warming denier, thick as thieves with the oil industry, this man is heading a demolition derby against what we all want to preserve: Our fragile planet. There is no other planet that we can escape to.
2
Unfortunately, Mr Pruitt cannot be held directly responsible for the damage he can trigger by lifting rules. Neither can Trump. I would guess that a number of those who voted full on GOP + Trump live near some of the chemical plants, etc. and are the first likely to be hurt - but it simply grieves me that we are going to have more destruction and have to start over again in the future to safeguard our environment. What in the world do we get from aiming to match China or Romania on quality of life?
6
"a number of those who voted full on GOP + Trump live near some of the chemical plants, etc. and are the first likely to be hurt" -- i sure hope so. they deserve nothing less.
1
Naturally. Mr. Pruitt is a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industry, Dow Chemicals and many other polluting industries. He has been employed by these industries to take away as many anti-pollution regulations as possible. He is a good soldier and is doing as he was hired to do. You got to dance with them that 'brung ya and Pruitt has been working for these industries for many years.
No surprise.
No surprise.
8
This is the GOP philosophy. Profits are more important than clean air, clean water and health.
9
Or people.
1
I have never criticized Obama in respect of his seemingly contemplative and measured approaches. I have always felt he shared my values and represented those without a voice or a seat at the table best - even if, at times, he was too quiet/lacking passion. However, today, upon learning how much he knew and how little he did in regards to Russia and the integrity of our Presidential elections, along with seeing a bulldozer crush each and every semblance of what makes the United States a leader - policies and laws founded on integrity, intellect, led by facts and science and driver by justice and fairness - I feel uneasy. I am left to wonder was your silence more about ego? Thinking that by not getting involved your were best protecting your legacy. President Obama, the man determined to discredit you from day one. now destroys all you did in mere months. I wish you had been stronger and bolder. Life is not only about being wise, analytical and methodical in measure...when there is a fight, not acting can make you somewhat complicit when world-changing wrong is at you doorstep. Trump is showing himself to be dangerous and he has power - how did you not see how precarious is all was. He could have been stopped in an honest and fair election. I don't believe most Americans who chose him would today. Leadership matters - hope you did not waste your biggest chance. I am not blaming you solely and we all make mistakes but who else could have changed history I wonder.
8
Corruption - Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power
Essentially, the EPA is a corrupt goverment enterprise that operates under the pretense of regulating our nation's enviornmental laws.
Essentially, the EPA is a corrupt goverment enterprise that operates under the pretense of regulating our nation's enviornmental laws.
11
What? Corruption means kickbacks. If you are enforcing law that regulate corrupt industry emissions, where's the kickback?
1
Scott Pruitt does not seem to realize that the mission of the agency, stated clearly in the name, is to PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT, not the short term gains of corporations. Do these people think they can be immune to pollution? Do they have a separate supply of air and water? The rest of the world is adapting their policies and industries to the new information and data and we are going back to coal. In my 51 years on this planet I've not heard any child say: when I grow up I want to be a coal miner. And if Pruitt is not protecting the environment he needs to be fired. States rights is great but the federal government must intervene or lead from time to time. Think slavery, segregation, etc. How does one regulate greed, or morality?
Why is it so easy to go back on these rules and regulations? It seems like the whim of one person can decide the fate of our planet. Where are the checks and balances in this case. It takes so much time and effort to pass any law in congress (even without partisan ideology), Trump's executive orders can be questioned. Yet these agencies seem to be able to do whatever they want. I have only a casual knowledge of how government works. Can someone sue the agency if the law was not broken, like Pruitt used to do? Can Congress stop Pruitt?
Why is it so easy to go back on these rules and regulations? It seems like the whim of one person can decide the fate of our planet. Where are the checks and balances in this case. It takes so much time and effort to pass any law in congress (even without partisan ideology), Trump's executive orders can be questioned. Yet these agencies seem to be able to do whatever they want. I have only a casual knowledge of how government works. Can someone sue the agency if the law was not broken, like Pruitt used to do? Can Congress stop Pruitt?
4
To sue, you have to show how you have been, or face, harm. It's not easy to demonstrate that you have standing, which is why it's easier to pollute from a national base. Industrial areas are not known for activism. But there will be legal challenges.
1
Too late. Congress approved the appointment.
The EPA spends more on lawyers and PR than it does on all the scientists combined that they employ. Why so much on lawyers? Why so much on propagandists? When the EPA is sued it is represented by the Department of Justice so again why does it need so many lawyers (~1020)? Maybe because everyone knows if one is to make decisions that are not based in facts, but instead ideology then one needs someone expert in twisting "facts" so they appear to be legally justified. Why so much on PR? So they can make it appear they are doing folk a favor when they destroy their jobs.
5
Wow. Your need to be educated my friend. The EPA is an enforcement agency. If violators do not comply wth regs. They are taken to court. If you take someone to court you need lawyers, ones that know the law. What country do live in??? It's the government suing the violators.
4
The EPA has not destroyed anyone's jobs. What purpose would they serve in doing that?
The mission of the EPA is to keep the environment safe for everyone, even you.
Or at least it was, until your hero Pruitt toomk over and decided that polluting the world for more profit was more important than saving people's lives.
The mission of the EPA is to keep the environment safe for everyone, even you.
Or at least it was, until your hero Pruitt toomk over and decided that polluting the world for more profit was more important than saving people's lives.
1
Have you considered the fact that thousands of different business enterprises, along with countless associations, political action groups, and the local, regional and state governments they pay to keep in power, are suing or threatening to sue the EPA and federal government in the name of profit day in and day out? Or that balancing scientific facts with politics and economics is a mind-bogglingly difficult task that creates Frankenstein's monster regulations stitched together in a manner that is basically guaranteed to leave someone, if not everyone, mad enough to sue?
The scales are all tipped against the EPA's mandate - they are forced to throw resources at lawyers and PR in the same way many companies are forced to spend on IT and security to stop the tsunami of attacks on their computer networks.
The scales are all tipped against the EPA's mandate - they are forced to throw resources at lawyers and PR in the same way many companies are forced to spend on IT and security to stop the tsunami of attacks on their computer networks.
1
People believe in different agendas in society whether jobs, economy, education. To me most important factor is our environment, our only planet. Without a healthy planet, we won't have our health. Who cares about everything else? Don't every organisms deserve clean water, air, and the environment? Everything is a distant second. If our only habitable planet is polluted and destroyed, how our children and future generations live? Look at our bees throughout the world. Our most important group of insects that pollinate our fruits and vegetables. Due to pollution, GMOs, pesticides, and herbicides, our bees are quickly disappearing! Can you imagine the cost of our crops without bees in this world?
Of course Trump weasels out of Paris Agreement. Of course he hires Pruitt! Let the fox guard the hen house. This is the worst decision that Trump has made! Let's weaken the environmental laws. Let's decimate our planet until we all get cancer and diseases! Let the suffering begin!
How does Trump and Pruitt sleep at night? Maybe they don't realize they are damaging our future generations and our planet. God help us all!
Of course Trump weasels out of Paris Agreement. Of course he hires Pruitt! Let the fox guard the hen house. This is the worst decision that Trump has made! Let's weaken the environmental laws. Let's decimate our planet until we all get cancer and diseases! Let the suffering begin!
How does Trump and Pruitt sleep at night? Maybe they don't realize they are damaging our future generations and our planet. God help us all!
8
This is one more symptom of Trump's lunacy and the seduction of many bamboozled people.
Speaking of faking out a nation, Trump's seemingly unhinged tweets since Thursday are a great example.
Thursday June 29, 2017 was the beginning of the end of Donald J. Trump.
It's when a Wall Street Journal (not a liberal paper) article finally made the first connection between Russian stolen, hacked emails from Clinton and her campaign and the Trump campaign- Michael Flynn.
The follow up story the next day made further Trump campaign connections to people like Kellyanne Conway.
See if this opens. If not, search the story!
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/gop-activist-who-sought-clinton-emails-...
So, again, Trump seems unhinged with latest tweets and shenanigans.
But, he is laser focused right now, a scared, shaken man.
Desperate to control American's attention.
(so desperate he is willing to give up any remaining semblance of Presidential decorum or credibility)
He wants, no, he NEEDS that attention ANYWHERE but on the Wall Street Journal revelations.
Because he knows the beginning of his eventual end has started. The thread has been pulled from the sweater and a big hole is gonna result.
A hole called treason.
Repeat: the Wall Street Journal (not a liberal paper) has found the first proof of connections-Trump/Russia.
So, pay no attention to that fat, orange man behind the curtain.
Endings have beginnings.
It has begun.
Speaking of faking out a nation, Trump's seemingly unhinged tweets since Thursday are a great example.
Thursday June 29, 2017 was the beginning of the end of Donald J. Trump.
It's when a Wall Street Journal (not a liberal paper) article finally made the first connection between Russian stolen, hacked emails from Clinton and her campaign and the Trump campaign- Michael Flynn.
The follow up story the next day made further Trump campaign connections to people like Kellyanne Conway.
See if this opens. If not, search the story!
https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/gop-activist-who-sought-clinton-emails-...
So, again, Trump seems unhinged with latest tweets and shenanigans.
But, he is laser focused right now, a scared, shaken man.
Desperate to control American's attention.
(so desperate he is willing to give up any remaining semblance of Presidential decorum or credibility)
He wants, no, he NEEDS that attention ANYWHERE but on the Wall Street Journal revelations.
Because he knows the beginning of his eventual end has started. The thread has been pulled from the sweater and a big hole is gonna result.
A hole called treason.
Repeat: the Wall Street Journal (not a liberal paper) has found the first proof of connections-Trump/Russia.
So, pay no attention to that fat, orange man behind the curtain.
Endings have beginnings.
It has begun.
10
So, who is protecting the individual?
1
I see this story took precedence over Trump's latest circus act Twitter posting. Good job NYT! It's time to focus on the horrific and perhaps irreversible damage this administration is doing. We already know Trump is a clown, unfit to serve as President. It's his nefarious minions doing the work of their corporate overlords -- like Scott Pruitt -- I worry about. What kind of world are we leaving the kids?
12
One that will soon disappear if Trump is not impeached. And soon.
1
The Republicans who supported or instigated this stupid decision must have no children or grand-children. Fortunately I'm almost 75, so I'll probably be gone by the time our air and water reach a point of no return, but my wife and two daughters will suffer greatly, I'm afraid. As will women and children all over the world.
Trump wrestles on a Tweet while our air and water deteriorate (if he hasn't started a nuclear war before then). Oh, what a pompous and arrogant fool he is!
Trump wrestles on a Tweet while our air and water deteriorate (if he hasn't started a nuclear war before then). Oh, what a pompous and arrogant fool he is!
6
Can you say "Love Canal"?
I knew that you could!
Now get ready to say it 1000 times over.
I knew that you could!
Now get ready to say it 1000 times over.
10
I'm struck by the photo.
Our culture and social media rumbles over representations of race, gender, and language in film, music, and other media.
Yet, despite all this sound and fury, not since the 50s can I remember our government so white, male, and old.
Our culture and social media rumbles over representations of race, gender, and language in film, music, and other media.
Yet, despite all this sound and fury, not since the 50s can I remember our government so white, male, and old.
10
.....and rich.
It's horrifying that a man like Pruitt is going to be able to bring us back to such a regressive state. Corporations are now determining what the safety requirements will be regaring the environment, and the almighty buck shall prevail. Just another way that this country has drastically deteriorated under this slimey administration. The beast Trump managed to fill all cabinet posts with people who are determined to undermine the very institutions they are supposed to protect, thereby endangering the American citizen. Of course protecting the environment, and the people takes a back seat when the apponted persons can fill their coffers with dirty, filthy, crooked money.
Trump promised to drain the swamp, but in so doing, this perverted poor excuse for a president has created a cesspool instead.
I am finding it more and more difficult to look at these disgusting people with anything other than the deepest contempt, and loathsomeness possible. They have taken my country, the country that I love, and are actively destroying it for their own personal reasons. They do their dirty deeds, and then extend their middle fingers to all of us, laughingly knowing that they will be protected by the system. Oh how I curse them !
Trump promised to drain the swamp, but in so doing, this perverted poor excuse for a president has created a cesspool instead.
I am finding it more and more difficult to look at these disgusting people with anything other than the deepest contempt, and loathsomeness possible. They have taken my country, the country that I love, and are actively destroying it for their own personal reasons. They do their dirty deeds, and then extend their middle fingers to all of us, laughingly knowing that they will be protected by the system. Oh how I curse them !
13
Pruitt is the perfect shill. Has all his ducks in a row and has been counseled by those whose best interests he is implementing.
He must be so proud of what he's leaving his grandchildren.
It must be a feeling of ultimate power [or revenge] to make decisions that affect the environment without having to burden yourself with facts or science.
How self righteous to know more than experts.
How proud he will be of the poisons re-introduced.
I look to the states to implement sane policy and bypass this monster.
He must be so proud of what he's leaving his grandchildren.
It must be a feeling of ultimate power [or revenge] to make decisions that affect the environment without having to burden yourself with facts or science.
How self righteous to know more than experts.
How proud he will be of the poisons re-introduced.
I look to the states to implement sane policy and bypass this monster.
9
In the inter-generational context little Scotts' efforts will evaporate. "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time... ", but in the end idiots and their notions cannot "fool" reality.
7
By the time reality hits home the damage will have been done. Pursuit of the almighty dollar by corporations and by individuals in a "free market society" as it now is practiced will destroy mankind along with much of the natural world. The influence of corporations and big money on both the Democrats and the Republicans is destroying America. Is it already too late to change this?
2
This is the true tragedy of Donald Trump's administration. He is ruling by distraction. While we publicize and focus on his outrageous tweets, he undoes every advancement we have made toward improving our environment. The tweets we will recover from, but his policies may do irreversible damage.
9
His tweets aren't complicated. We can notice and be concerned about them. And at the same time, we can do real work to educate people and to also protect our environment.
2
The article says:
"Since 2013, the group has collected $4.2 million from fossil fuel-related companies like Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, Murray Energy and Southern Company, businesses that also worked closely with Mr. Pruitt in many of the 14 lawsuits he filed against the E.P.A."
In the grand scheme of our $18 Trillion economy, $4.2 Million is not even a rounding error.
It is amazing how cheap the Republicans are willing to sell the health of our children for.
"Since 2013, the group has collected $4.2 million from fossil fuel-related companies like Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, Murray Energy and Southern Company, businesses that also worked closely with Mr. Pruitt in many of the 14 lawsuits he filed against the E.P.A."
In the grand scheme of our $18 Trillion economy, $4.2 Million is not even a rounding error.
It is amazing how cheap the Republicans are willing to sell the health of our children for.
9
I would imagine that the overwhelming majority of American citizens will be mortally aggrieved by Mr. Pruitt' dismantling of the EPA regulations that safeguard our access to potable water and breathable air. As a modern society, one that still views itself as a member of the first world, we maintain expectations that our water and air will be fit for human consumption.
That belief appears now to be challenged by Mr. Pruitt and his corporate advisors, so to preserve the safety of our water and air, those concerned citizens, a majority of whom rely on the assurance that our water and air are not poisoned beyond the standards acceptable to a first world civilization, we must look to available remedies. In a democracy the first line remedy is to vote against those politicians, policies and bureaucrats who see fit to deny us the patrimony of a livable environment.
Throw out these GOP radicals whose administrative actions will endanger our constitutional right to life, and would demean our country's first world status. Certainly, vote to remove these apparatchiks. Yet, in light of GOP gerrymandering, voter suppression and possible collusion with Russia to undermine and suborn the legitimacy of our elections, we should be concerned about who counts our votes, so we are confident our cast ballots honestly reflect the will of the people. If we fail to guarantee legitimate elections, other remedies to the GOP's radical usurpation of our democracy are terrible to contemplate.
That belief appears now to be challenged by Mr. Pruitt and his corporate advisors, so to preserve the safety of our water and air, those concerned citizens, a majority of whom rely on the assurance that our water and air are not poisoned beyond the standards acceptable to a first world civilization, we must look to available remedies. In a democracy the first line remedy is to vote against those politicians, policies and bureaucrats who see fit to deny us the patrimony of a livable environment.
Throw out these GOP radicals whose administrative actions will endanger our constitutional right to life, and would demean our country's first world status. Certainly, vote to remove these apparatchiks. Yet, in light of GOP gerrymandering, voter suppression and possible collusion with Russia to undermine and suborn the legitimacy of our elections, we should be concerned about who counts our votes, so we are confident our cast ballots honestly reflect the will of the people. If we fail to guarantee legitimate elections, other remedies to the GOP's radical usurpation of our democracy are terrible to contemplate.
7
This maladministration is paving the way to ensure that any industry has nothing standing in front of it when they want to do whatever they want, wherever and at minimum costs, no one to answer to. When they're out of office, high paying consultancy/director jobs from the industries who have most benefited will be made, ensuring they are all ultimately very wealthy. Make America Great Again.....by polluting it? We've lost all moral authority on environmental issues worldwide--a tragedy.
3
Is it not yet clear that the government is working for corporations? The people of this nation are an afterthought.
6
I would love to know how many millions of dollars companies (who will most certainly benefit by these drastic measures) donated to the Trump campaign. Capitalism gone amuck thanks in part to Citizens United.
5
For years I just laughed when my conservative christian friends railed: "It's the 'pocalypse, it's the 'pocalypse, the 'pocalypse is coming".
Now I've begun to believe that maybe they were right, they just had the context wrong.
Instead of an apocalyptic end of times, brought on by religious origins, perhaps the actual trigger will be environmental? Looks like that's the path we're headed down.
Now I've begun to believe that maybe they were right, they just had the context wrong.
Instead of an apocalyptic end of times, brought on by religious origins, perhaps the actual trigger will be environmental? Looks like that's the path we're headed down.
4
A tragedy for us all, particularly for our children and grandchildren.
6
"Dow Chemical Company had pushed the E.P.A. to reconsider an Obama-era ban on the use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that the E.P.A.’s scientists have concluded causes developmental damage in children. On March 30, Mr. Pruitt reversed the ban."
Merry Christmas from the Trump administration!
Merry Christmas from the Trump administration!
6
Anyone who doesn't care about clean water, clean air and the health of their families is super excited about Pruitt's blazing start.
4
We already know that money-grubbing Republicans care nothing for anyone else besides themselves and their own families. They really do not care if thousands of people die. It is a matter of complete indifference to them if other people suffer. We must conclude this because their behavior and their legislation indicates that human life is worth almost nothing to them.
But it now looks as if they don't even care about their families any more, because if they did actually love their own children and grandchildren, they wouldn't be doing any of this stuff. They would be spending money to keep the country a viable place for human beings to live. But instead, it looks as if they are all planning on moving to Michigan or Alaska in the near future; the rest of the world can go to hell.
Vote them all out in 2018 and 2020.
But it now looks as if they don't even care about their families any more, because if they did actually love their own children and grandchildren, they wouldn't be doing any of this stuff. They would be spending money to keep the country a viable place for human beings to live. But instead, it looks as if they are all planning on moving to Michigan or Alaska in the near future; the rest of the world can go to hell.
Vote them all out in 2018 and 2020.
7
The Corporate States of America. That is what this nation is and it is destroying all of us and the environment. I suppose the Trump voter didn't give a damn about the environment when they voted for Trump...they certainly didn't display any intellectual capacity to foresee their children's future regarding the environment. You didn't vote for just one person, but rather an entire political organization that is dominated by idealogues, extremists and the destroyers of life and liberty in their own pursuit of wealth and power. I don't ever want to hear again how great this country is....its not. In fact, we are so far from great on so many levels and urgent issues in comparison to our allies and other western industrialized nations.
6
The EPA was founded to deal with pollution in our rivers, lakes, and atmosphere. Somewhere along the line, it believed that it could alter the cooling and warming of the planet. And why? It was a way of enforcing a globalist policy of making the US bow down to so-called "developing" countries. Were I to live long enough to see it, I'm sure i'd see the NYT of 2100 declaring its freedom from the industrial mandates on American industry from Malaysia...But it will be too late by then, won't it? The West drove cultural liberalism, but most of the world doesn't want it...Anyway, the
world that the idiots at the NYT are favoring will destroy them and much else that we value.
world that the idiots at the NYT are favoring will destroy them and much else that we value.
2
It's people like Trump and Pruitt who are determined to destroy as much as they can in pursuit of more wealth for the rich.
Better wise up.
Better wise up.
1
Jerry, It's called projection. Believe it or not, the rich have all the money they need. It's the left that wants to impoverish people--in the name of universal justice... I don't expect the readers of the NYT to get that. but there it is///
1
Pruitt versus the rest of the world. Climate change is scientific fact, but this disgrace of an administration refuses to believe them. To hell with out kids and grandchildren, let's remain hostage to an alt.right pack of lies.
6
JW -- how do you know that climate change is a scientific fact? Yes, we know the climate has changed historically but I suspect you mean that our current warming trend (if in fact that is the case) is man caused and will lead to unimaginable consequences rather than normal variation.
1
It' so very difficult to abstain from Xanax with the current administration
6
Too bad Pablo Escobar died in a shootout. He would have made a perfect DEA chief.
11
While I understand that we are now at war with American Idiots, Koch Brother acolytes, evangelical Trumpites and other extremists, and, of course, Fox News, the reality and horror of Mango Mussolini's agenda is almost fully demonstrably evil.
It's what has really perplexed me in regard to the folks that voted for this curse. Yet, as a Holocaust Survivor's son I believe I've developed some insight into the fascist agenda. A Hitler is A Hitler.
Trump is nothing more than psychopathology writ large. He consistently demonstrates clearly his full inability to empathize (in this way he is a total con with his duping of American Idiots). Pruitt is simply assisting Trump in enriching the pockets of those rich without any moral compass and with clear intent to destroy the planet in the process. Just as Trump and the Senate are, in effect potentially complicit in the murders of hundreds of thousands per year in terms of their monstrous health "care" proposals. so too is Pruitt complicit now in the destruction of the planet and potentially billions of lives.
Have we lost the ability to define evil?
It's what has really perplexed me in regard to the folks that voted for this curse. Yet, as a Holocaust Survivor's son I believe I've developed some insight into the fascist agenda. A Hitler is A Hitler.
Trump is nothing more than psychopathology writ large. He consistently demonstrates clearly his full inability to empathize (in this way he is a total con with his duping of American Idiots). Pruitt is simply assisting Trump in enriching the pockets of those rich without any moral compass and with clear intent to destroy the planet in the process. Just as Trump and the Senate are, in effect potentially complicit in the murders of hundreds of thousands per year in terms of their monstrous health "care" proposals. so too is Pruitt complicit now in the destruction of the planet and potentially billions of lives.
Have we lost the ability to define evil?
11
More of Obama's cultural agenda in the rear-view mirror. Couldn't be happier.
1
How are environmental rules "cultural"? I mean, a pesticide either does or does not have an impact on children's neurological development; it's not a question if ideology.
11
That's probaly true.
You're going to be lot less happy when Pruitt's agenda is fully implemented.
It's all downhill now, right to the bottom of the pit.
You're going to be lot less happy when Pruitt's agenda is fully implemented.
It's all downhill now, right to the bottom of the pit.
2
Please explain your affinity for dirty water, foul air and tainted water. Be precise.
I think it's about time that someone told the arrogant Eastern elites where to go. I am entirely in favor of what's happening. The louder the New York Times and its followers scream about it, the better.
1
If Pruitt gets his way, there will be fracking in Mt Hood Forest and raw sewage dumped in to the beautiful Columbia River. And you're OK with that.
6
Let us know how you feel when you can no longer drink the water or breathe the air.
Have you ever heard of Flint, Michigan?
Have you ever heard of Flint, Michigan?
6
The Trump "so called" administration is an absolute nightmare. The damage these evil morons are going to inflict on our country and democracy will be of epic proportions, and will not be able to be fixed for at least one or two generations. This is the rule of the evil, voted in by the stupid. It's beyond sad to witness the paralysis of the system to rectify such a tragic mistake as letting Trump take power. The morally bankrupt Republicans have really exposed the weakness in our system. The willfully ignorant populace have tragically allowed these Republican monsters to take power, and by the time they realize their error, it will be too late; in fact it may already be too late.
4
I am not religious, and there are so many bad people in this administration that should go away! But I would make a pilgrimage if it would help get rid of Pruitt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3
Pruitt's actions are an enconsistent with those of the
Hey Scott Priutt, how incredibly ignorant do you have to be to say you are rolling back regulations so you can concentrate on cleaning up toxic sites. If you kept the regulations you wouldn't need to clean up toxic sites. Trump's deplorables! Are they stupid? Ignorant? Cynical? All three?
7
They sound fascist to me. One day we will wake up and say we should have done more to stop him.
1
Pruitt reminds me of Walter Matthau's shyster lawyer character, "Whiplash "Willie" Gingrich, in the movie, "THE FORTUNE COOKIE."
....Except nobody's laughing.
....Well, maybe except those who felt handcuffed by all those nasty regulations.
....Except nobody's laughing.
....Well, maybe except those who felt handcuffed by all those nasty regulations.
1
I don't expect much from Pruitt, but he maybe the least of the problem.
I saw Tom Bossert this morning virtually condone President Trump moronic, vile tweet this morning of him beating up a CNN correspondent.
Tom Bossert sounded like a sycophant moron who should be fired immediately, for him not to see how this could precipitate a future killing, mass shooting or worse is beyond anyone's credibility especially in that position.
I saw Tom Bossert this morning virtually condone President Trump moronic, vile tweet this morning of him beating up a CNN correspondent.
Tom Bossert sounded like a sycophant moron who should be fired immediately, for him not to see how this could precipitate a future killing, mass shooting or worse is beyond anyone's credibility especially in that position.
4
Scott Pruitt is a miscreant of the highest order.................
3
So where is the footage of Pruitt attacking WWE fighter with Obama head superimposed?
1
Thank you, POTUS Trump for step-by-step removal of anything enacted by Obama, that empty suit wonder of wonders who parlayed a big smile and the always ready-to-be-tapped-into reservoir AKA White Liberal Guilt Syndrome into a legacy that actually made Jimmy Carter look good. On this upcoming 4th of July all Real Americans give thanks for having as our President a man who not only believes but practises the time-honored American values of love of country, exceptionalism and most importantly in this era of PC which feeds off identity politics and 'Victimhood', Personal Responsibility.
2
Sir, if you think the current occupant of the Oval Office demonstrates "Personal responsibility," you are delusional. Happy Fourth.
8
Personal responsibility? Trump is a criminal born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He is a traitor and should be hanged. Obama will go down in history as one of the best presidents. Mark my words.
3
The Republican Congressman of South Florida was opposed to pulling out of the Paris Climate agreement.
That is because South Florida is already getting flooding from global warming.
Good luck to your children and grandchildren.
That is because South Florida is already getting flooding from global warming.
Good luck to your children and grandchildren.
4
It's so easy to destroy. Honestly, in their own way these people are no better than ISIS -- it's all about destroying.
15
WOW. Lawyers working for the EPA don't have consciences -- but are merely editors. Yikes! Time to replace case law (English) with the Napoleonic code?
IMO climate change might well be Mother Nature's way of keeping humans (who eventually will succumb to famine from completely destroying the planet=birth control. Wonder how much developmentally damaged children will cost us? Perhaps we can look forward to more E-coli outbreaks?
But it doesn't matter because the Wall Street gamblers (previously aided by Reagan and Clinton) will realize greater gains! (Where is the recession when we need it!?and who are the Wunderkind "economists" who assure us we need more children and refugees to keep the economy growing?
Who and from what states are these attorney generals mentioned?
I wish it were as easy as just saying NO. I try to use as little as possible energywise, but I do fly-- PS most airplanes are flying close to full these days... or are they?
Well perhaps hydrogen cars will become a reality -- electric cars are - perhaps people can use less gas as well.
Perhaps, people will again think that over reproduction of the species (not enough natural enemies??) is not such a good thing. IMO you ain't seen nothing yet. 2 billion more by 2040? (nine billion.. versus slightly more than three billion in 1960.) BTW NYTimes.. how will global warming affect Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia? I want to know. (Looking forward to the inundation of Mar a Lago!)
IMO climate change might well be Mother Nature's way of keeping humans (who eventually will succumb to famine from completely destroying the planet=birth control. Wonder how much developmentally damaged children will cost us? Perhaps we can look forward to more E-coli outbreaks?
But it doesn't matter because the Wall Street gamblers (previously aided by Reagan and Clinton) will realize greater gains! (Where is the recession when we need it!?and who are the Wunderkind "economists" who assure us we need more children and refugees to keep the economy growing?
Who and from what states are these attorney generals mentioned?
I wish it were as easy as just saying NO. I try to use as little as possible energywise, but I do fly-- PS most airplanes are flying close to full these days... or are they?
Well perhaps hydrogen cars will become a reality -- electric cars are - perhaps people can use less gas as well.
Perhaps, people will again think that over reproduction of the species (not enough natural enemies??) is not such a good thing. IMO you ain't seen nothing yet. 2 billion more by 2040? (nine billion.. versus slightly more than three billion in 1960.) BTW NYTimes.. how will global warming affect Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia? I want to know. (Looking forward to the inundation of Mar a Lago!)
3
Having experienced the Anne Gorsuch/Burford era first hand at EPA where the same MO was employed, one can only hope that Pruitt's reign ends similarly.
10
If there if there is any justice left Pruitt and his President will be charged with high crimes against humanity. They are knowingly destroying the future.
15
From thh NYT article about Trump's comments at his Faith Rally: "The president wrote: “I am extremely pleased to see that @CNN has finally been exposed as #FakeNews and garbage journalism. It’s about time!”
The president may have been referring to the latest hidden camera video produced by James O’Keefe, the right-wing activist. The video appears to show a producer for CNN’s “New Day” program calling Mr. Trump “a clown” and “crazy,” among other things. The producer also appears to say American voters are “stupid.”
The CNN producer was simply stating what many, if not most, rational Americans have concluded. Trump IS a clown, Trump IS Crazy, and (many) American voters ARE stupid. Witness the wholesale selling down the river of the futures and health of the citizens of the world. The highest priority of the left should be more comprehensive education of our youth, with mandatory classes in civics, ethics, and critical thinking. But Betsy DeVoss is in charge of making sure THAT never happens; it might threaten the profits of the 1% who so depend upon a dumbed down populace.
Give up on the God-cure here; consistent resistance is called for, along with empathetic education of those who, thinking they have been set free by Trump, have clearly been taken advantage of. 2018 and 2020 cannot arrive soon enough. And brace yourself for the whining and accusations once the results roll in.
The president may have been referring to the latest hidden camera video produced by James O’Keefe, the right-wing activist. The video appears to show a producer for CNN’s “New Day” program calling Mr. Trump “a clown” and “crazy,” among other things. The producer also appears to say American voters are “stupid.”
The CNN producer was simply stating what many, if not most, rational Americans have concluded. Trump IS a clown, Trump IS Crazy, and (many) American voters ARE stupid. Witness the wholesale selling down the river of the futures and health of the citizens of the world. The highest priority of the left should be more comprehensive education of our youth, with mandatory classes in civics, ethics, and critical thinking. But Betsy DeVoss is in charge of making sure THAT never happens; it might threaten the profits of the 1% who so depend upon a dumbed down populace.
Give up on the God-cure here; consistent resistance is called for, along with empathetic education of those who, thinking they have been set free by Trump, have clearly been taken advantage of. 2018 and 2020 cannot arrive soon enough. And brace yourself for the whining and accusations once the results roll in.
9
Message for Scott Pruitt: " You reap what you sow".......your decisions will reap disaster after disaster to all of us.
5
Trump and his man Pruitt are fascists ! Their agenda is owned by the Koch brothers, our country will be damaged beyond repair. America's children will now be drinking cancerous water so corporations can enable the sociopathic greed of people like the Koch brothers. Just look at Wilmington, North Carolina and DuPont poisoning their drinking water for years without their residents knowledge. Corporations will time and time again ignore the rights of people without necessary laws and regulations. The EPA came into existence after a river in Ohio caught on fire and people's had evolved enough to realize our country was headed down a path of no return with pollution. Pruitt will take our country toward air and water standards of China ! We need to take back our country from these fascists before it's too late !
5
Obama did his thing by fiat. Trump is doing the same. Bye-bye tree-huggers and rock-kissers. Hello, capitalism!
2
Unlike Trump, Obama actually won his elections.
Capitalism=Violence
Capitalism=Violence
3
Thankfully, you'll be subject to the pollution that kills the rest of us also.
3
Think you mean hello burnt and hollowed world.
2
Don't delude yourself folks. They know all the science and they know it's true. They just don't care because they are greedy miscreant Republican criminals who just want the money and are wealthy so they can move to where it's not polluted. They don't care. it's as simple as that.
14
He's a right wing nut, driven by a fervent scary ideology and thoroughly influenced by the huge support of the big oil money! If he wasn't supported by the money he'd be a nobody, because he is not aligned with the majority of the people. Most people are truly scared of the climate changing, and most have experienced it in some way in their lives!!
7
Never mind Pruitt's diabolical unleashing of "Corporatia" with its methane, CO2 and chemicals that poison the earth, our water and our food. We will all be taken care of by Trump's health insurance plan. And the US will be bankrupt except for a handful of autistic billionaires.
2
God help us. The most toxic event in our world right not is our POTOS. This needs to be dealt with immediately. He leaves next week to meet with world leaders that view him as a disaster. They will quickly learn how to make this Bloated unfit mass of man child work in their favor.
Oh how I miss the eloquence and genuine decency that was once displayed by our former President? Trump can’t stand that this physically fit Black Man was able to maintain a level of thoughtful control and self-discipline throughout his 8 years. Trump’s lack of any impulse control makes him an unfit, out of shape laughing stock on the world stage.
Truth: The Jerry Springer shows more restraint than the current behavior in White House.
Uber dismissed their founder because of his reckless behavior and the negative impact he had on the company. Our elected officials enable this POTUS and should be held accountable. They kiss the Rump of Trump on a daily basis.
It will take our country years to recover from the shear madness, hate and vengeance of this sick pervert.
Our White House screams of incompetency.
Oh how I miss the eloquence and genuine decency that was once displayed by our former President? Trump can’t stand that this physically fit Black Man was able to maintain a level of thoughtful control and self-discipline throughout his 8 years. Trump’s lack of any impulse control makes him an unfit, out of shape laughing stock on the world stage.
Truth: The Jerry Springer shows more restraint than the current behavior in White House.
Uber dismissed their founder because of his reckless behavior and the negative impact he had on the company. Our elected officials enable this POTUS and should be held accountable. They kiss the Rump of Trump on a daily basis.
It will take our country years to recover from the shear madness, hate and vengeance of this sick pervert.
Our White House screams of incompetency.
6
Truthfully, I wonder if our country will ever fully recover, even if Trump left office today. He has unleashed such hatred that I don't see it fully restrained maybe ever. Plus all the damage to our democracy, environment, etc., etc.
I hope you are making phone calls to your Representative and your Senators to tell them what you want them to do--impeach Trump or use the 25th Amendment. And I hope voters make them pay big-time next year. McConnell is doing what he's doing on health care (and next the budget) because he calculates that they WON'T pay at the ballot box next year (fewer Rs up for reelection, many in "safe" seats). Paul Ryan--I can hardly say his name without spitting--feigns outrage at T again and again, then goes right on with his own agenda.
We can't engage in magical thinking, that something is going to save us from these awful people. All we can do is work our a..es off to make what headway we can. We have to be the patriots. We are the ones to hold them accountable, and just voting against them isn't enough. Get involved with an environmental or other progressive group in your area, or your local Democrats. WE HAVE TO DO IT, because no one else will.
I hope you are making phone calls to your Representative and your Senators to tell them what you want them to do--impeach Trump or use the 25th Amendment. And I hope voters make them pay big-time next year. McConnell is doing what he's doing on health care (and next the budget) because he calculates that they WON'T pay at the ballot box next year (fewer Rs up for reelection, many in "safe" seats). Paul Ryan--I can hardly say his name without spitting--feigns outrage at T again and again, then goes right on with his own agenda.
We can't engage in magical thinking, that something is going to save us from these awful people. All we can do is work our a..es off to make what headway we can. We have to be the patriots. We are the ones to hold them accountable, and just voting against them isn't enough. Get involved with an environmental or other progressive group in your area, or your local Democrats. WE HAVE TO DO IT, because no one else will.
1
Pruitt is a disgusting individual. His values are heinous, and his goals seem to be the demise of the world around us. Trump is only in the Presidency for one thing; to destroy the society that finds him repulsive.
5
U.S. Reconnaissance Probe Harriet Tubman
First human landing mission to Mars
Status Report: Day 238
Preparation for atmospheric entry and Sol 1
Greetings from Mars! Our benefactors wanted to keep this project quiet, so you probably have not heard of it, but we are now ready to make history for humankind.
When we emerged from cryosleep a few days ago, the crew was eager to find out who our new president is, as we embarked on our voyage just prior to the election. Unfortunately, we have been kept very busy and have had some communication issues, but we know you will relay the news to us as soon as you can.
We all agreed that we could trust our fellow citizens to make the choice that best represented our shared values and ideals as a country and as the leader of the free world – a country that provides the best education for our people, keeps them healthy, promotes equality, protects and nurtures the planetary biosphere, and works in concert with the rest of the world to foster and defend stability and peace.
When we look down at the Martian surface and see its desolation, we realize how truly lucky we are to have our good Earth, and that we have sensibly realized the need to be responsible stewards of our only home in a harsh and unforgiving universe.
All the best to our new president – we look forward to meeting you and sharing the results of our mission, one which we hope will lead to the extension of our deserving species into the undiscovered country that awaits us.
First human landing mission to Mars
Status Report: Day 238
Preparation for atmospheric entry and Sol 1
Greetings from Mars! Our benefactors wanted to keep this project quiet, so you probably have not heard of it, but we are now ready to make history for humankind.
When we emerged from cryosleep a few days ago, the crew was eager to find out who our new president is, as we embarked on our voyage just prior to the election. Unfortunately, we have been kept very busy and have had some communication issues, but we know you will relay the news to us as soon as you can.
We all agreed that we could trust our fellow citizens to make the choice that best represented our shared values and ideals as a country and as the leader of the free world – a country that provides the best education for our people, keeps them healthy, promotes equality, protects and nurtures the planetary biosphere, and works in concert with the rest of the world to foster and defend stability and peace.
When we look down at the Martian surface and see its desolation, we realize how truly lucky we are to have our good Earth, and that we have sensibly realized the need to be responsible stewards of our only home in a harsh and unforgiving universe.
All the best to our new president – we look forward to meeting you and sharing the results of our mission, one which we hope will lead to the extension of our deserving species into the undiscovered country that awaits us.
3
All of Pruitt's reversals will, in turn, be reversed soon enough. In fact, he may be one of the first of this Administration to be prosecuted for corruption,
11
When all is said and done people that let our world turn to dust need their DNA stricken from humanity.
3
It's official the Republican Party is an invasive species and the greatest limiting factor of evolution.
13
DuPont and Monsanto stocks should get a pop here.
And probably a bunch of kids should get a drop here.
And probably a bunch of kids should get a drop here.
4
To be expected. further carrying on of the maniac's hate for Obama and anything the man stood for - spite, pure and simple, with Trump's own extra layers of bigotry, racism, lying and deconstructing of American democracy in favor of a Trump dictatorship. This raging infant must be silenced and removed while there is still time to do so.
4
I take solace in the fact that as I struggle to take my last breath so will Pruitt and his progeny. Oh, and ALL Republicans also.
6
“The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
12
"Mr. Pruitt’s supporters, including President Trump, have hailed his moves as an uprooting of the administrative state..."
It infuriates me that Times so easily uses the phrase "administrative state" without note or irony. "Administrative state" is clearly a propagandistic phrase introduced by the alt right (or rather extreme right). The Times has paid homage to these same propagandists by using "elites" and "climate change" (instead of global warming) in exactly the manner prescribed by their inventors. Congrats on helping us move into the gutter.
It infuriates me that Times so easily uses the phrase "administrative state" without note or irony. "Administrative state" is clearly a propagandistic phrase introduced by the alt right (or rather extreme right). The Times has paid homage to these same propagandists by using "elites" and "climate change" (instead of global warming) in exactly the manner prescribed by their inventors. Congrats on helping us move into the gutter.
5
It seems oxymoronic to be a party that promotes God and promotes polluting His creation.
12
The Republicans brand of "god" is old testament, dominion over the earth, it suits their wrath and violence and lust for punishment and the demand for unquestioning belief and loyalty to a fault. Only difference is they speeding up god's process by creating a hell on earth in real time.
1
Mr. Pruitt, why don't you celebrate the Fourth of July by toasting the day with a big glass of Flint, Michigan contaminated water?
If it gives you heartburn, it probably hit that lump of lead where your heart's supposed to be.
If it gives you heartburn, it probably hit that lump of lead where your heart's supposed to be.
13
Finally an EPA chief that is open minded, who will listen to both sides of the so called "climate change" debate and make a considered decision based on the competing needs of promoting a robust industrial climate, unshaken industry and the engine of capitalism versus satisfying the radical leftists, the tree huggers if you will, who will not sleep at night until we all drive cars powered by wind mills.
2
The Republican congressman from South Florida opposed pulling out of the Paris Agreement.
It is because South Florida is already getting flooding from global warming.
It is because South Florida is already getting flooding from global warming.
2
Only one problem with what you just said... he's only listening to the side that wants to pollute the only planet we have.
Driving a car powered by a windmill actually sounds pretty awesome. Now, please test out the rollback of environmental protections by sitting in your closed garage with your car running.
Driving a car powered by a windmill actually sounds pretty awesome. Now, please test out the rollback of environmental protections by sitting in your closed garage with your car running.
2
This is just more typical Republicanism which embodies all legislation to remove protections from the citizens of this country - healthcare, the environment - you name it.
6
Meanwhile, day after day, week after week, America fixates on the Donald's very latest unseemly tweet.
4
I am stunned--not so much that a clever and aggressive shill for the fossil fuel industry is willing to jeopardize public health and the well-being of our planet, but that we as as a nation are so defenseless against his depredations. Does not Scott Pruitt have offspring? Does he not live in the world?
So, okay, if the guiding principles by which the Republicans live are unfettered self-enrichment and "starving the beast" (the Federal Government), then let's fight fire with fire. No health coverage, no disaster relief, no indemnification for post-severe weather rebuilding in states whose members of congress and governors deny and defund the science of global warming.
You're on your own.
How do you like your rugged individualism now?
So, okay, if the guiding principles by which the Republicans live are unfettered self-enrichment and "starving the beast" (the Federal Government), then let's fight fire with fire. No health coverage, no disaster relief, no indemnification for post-severe weather rebuilding in states whose members of congress and governors deny and defund the science of global warming.
You're on your own.
How do you like your rugged individualism now?
7
Deepen the swamp, drain the wetlands.
3
Per the article: "Since then, Mr. Pruitt has begun what he calls his “back to basics” agenda for the E.P.A. — one that he has described to multiple people as an effort to rein in the regulatory efforts of the Obama era,..."
No, it's not back to basics...It's back to the days made famous by Uptan Sinclair in his books The Jungle, King Coal, Oil and all the conditions that have changed for the better as a result of the EPA, FDA, and others created in the sprit of what our Preamble to the Constitution mandates, not the mandates of a selfish egotistical monied class of plutocrats committed to raping the planet for their own gain.
Pruitt and Trump are taking us back to the stone age.
No, it's not back to basics...It's back to the days made famous by Uptan Sinclair in his books The Jungle, King Coal, Oil and all the conditions that have changed for the better as a result of the EPA, FDA, and others created in the sprit of what our Preamble to the Constitution mandates, not the mandates of a selfish egotistical monied class of plutocrats committed to raping the planet for their own gain.
Pruitt and Trump are taking us back to the stone age.
7
If a pre-employment requirement for POTUS were to pass an Intelligence Test and a Drug Test none of this would be happening.
I miss Obama.
I miss Obama.
5
I am still in disbelief that Pruitt is set to approve wide use of Chlorpyrifos a pesticide made by Dow Chemical.
This chemical is very toxic to children and fetuses. It is known to cause developmental delays in children whose mothers had even a brief exposure to chlorpyrifos during pregnancy.
It is usually sprayed - which means anyone can be casually exposed.
It has been reported that Pruitt Met with Andrew Liveris the CEO of Dow a few days before EPA's decision to approve the wide use of Chlorpyrifos.
This decision of his will leave him with blood on his hand in short order.
Horrific outcome for yet unborn American children and familiies.
This chemical is very toxic to children and fetuses. It is known to cause developmental delays in children whose mothers had even a brief exposure to chlorpyrifos during pregnancy.
It is usually sprayed - which means anyone can be casually exposed.
It has been reported that Pruitt Met with Andrew Liveris the CEO of Dow a few days before EPA's decision to approve the wide use of Chlorpyrifos.
This decision of his will leave him with blood on his hand in short order.
Horrific outcome for yet unborn American children and familiies.
13
So there will be more Flint Michigans and more Aliso Canyons. I call this the "depraved heart" cabinet. If you haven't encountered that legal term, there's a definition at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depraved-heart_murder. It fits well our current Congress with their vicious Trumpcare bills.
5
Trump's entire administration is corrupted with greed and power and Scott Pruitt is among the worse of his picks since he is an admitted climate change denier and outright science skeptic. This guy is despicable who loves money more than caring for public safety and the environment. To Republicans: money > environment.
People who are saying "Hillary would have been worse" are fooling and lying to themselves or just haters and sexist in general. People who voted for Trump, voted 3rd party or simply choose NOT to vote deserves this Trump presidency since your health is just in jeopardy as many others. Anyone with a brain, including a kindergartner, knows that picking Hillary as president is a more rational and sane choice than choosing an airhead, childish, egocentric, and greedy buffoon as Trump as president.
People who are saying "Hillary would have been worse" are fooling and lying to themselves or just haters and sexist in general. People who voted for Trump, voted 3rd party or simply choose NOT to vote deserves this Trump presidency since your health is just in jeopardy as many others. Anyone with a brain, including a kindergartner, knows that picking Hillary as president is a more rational and sane choice than choosing an airhead, childish, egocentric, and greedy buffoon as Trump as president.
2
In the meantime everyone expresses their disgust concerning Trumps tweets.
1
After 4 years of massive environmental destruction by Trump and his team of fossil fuel fiends, will it even be possible to correct the damage done?
In my dreams, I hope for the day when Pruitt is tried and convicted of crimes against Mother Earth. With the punishment that fits the crime.
In my dreams, I hope for the day when Pruitt is tried and convicted of crimes against Mother Earth. With the punishment that fits the crime.
3
The home page headline says it all :
"E.P.A. Chief Wastes Little Time Voiding Obama’s Rules"
"*Obama's* Rules". If you're OK with any *one* person making sweeping changes to rules that affect some many people and so much of the economy, you are just *begging* for someone like Trump to change those rules.
Congress should be making and/or approving any of these drastic changes. If they did, any new President would have a much more constrained latitude in what they can change.
Let's work to End the Imperial Presidency, whether you like what he's doing or not.
"E.P.A. Chief Wastes Little Time Voiding Obama’s Rules"
"*Obama's* Rules". If you're OK with any *one* person making sweeping changes to rules that affect some many people and so much of the economy, you are just *begging* for someone like Trump to change those rules.
Congress should be making and/or approving any of these drastic changes. If they did, any new President would have a much more constrained latitude in what they can change.
Let's work to End the Imperial Presidency, whether you like what he's doing or not.
2
a disgraceful set of policy changes. big business has no concern beyond short term gain.
5
There should be a law against just this kind of decision-making.
1
Of all of Trumps stinking agenda, it is the greatest insult, to Americans, AND to the Land that we live on, that Pruitt is head of the EPA. For a "Public Servant" who is charged with protecting our Nation's clean air, clean water, and clean open Country - this man is a criminal beyond belief.
And, Trump knew this. As Oklahoma's Attorney General, Pruitt not only constantly sued the Federal Government on Environmental regulations - Oklahoma's Earthquakes became MUCH more frequent on his tenure, from Fracking Oil - by over 100% - to become an almost daily occurrence.
And, isn't it refreshing to know that this is the first EPA Chief to require a 24/7 Security Detail, even as he sleeps at home. But, he sleeps because he has no conscience. Pruitt is selling off our Nation's health for the benefit of the Coal and Oil Industry. The man's actions and arrogance are foul beyond belief.
While every Cabinet position Trump has appointed stinks - Pruitt is the worst. If our Nation, and this Planet can survive four years of Trump, it will be nothing short of a miracle.
And, Trump knew this. As Oklahoma's Attorney General, Pruitt not only constantly sued the Federal Government on Environmental regulations - Oklahoma's Earthquakes became MUCH more frequent on his tenure, from Fracking Oil - by over 100% - to become an almost daily occurrence.
And, isn't it refreshing to know that this is the first EPA Chief to require a 24/7 Security Detail, even as he sleeps at home. But, he sleeps because he has no conscience. Pruitt is selling off our Nation's health for the benefit of the Coal and Oil Industry. The man's actions and arrogance are foul beyond belief.
While every Cabinet position Trump has appointed stinks - Pruitt is the worst. If our Nation, and this Planet can survive four years of Trump, it will be nothing short of a miracle.
2
Mr. Pruitt is unshackling the engine of industry and capitalism by removing the chains Obama imposed on all pro growth policies during his 8 year regime. Obama hated capitalism and did everything he could to over regulate it, choking the lifeblood out of the once robust engine down to an anemic less than 2% growth per annum . Now Trump is in charge and all has changed. Obama's legacy is being dismantled piece by piece. It is an exciting time in America. Elections have consequences.
2
@Steve
Take a look at the Tesla website.
We really are on our way to driving powered by the sun.
That is the type of technology innovation that has made the US the world's leading economy this past 100 years.
As an added benefit, it will help national security by helping the world be less dependent on the Middle East.
Take a look at the Tesla website.
We really are on our way to driving powered by the sun.
That is the type of technology innovation that has made the US the world's leading economy this past 100 years.
As an added benefit, it will help national security by helping the world be less dependent on the Middle East.
2
Here's something that the Republicans have yet to wave as an option to encourage economic growth or maybe it is on the back burner.
A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children of Poor People From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public By Jonathan Swift (1729)
A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children of Poor People From Being A burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public By Jonathan Swift (1729)
1
This is NOT what people are elected for!
We do not expect government leaders to grossly block or deconstruct the work of other government leaders. This is just sectors, branches, and succeeding waves of government at war with itself.
Any person that wants our tax money spent that way is crazy. Any elected leader who spends their time doing this, instead of solving real problems and building our futures is committing an act of Sedition - possibly Treason.
This is all the GOTP has been about for close to ten years. To set themselves up to oppose every possible move of Obama, just because they did not win, was Treason. Then they DID Win - and are doing nothing but continuing the exact same activity as if Obama was still the President!
Meanwhile, Congress has basically become entirely ineffective. Think of it: the GOTP has both houses of Congress and the White House, and yet are completely paralyzed! How can anyone think this is Normal? Even when Congress does act, it's to try to enact a warped and unwanted policy that serves only a very few, while openly ignoring the needs and stated desires of the vast variety majority.
Is this all government is now? Is an election just to bring in another wave of those who utterly ignore the nation's needs, while tirelessly slaving on policies that benefit large business and billionaires only? The many do not elect government to work towards the needs of the wealthy few - or the vengeful - but that's all we are getting...
We do not expect government leaders to grossly block or deconstruct the work of other government leaders. This is just sectors, branches, and succeeding waves of government at war with itself.
Any person that wants our tax money spent that way is crazy. Any elected leader who spends their time doing this, instead of solving real problems and building our futures is committing an act of Sedition - possibly Treason.
This is all the GOTP has been about for close to ten years. To set themselves up to oppose every possible move of Obama, just because they did not win, was Treason. Then they DID Win - and are doing nothing but continuing the exact same activity as if Obama was still the President!
Meanwhile, Congress has basically become entirely ineffective. Think of it: the GOTP has both houses of Congress and the White House, and yet are completely paralyzed! How can anyone think this is Normal? Even when Congress does act, it's to try to enact a warped and unwanted policy that serves only a very few, while openly ignoring the needs and stated desires of the vast variety majority.
Is this all government is now? Is an election just to bring in another wave of those who utterly ignore the nation's needs, while tirelessly slaving on policies that benefit large business and billionaires only? The many do not elect government to work towards the needs of the wealthy few - or the vengeful - but that's all we are getting...
2
As (not fit to be President) Trump continues to drag down the United States of America and past performance of President Obama - remember George M. Cohan's words: "You're a GRAND old FLAG". We must continue to keep our country safe (from present "leadership").
2
America will go nowhere if we rewrite the books after every Presidency. Obama was elected by both the popular vote and the electoral college. Rump shouldn't forget that.
3
Thanks to the 3rd party and Republican voters who swore Hillary was the worst candidate. In a few months, we will all be Flint with contaminated water and God knows what else.
Maybe God is tired of America's hubris and arrogance. It sure seems like this country is being destroyed from within by the Republican party. Unfortunately, Republicans and their supporters are ignorant to world history which illustrates that this is how empires fall into the abyss. It's been a good run!
Maybe God is tired of America's hubris and arrogance. It sure seems like this country is being destroyed from within by the Republican party. Unfortunately, Republicans and their supporters are ignorant to world history which illustrates that this is how empires fall into the abyss. It's been a good run!
1
Pruitt is just one example of a hired gun who does the bidding for the Koch brothers and consorts. Wrecking our environment for the sake of further enrichment of a few is simply outrageous.
The many superfund sites that were created by environmentally irresponsible corporation decades ago and that now must be remedied at taxpayers' expenses are an appalling example of corporate welfare and extraction of wealth from most of us into the pockets of a few. Clearly this does not bother Mr. Pruitt.
The many superfund sites that were created by environmentally irresponsible corporation decades ago and that now must be remedied at taxpayers' expenses are an appalling example of corporate welfare and extraction of wealth from most of us into the pockets of a few. Clearly this does not bother Mr. Pruitt.
3
In Bejing the wealthy can separate and protect themselves from pollution and the working class - they simply build giant filtered air bubbles over their Tennis courts and other places they congregate. When the rich finally get around to building their exclusive giant arc, as we cook or drown will be able to see the name on it: I hearby name it: the Republican Party.
Sometimes you just have to clean-up your own trash. That is an important elementary school lesson, during lunch-time. What do the Republicans think is going to happen when their "Red" States become even more polluted? The extremely wealthy already don't want to visit their majority Republican States and Republican Places because they do not hit the mark of World Class. Now, with this roll-back, the Republicans are even further from that World Class Standard. World Class will happen, they just won't be at that Boardroom Meeting.
1
Because of his known hatred of regulations for maintaining our environment, Scott Pruitt was chosen to destroy the EPA. Poisoned water, poisoned air, climate change denial is but a small piece of the puzzle along with taking health care away from those desperately in need. It is really all about slashing taxes for the super-rich and removing any oversight from big corporations. Trump's personal White Supremacist Stephen Bannon calls it "deconstruction".
These are all part of the same Republican scheme to serve their masters - the ultra-right wing corporatists like the Koch brothers who now control this nation. These same anti-democratic powers bought Red State legislatures and governorships with Citizen's United dark money. They have financed the gerrymandering and voter suppression that enabled in Trump's election. "Making of ignorance great again" is a way of saying that our nation has undergone a right wing coup. The idiotic claim "Creating More jobs" is a merely mindless cover for for the pathetic uninformed Trump supporter's hatred of everything America has fought and died for.
Any voter with a shred of patriotism left must rise up and reject the festering disease of Republican Trumpism. It is not a question of liberal vs. conservative it is a matter of the survival of our planet and democracy.
These are all part of the same Republican scheme to serve their masters - the ultra-right wing corporatists like the Koch brothers who now control this nation. These same anti-democratic powers bought Red State legislatures and governorships with Citizen's United dark money. They have financed the gerrymandering and voter suppression that enabled in Trump's election. "Making of ignorance great again" is a way of saying that our nation has undergone a right wing coup. The idiotic claim "Creating More jobs" is a merely mindless cover for for the pathetic uninformed Trump supporter's hatred of everything America has fought and died for.
Any voter with a shred of patriotism left must rise up and reject the festering disease of Republican Trumpism. It is not a question of liberal vs. conservative it is a matter of the survival of our planet and democracy.
2
Just follow the money, that is all it takes. Always.
1
I'm somehow still managing to be surprised at the depth of hypocrisy (I guess I'm more of a Pollyanna than I ever thought) that the (mostly) pro-life Republican party can blather on and on about Planned Parenthood but throw over childhood health in the name of big business. I mean, c'mon, you meet with the March of Dimes and still see no problem!?!?
4
Over and over Rebulocans say things and over and over the talking points and sound bites of their doctrinaire go unchallenged and unqueastioned. Bill maher touched on this this past Friday on his show.
We hear time and again about how regulations are harming the economy. But we are given no evidence whatsoever to back up this claim. It's stated and no one ever seems to drill into the details of the specific regulation, why it was put into place, and how rolling it back is going to improve the economy.
We hear time and again about how regulations are harming the economy. But we are given no evidence whatsoever to back up this claim. It's stated and no one ever seems to drill into the details of the specific regulation, why it was put into place, and how rolling it back is going to improve the economy.
At least we can have the consolation that Pruitt and his corporate buddies who embrace climate change denial will die just the same as the rest of us, because of tainted water, filthy air, and starvation. They don't seem to get it that our bodies require clean air, water, and plentiful food in order to have a decent life. And another consolation is that maybe the survivors of the animal and plant world will fare much better once humans have become extinct.
Desparately searching for silver lining. Now we Americans can understand what it feels like to have a foreign colonizer come into our land and impose their religion, economy, and culture upon us. The conquistadores, the palefaces, and the haoles, forced indigenous peoples to deny their own religion, language, and culture as they destroyed the environment of the American continent (killing off masses of our wildlife, blasting away mountains and poisoning our creeks looking for gold, etc.)
I am fortunate to live in California which will continue to rigorously apply clean environmental standards in our state. The two adjacent republican states are mostly desert on our borders and lightly populated. The Colorado River is an issue.
Perhaps the Republicans are right on one thing-- States should regulate this not the Feds and soon red States will be depopulated by poisoning, asthma and growing birth defects, and those fortunate enough will change their political tune and relocate to a blue state that cares about the environment, universal access to healthcare, and civility.
I am fortunate to live in California which will continue to rigorously apply clean environmental standards in our state. The two adjacent republican states are mostly desert on our borders and lightly populated. The Colorado River is an issue.
Perhaps the Republicans are right on one thing-- States should regulate this not the Feds and soon red States will be depopulated by poisoning, asthma and growing birth defects, and those fortunate enough will change their political tune and relocate to a blue state that cares about the environment, universal access to healthcare, and civility.
I used to argue that buying almost anything from a corporation was doing harm to the environment and in response people would say "that is what we have the EPA for." So now what is the argument.
The new head of the EPA thinks the most important thing he can do is make it easier for corporations to do what they do, exploit people and resources for the benefit of a few. Last I checked, profits were up, the stock market is at an all time high, and unemployment is at 5%. What problem are we solving by giving more power and money to the corporations?
The new head of the EPA thinks the most important thing he can do is make it easier for corporations to do what they do, exploit people and resources for the benefit of a few. Last I checked, profits were up, the stock market is at an all time high, and unemployment is at 5%. What problem are we solving by giving more power and money to the corporations?
1
People can decide not to buy or take part in anything that is fruit of the poison trumpkin tree. A very tough call but possible. It will always be a buyers market.
Isn't Pruitt just implementing Trump's deregulatory program for his agency? The program's purpose is to benefit various special interests despite (knowingly?) damaging the U.S. economy in the medium and long terms-- as well as damaging the environment.
Democracy is at work (modulo the interference of our friendly allies at the FBI and The Kremlin). It's ugly and it's messy, but that is the certifiable hallmark of what political/economic differences in opinion is supposed to mean.
I happen to be pro-environment for the most part. I also happen to be pro-job-creation. It's painful to stomach the Pruitt's moves. No doubt the big loser is our health -- environment and our lives. However, democracy will survive, people will come to their senses and recognize just how nefarious profit-seeking enterprise can be. We have peaceful ways of redressing this mess -- read, write, petition, and be a healthy-minded citizen.
I happen to be pro-environment for the most part. I also happen to be pro-job-creation. It's painful to stomach the Pruitt's moves. No doubt the big loser is our health -- environment and our lives. However, democracy will survive, people will come to their senses and recognize just how nefarious profit-seeking enterprise can be. We have peaceful ways of redressing this mess -- read, write, petition, and be a healthy-minded citizen.
Whenever the economy is in a slump, co2 emissions stabilize or go down. They're just making sure pollution continues to rise even in an economic downturn.
It has been shown through out the short history of our nation that business cares about one thing and one thing only "PROFIT", to that end business will do the least that they can with regard to worker safety, consumer protection, consumer costs and environmental protection. If the government didn't step in from time to time this nation would already have destroyed itself.
1
I used to think our government officials were actually working for the people. When I was much younger I watched this new agency (the EPA) come in and work hard to clean up our air and polluted rivers. I'm certain it wasn't easy, but they did it. I saw the difference. But as long as their is manufacturing, there will always be work to do with regards to safeguarding our environment. I'm saddened to watch them overrun by foolish and greedy political maneuvering. It's sickening (in more ways than one).
2
Certainly no one is surprised by any of this and I hope least of all the President's supporters who continue to believe the myth that the industrial giants whom Pruitt serves are going to bring back all the jobs they have sent overseas (where people are choking on the air and water). Reality, supported by all the data, shows that environmental regulations actually create jobs and result in better efficiency. Remove regs and what you get is the ability of companies - like Dow, a prime example - to skate away from the millions of dollars they have been required to pay to clean up the environmental (and health) catastrophes they've left all over the U.S. and to create new ones.
An earlier commenter celebrated Pruitt and trashed Obama. He represents the epitome of the short-sighted self-interest that drives the agenda Pruitt is now implementing. The moguls who celebrate and promote Pruitt's EPA will always be protected from harm, as will their children. They have made it clear in everything from health care to immigration reform to education, etc. that they care nothing about anyone but themselves and will do anything to protect their own self-interest.
There's no point in ranting and raving about these obscenities. People - including a lot of women with children - voted for this. Until the Dems wake up and provide real alternative candidates, and we get organized at the state level (without spending billions on irrelevant races) nothing is going to change.
An earlier commenter celebrated Pruitt and trashed Obama. He represents the epitome of the short-sighted self-interest that drives the agenda Pruitt is now implementing. The moguls who celebrate and promote Pruitt's EPA will always be protected from harm, as will their children. They have made it clear in everything from health care to immigration reform to education, etc. that they care nothing about anyone but themselves and will do anything to protect their own self-interest.
There's no point in ranting and raving about these obscenities. People - including a lot of women with children - voted for this. Until the Dems wake up and provide real alternative candidates, and we get organized at the state level (without spending billions on irrelevant races) nothing is going to change.
2
"The nice thing is that now we feel like we are being heard."
They are not only being heard but having their recommendations implemented. Elections clearly do have consequences.
The one major rub against President Obama was that he was a bit trigger happy with regard to regulations. As with climate control, those states and localities that want certain things regulated - will do so. President Trump hasn't barred Jerry Brown from taking any action he wants with respect to climate control.
They are not only being heard but having their recommendations implemented. Elections clearly do have consequences.
The one major rub against President Obama was that he was a bit trigger happy with regard to regulations. As with climate control, those states and localities that want certain things regulated - will do so. President Trump hasn't barred Jerry Brown from taking any action he wants with respect to climate control.
Please note that a vote in a rural state like Nevada has more weight than a vote in an urban state like New York. Donald Trump lost the popular vote and in no way do his policies represents the views of the majority of Americans.
Thanks for making the correction about the March 9 meeting between Pruitt and Liveris that never took place! I for one feel strongly that the EPA under the Obama Administration got way too activist, particularly in the area of air quality and water. Pesticide regulation has been continuously stepped up over the past 25 years. We need to balance costs and benefits carefully but that does not mean cancelling all crop protection registrations.
The Environmental Protection Agency is now in actuality the Environmental Destruction Agency. And is hastening this planet's extinction.
2
Our country does not belong to corporations who want to exploit our resources by using our waters and lands as dumping grounds, or by stealing minerals, trees, or habitat. Our government is supposed to stand up against those interests, but this admin is purely corrupt and venal.
1
Trump and some of his cohort actually may believe in what they are doing, because they come from backgrounds where fact, accuracy, and administrative precision and fairness are of little or negative value. As every economist can tell you, confusion and false facts lead to an inefficient market, where vast sums of money can be made due to public ignorance.
Social democracy requires openness and truth. Confusion about governmental issues leads to the the equivalent of an inefficient market, an oligarchy. This direction is the one that Trump is steering our society toward.
The analogy is piloting a jetliner. Pilots have strict protocols devised to ensure that all the data about operations and weather are appropriately considered for a safe flight. The deregulation policies to remove "the deep state" are equivalent to telling the pilots that the safety checklists are redundant and wasteful, and can be dispensed with, in order to save time and money. Eliminating the co-pilot reduces the administrative overhead as well. The resulting airline would make more money per flight, and the crashes could be blamed on the plane manufacturer, terrorists, and fat passengers. This future is where Trump and the Republicans are pushing us. Hilary's "basket of deplorables" should have be directed not to the voters, but Trump and friends.
Social democracy requires openness and truth. Confusion about governmental issues leads to the the equivalent of an inefficient market, an oligarchy. This direction is the one that Trump is steering our society toward.
The analogy is piloting a jetliner. Pilots have strict protocols devised to ensure that all the data about operations and weather are appropriately considered for a safe flight. The deregulation policies to remove "the deep state" are equivalent to telling the pilots that the safety checklists are redundant and wasteful, and can be dispensed with, in order to save time and money. Eliminating the co-pilot reduces the administrative overhead as well. The resulting airline would make more money per flight, and the crashes could be blamed on the plane manufacturer, terrorists, and fat passengers. This future is where Trump and the Republicans are pushing us. Hilary's "basket of deplorables" should have be directed not to the voters, but Trump and friends.
The only reason I could even imagine keeping Trump in office was that he's too buffoon to get anything done, in contrast to Pence who, being sane, might just be effective.
Now that imagined reason no longer holds. Some of the Trump Administration is taking over. This article is on Pruitt but there's also Jeff Sessions strengthening the police and, not necessarily, for the protection of the innocent.
We need to focus on impeachment. Let's do our best to flip the House so impeachment can happen.
Read David Frum (yes, that neocon) and Timothy Snyder, Yale historian, to know just how dangerous Trump is to our democracy. Pence doesn't have that egomaniacal charisma of a strongman.
Now that imagined reason no longer holds. Some of the Trump Administration is taking over. This article is on Pruitt but there's also Jeff Sessions strengthening the police and, not necessarily, for the protection of the innocent.
We need to focus on impeachment. Let's do our best to flip the House so impeachment can happen.
Read David Frum (yes, that neocon) and Timothy Snyder, Yale historian, to know just how dangerous Trump is to our democracy. Pence doesn't have that egomaniacal charisma of a strongman.
1
I think his appointment of Scott Pruitt was one of the scariest things Trump has done. Do a majority of Americans care about protecting clean air, water, and public health or don't they? The EPA may not be perfect, but it was created for good reason. This administration marches forward heedless to anyone's interests but their own small ones - money, money, money in their pockets. Can't drink or breathe money, folks.
7
Ignorance is bliss. I'm sure most people either either don't have the time, or take the time, to follow what is actually happening. As a part of the hostile takeover of our country, Trump is rolling back the clock to 1950 (and even earlier). Every time I see a clip of him telling his followers that he is looking out for them I can't believe it. Who knows, perhaps they wouldn't care anyway . . . until it impacts them (just ask the residents of Flint, Michigan how they like Republican governance).
14
We the People don't have to stand by and accept the fate of destruction and disaster handed to us by the "masters of the universe" here. Hits the streets by the millions, fight back on every level...our environment, our nation and humanity is at stake. Take down the oligarchs and our corrupt economy, political and judicial systems. We must retaliate.
10
In reversing these environmental regulations, Pruitt is purposefully putting our children, all of us, in harms way, potentially polluting are waters and making us more susceptible to cancer causing chemicals. Good thing that the GOP is hard at work on getting all of us cheaper, better health insurance care! Oh wait...
9
Don't any of these people have or plan to have grandchildren? Don't they care if they have an inhabitable, much less enjoyable, planet?
8
Simply put, NO, it's all about them.
As the Civil Rights Movement Mantra reminds us: "Keep your Eyes on the Prize."
Every one us blessed or burdened with the ability to see beyond the day's outrage have to recognize that the acts being committed by these individuals and corporations can be cast as offenses which can be prosecuted in civil or criminal court.
These are not victim-less crimes...measurable impacts ensue and become evidence. Whether by class action or individual suits, it will be possible to track these people down and make them pay. Though it is possible we will not survive the next several years, the probability is that we will.
And when the opportunities arise, we must be prepared to prosecute these offenders with every legal means at our disposal. They are liable for their acts and we, the people, must take them to task with the greatest ferocity possible.
For the record, I am opposed to any presidential pardons for Donald Trump or members of his administration.
Every one us blessed or burdened with the ability to see beyond the day's outrage have to recognize that the acts being committed by these individuals and corporations can be cast as offenses which can be prosecuted in civil or criminal court.
These are not victim-less crimes...measurable impacts ensue and become evidence. Whether by class action or individual suits, it will be possible to track these people down and make them pay. Though it is possible we will not survive the next several years, the probability is that we will.
And when the opportunities arise, we must be prepared to prosecute these offenders with every legal means at our disposal. They are liable for their acts and we, the people, must take them to task with the greatest ferocity possible.
For the record, I am opposed to any presidential pardons for Donald Trump or members of his administration.
5
For a compelling story about how unregulated industries can pollute water and poison the surrounding residents, read the book "A Civil Action" by Jonathan Harr http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/bsp/18426.html?mcubz. There is also a movie about how a subsidiary of a large corporation, Beatrice Foods, dumped toxic chemicals into the drinking water of the residents of Woburn Massachusetts. Decades later, people noticed cancer clusters in the neighborhood of the leather tannery where the dumping occurred. Though the plaintiffs lawyers tried to sue the companies involved they got nowhere in the courts. It was only when the EPA stepped in many years later that the company was fined. "A Civil Action" is a cautionary tale of the consequences of deregulation at the EPA.
7
You don't even want to know how many industrial small towns lack a cancer registry. Pressure by corporations on small for profit medical centers....another scandal.
"Mr. Paxton met with Mr. Pruitt to request that the agency withdraw a rule requiring energy companies to collect data on emissions of methane from oil and gas wells.... the next day the rule was personally withdrawn"
If fugitive emissions from natural gas operations exceed 3%, then natural gas is no better for the climate than burning coal. There's been a spike in methane emissions, worldwide, since fracking started in the U.S., and much scientific evidence suggests fugitive emissions from gas operations is between 3% and 10%. This is what led to the regulation requesting gas operators collect data on their emissions. Ironically, if they tightened up their operations to prevent fugitive emissions, they would make more money. It would be nice if reality conformed itself to our imaginations, but climate change is already here, its worsening exponentially, and all closing our eyes is going to do is make it that much harder on our children when they are forced to do what we could not.
If fugitive emissions from natural gas operations exceed 3%, then natural gas is no better for the climate than burning coal. There's been a spike in methane emissions, worldwide, since fracking started in the U.S., and much scientific evidence suggests fugitive emissions from gas operations is between 3% and 10%. This is what led to the regulation requesting gas operators collect data on their emissions. Ironically, if they tightened up their operations to prevent fugitive emissions, they would make more money. It would be nice if reality conformed itself to our imaginations, but climate change is already here, its worsening exponentially, and all closing our eyes is going to do is make it that much harder on our children when they are forced to do what we could not.
8
As an independent, I try (not always successfully) to weigh both sides of an argument. What irks me about the current lot of republicans is that they don't appear to have an argument *for* anything. Instead, they are *against* anything Obama, and prefer to hide the real intentions of their legislation. (See, for example, the healthcare bill which is largely about taxes.)
It may well be that there are arguments for "making government so small you can drown it in a bathtub," for "big, beautiful walls" and for "travel bans," but the republicans seem to prefer fear mongering over substantive debate.
Forgive me if you think it's "elitist," but isn't the main point of democracy that actual ideas are proposed and discussed? I certainly think so, and will be looking for legislators and candidates on both sides of the aisle who are willing to state what they are *for* and articulate the actual facts that led them their conclusions. (Hint: Economic theories based entirely on novels do not pass this test.)
We The People need to demand more from our representatives.
It may well be that there are arguments for "making government so small you can drown it in a bathtub," for "big, beautiful walls" and for "travel bans," but the republicans seem to prefer fear mongering over substantive debate.
Forgive me if you think it's "elitist," but isn't the main point of democracy that actual ideas are proposed and discussed? I certainly think so, and will be looking for legislators and candidates on both sides of the aisle who are willing to state what they are *for* and articulate the actual facts that led them their conclusions. (Hint: Economic theories based entirely on novels do not pass this test.)
We The People need to demand more from our representatives.
6
There must be a happy median between ensuring clean air and water on the one hand and declaring every backyard puddle a federally protected wetland on the other. And did you know the EPA enforcers carry firearms and are not reticent about using them?
And while not mentioned in the article, I'm sure the reason why Mr. Pruitt is using outside consultants relates to his inability to fire any of the "career employees" at the EPA, no matter how inept or partisan. It's way, way past time for this country to reform the civil service (it's been over a century since the last wave of reform despite Al Gore's risible efforts) and end this system of lifetime sinecure with generous publicly funded pensions for people like Lois Lerner or the incompetents at the VA.
And while not mentioned in the article, I'm sure the reason why Mr. Pruitt is using outside consultants relates to his inability to fire any of the "career employees" at the EPA, no matter how inept or partisan. It's way, way past time for this country to reform the civil service (it's been over a century since the last wave of reform despite Al Gore's risible efforts) and end this system of lifetime sinecure with generous publicly funded pensions for people like Lois Lerner or the incompetents at the VA.
Probably the scariest concern here is that Republicans and Trumpites see this action as a great step forward, The world, who once saw us as a leader in addressing environmental issues, is now seeing a different America. Slowly, America is beginning to look like Trump.
7
Americans fully deserve what they are getting from Trump and his mob. The rest of the World, however, does not.
The civilized nations of the world must take a stand an treat the US for what it has become, namely an enemy of our planet. Saving our planet has the immeasurably price of confronting the US in any way that is required, and civilized nations must be willing to pay that price, or pay the much higher price of global catastrophe.
The civilized nations of the world must take a stand an treat the US for what it has become, namely an enemy of our planet. Saving our planet has the immeasurably price of confronting the US in any way that is required, and civilized nations must be willing to pay that price, or pay the much higher price of global catastrophe.
2
Why would you say that? Americans voted for HIllary by a 3 million vote margin. It was mass election fraud, the Koch brothers, Robert Mercer, dirty money, a proportionally biased Electoral College, where your vote in San Francisco is worth 1/4 the vote of someone in ND, WY, NE etc that put this crazy kleptocratic autocratic nightmare in office, not "we the people."
2
Americans are just fine with the fraud you describe and thus fully complicit.
I find his focus on Super Fund Site cleanup ironic in light of the fact rolling back regulations will create more environmental destruction that will require cleanup. Undoubtedly he has friends in the ranks of corporations like Bechtel who are doing the cleanup. Hes turning the agency into another corporate welfare "outlet." The sinicism of it is astonishing.
3
In my recent comment I neglected to reference Rachel Carson's landmark treatise on the environment: Silent Spring.
2
Regulations are vital to protecting society - for the most recent example look no further than the Grenfell tower disaster in the U.K. Trump and his administration don't want to see this because they are purely driven by profit and are ignorant.
The real question is how can one man undo regulations without debate and voting from the legislative bodies?
The real question is how can one man undo regulations without debate and voting from the legislative bodies?
2
As Trump and his band of merry bandits busily dismantle what took years of science to establish, just to bring us back to a time where life itself was uncertain, and his base chuckles every time he embarrasses himself and the country on Twitter, all we can look forwards to is either joining forces with Putin's Russia, becoming a third world country of both. Thank goodness I moved to Canada where sanity still prevails.
2
A new study came out this week in the New England Journal of Medicine discussing the high levels of mortality caused by air pollution by people receiving Medicare. It clearly demonstrates that there is a lot of mortality even at levels below those set by the EPA.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1702747
The costs of healthcare from air pollution are very, very high.
Congress should ask the Congressional Budget Office to do a study that would show how much money would be saved by cleaning the air in our major population centers. The federal government could save tens of billions of dollars per year in reduced Medicare and Medicaid payments by cleaning up the air in major population centers.
Much of air pollution control can be done at the city and state levels. For example NY State has phased out the very dirty #6 fuel oil and should have banned #4 fuel oil by delayed for political reasons. These are very, very dirty fuel oils used to heat buildings in the Northeast and Midwest in the Winter. With natural gas being so very cheap, it even makes financial sense for buildings to convert.
The NYT should ask Cuomo why he delayed banning #4 fuel oil and it should write an article interviewing leaders of other states about banning #6 and #4 fuel oils.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1702747
The costs of healthcare from air pollution are very, very high.
Congress should ask the Congressional Budget Office to do a study that would show how much money would be saved by cleaning the air in our major population centers. The federal government could save tens of billions of dollars per year in reduced Medicare and Medicaid payments by cleaning up the air in major population centers.
Much of air pollution control can be done at the city and state levels. For example NY State has phased out the very dirty #6 fuel oil and should have banned #4 fuel oil by delayed for political reasons. These are very, very dirty fuel oils used to heat buildings in the Northeast and Midwest in the Winter. With natural gas being so very cheap, it even makes financial sense for buildings to convert.
The NYT should ask Cuomo why he delayed banning #4 fuel oil and it should write an article interviewing leaders of other states about banning #6 and #4 fuel oils.
3
Not every location--especially rural homes outside cities and towns-- has the gas lines that connect households to natural gas, so other cleaner energy substitutes also needed.
In every cabinet position Trump has managed to put the wolf in the hen house.
5
Lobbyists writing regulations is boiler plate for Republicans. Pruitt can quickly end regulations that were put in executive orders. Corporate backers of Trump love the ease with which they can gamble with the public's health for corporate profit. This is what underpins the right's hopes for the Trump boom. No ACA, lower corporate taxes, ending environmental regulations, allowing financial services to chase after short term profits at the expense of costumers (otherwise known as counterparties): all in all, greed is good rules the day.
8
Appointing this industry shill to head the EPA is the equivalent of appointing El Chapo to head the DEA.
246
Important coverage. NYT should create a weekly sum-up of all of the cabinet departments' doings and give them this level of prominence. The real and lasting damage is like termites - eating away at the structure of our democracy, quietly, largely unseen, until it collapses. The destruction being wrought is far more significant than the Trump show, whose scrim continues to beguile the media. As in England, the Dems should create a shadow cabinet whose job it is to track what's actually going on, tell us about it, and shape their future on substance, not appearance.
1
WMD,
If El Chapo understood Trump better, he might just take up your suggestion run with it. With Trump...anything is possible. Anything.
If El Chapo understood Trump better, he might just take up your suggestion run with it. With Trump...anything is possible. Anything.
1
In the 1930s, after the public made a bad choice of leadership, Germans got Nazification of all levels of government and civil society. I'm sure many were shocked at how completely and assiduously these "ideological termites" infested and took over the house of the nation. They turned around and, boom, it was done.
That's what ideologues do. Free of rational thought.
Take this from Pruitt:
“I am making it a priority to ensure contaminated sites get cleaned up,” he said. “We will be more hands-on.”
Umm, maybe if you enforced regulations on the the companies that cause the contaminated sites in the first place Scotty boy?
Just a thought.
But, then, that's not how Trumpification works.
It's always the dumbest option the termites can conjure.
Good!
More grist for the opposition.
These crazies make an easy target.
Easy to show kids with rashes and illness who are the canaries in Trump's coal mine. The people with respiratory issues, the brown tap water.
(States rights? People who need to breathe and drink water actually live in those states…right?)
The political commercials will write themselves in 2018 and 2020.
That's what ideologues do. Free of rational thought.
Take this from Pruitt:
“I am making it a priority to ensure contaminated sites get cleaned up,” he said. “We will be more hands-on.”
Umm, maybe if you enforced regulations on the the companies that cause the contaminated sites in the first place Scotty boy?
Just a thought.
But, then, that's not how Trumpification works.
It's always the dumbest option the termites can conjure.
Good!
More grist for the opposition.
These crazies make an easy target.
Easy to show kids with rashes and illness who are the canaries in Trump's coal mine. The people with respiratory issues, the brown tap water.
(States rights? People who need to breathe and drink water actually live in those states…right?)
The political commercials will write themselves in 2018 and 2020.
18
First the thank yous:
Thanks to the Stein voters, who believed that Hillary === Trump. No difference....
Thank you to the stay at home Bernie Believers who believed that Hillary=====Trump
Thank you to the folks that decided not to vote because there was no longer an African-American face at the top of the ticket.
It is time for you all to be quiet
and
eat the broccoli.
Our next awards category goes to the voters of the Senators that voted to confirm Pruitt:
May your water catch fire;
Watch as the quality of the life of your children and grand-children is eroded.
Third to the Trump voter:
You wanted the government run like a business. A Trump business. You got it.
Like the White House corruption under the Trump Crime Coven,
you have an EPA run for corporation profit.
Thanks to the Stein voters, who believed that Hillary === Trump. No difference....
Thank you to the stay at home Bernie Believers who believed that Hillary=====Trump
Thank you to the folks that decided not to vote because there was no longer an African-American face at the top of the ticket.
It is time for you all to be quiet
and
eat the broccoli.
Our next awards category goes to the voters of the Senators that voted to confirm Pruitt:
May your water catch fire;
Watch as the quality of the life of your children and grand-children is eroded.
Third to the Trump voter:
You wanted the government run like a business. A Trump business. You got it.
Like the White House corruption under the Trump Crime Coven,
you have an EPA run for corporation profit.
22
Totally unfair and untrue. Hillary won by 3 million votes, so you can hardly blame Stein or Bernie voters. Please educate yourself by going over to Gregpalast.com and learn how the election was stolen. Even if Hillary had gotten 2 million more votes in CA, a million more votes in NY, a million more votes in WA & OR (that would give her 6 million more than Trump), she would not have gotten one more Electoral College vote, and Trump would have still won. Get yourself a more sophisticated analysis. In CA, a vote in the EC is worth 1/4 the vote from low population states like WY, NE, ND, ID. The EC is inherently biased (as is the House) against the larger states.
1
And thank you DNC for trying to force a has been hated looser down our throats.
How'd that work out for us ??
How'd that work out for us ??
1
The shameless greed of these people is repugnant. But hey, at least Hillary got "her turn."
1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1-2
Where are all the Christians? and why would you allow this Fake Christian to destroy what God has given us? Trading what God has loaned us for greed is a sin.
Where are all the Christians? and why would you allow this Fake Christian to destroy what God has given us? Trading what God has loaned us for greed is a sin.
16
Prescription opiate addiction overdoses, Unsustainable Pay, Medical Bankruptcy, Loss of Health Cover, Lead Poisoned Water, Zika Virus, Never Wrong Cops, Broken Justice System, Incarceration Society, Guns and more Guns, Withdrawal of Social and Welfare programs, Exploitive Elite and Corporations, Fracking, Sackings, Bad Air Hacking...
What are your Politicians trying to do to you all?
All for the Love of Money and Lots of Gunnies??
WHY?
What are your Politicians trying to do to you all?
All for the Love of Money and Lots of Gunnies??
WHY?
9
Thank you, POTUS Trump for step-by-step removal of anything enacted by Obama, that empty suit wonder of wonders who parlayed a big smile and the always ready-to-be-tapped-into reservoir AKA White Liberal Guilt Syndrome into a legacy that actually made Jimmy Carter look good.
On this upcoming 4th of July allReal Americans give thanks for having as out President a man who not only believes but practises the time-honored American values of love of country, exceptionalism and most importantly in this era of PC which feeds off identity politics and claiming 'Victimhood', Personal Responsibility.
On this upcoming 4th of July allReal Americans give thanks for having as out President a man who not only believes but practises the time-honored American values of love of country, exceptionalism and most importantly in this era of PC which feeds off identity politics and claiming 'Victimhood', Personal Responsibility.
3
I'm a Real American and I believe in personal responsibility. We are on the same team there. But I don't think our current president shares this value at all. He's interested in making himself out to be a victim of the mainstream media; I doubt he's ever issued a sincere apology in his life. And you can bet that when we suffer the fallout from these catastrophic rollbacks of environmental protections, it'll be the fault of anyone but himself.
1
How in the world does Trump practice personal responsibility? He has screwed everyone he did business with and reneged on loans to bank until only Deutschbank would loan him money (which likely was laundered Russian wealth stolen from its people). He does not love our country for its exceptionalism, unless that word is applied to him.
2
Thank you! That was hilarious! It was a perfect spoof of the typical response from a reactionary, willfully ignorant, hate-filled Trump supporter. I especially liked the ironic parts. Playing the victim of the supposed PC movement while decrying victimhood and then touting personal responsibility while praising a President who is the poster boy for avoiding responsibility, whether it's dodging taxes or blaming others for the mess he makes, is really clever. Great stuff! Keep up the good work.
3
So the guy who heads the agency that's supposed to protect the environment is rolling back and/or eliminating rules that protect the environment.
Where's Bill Hicks when you need him?
Where's Bill Hicks when you need him?
While Covfefe's hired climate-destroyer Pruitt is busy killing jobs (literally, by destroying the climate and thus killing everyone he and any other company currently or will ever employ), the tiny little man is tripling down on his own sub-childlike antics. With the help of a Redditor's video, he reminisces of his sports-entertainment days in the WWE, except as a political-entertainment star who bodyslams CNN.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/02/trump-body-slam-cnn-twee...
The 2018 Shellacking he'll bring the GOP will make May's UK snap-election blunder look like a George Washington-level triumph on her part. I can almost hear Democrats type their Constitutional amendments up already.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/02/trump-body-slam-cnn-twee...
The 2018 Shellacking he'll bring the GOP will make May's UK snap-election blunder look like a George Washington-level triumph on her part. I can almost hear Democrats type their Constitutional amendments up already.
3
Let's start using the term "protections" to describe what is being undone here. Repugnicans have turned "rules and regulations" in a dog whistle for right wingers to start howling about government overreach. In fact, Obama's protections were an excellent start to reclaiming America's environmental health from the destruction and avarice of Pruitt's industry handlers.
12
Bannon: Let's appoint Pruitt as head of the EPA.
Trump: Shouldn't the head of the EPA be a scientist with a PhD?
Bannon: Good one sir!
Trump: Shouldn't the head of the EPA be a scientist with a PhD?
Bannon: Good one sir!
4
What a joke. The EPA employees 1020 lawyers, it spends more money on lawyers and PR (aka propagandists) than it does on all the scientists they employ combined. But be my guest and drink the koolaid.
The environment might be better off by shutting down the EPA to keep Pruitt from continuing his rampage.
3
And yet I am sure he keeps his personal home gardeners from allowing the back yard fertilizer from polluting his pool.
8
Pruitt is destroying the environment, by sucking up to the corporations. Hopefully, Lord willing, the next administration will undo ALL the evil policies of the current regime in Washington.
4
Which begs the question, who is Pruitt working for?
6
Himself, like the majority of Republicans.
tearing down the house, working right out of his narcissistic wound
3
This makes me sick. Literally.
10
Thanks Scott! Looks like I'll be able to dump trichloroethylene and acetone in the stream in the back of my factory. Will save thousands, maybe buy a Rolex for me and the wife. Always wanted a Maserati. That'll create USA jobs, right? I assume you'll sue NJ if dumping violates state laws.
According to the scientists Pruitt relies on, solvents and other nasty stuff all disappear (poof!) before getting to the reservoir. (Might kill a few fish along the way, but real men prefer burnt meat slathered in ketchup.) But just in case, I'm hoping Scott tells me how I can get that pure and delicious Trump Natural Spring Water delivered, just like he does since sucking it up at the March 22 Petroleum Institute dinner at his boss's hotel.
According to the scientists Pruitt relies on, solvents and other nasty stuff all disappear (poof!) before getting to the reservoir. (Might kill a few fish along the way, but real men prefer burnt meat slathered in ketchup.) But just in case, I'm hoping Scott tells me how I can get that pure and delicious Trump Natural Spring Water delivered, just like he does since sucking it up at the March 22 Petroleum Institute dinner at his boss's hotel.
10
Betraying the American people is one thing. Betraying your own offspring is another. Resign.
9
[[Counseled by Industry, Not Staff, E.P.A. Chief Is Off to a Blazing Start]]
Good.
Elections have consequences.
I hope all these red staters enjoy their poisoned water and soil.
Good.
Elections have consequences.
I hope all these red staters enjoy their poisoned water and soil.
6
Everything about this present administration makes me sick - especially the one who is trying to act presidential and only really knows how to 'scribble' his name to a lot of nonsense executive orders. IMPEACH!!!!
More stories like this, please, and less on the Discombobulator-in-Chief!
4
With Pruitt in charge you can kiss your sweet environment goodbye. . . if you still have a sweet environment to kiss.
7
Pruitt is just another goblin comprising this administration of greed , spite and hatred. This needs to end, and quickly.
1
When you start rolling back regulations you get Grenfall Towers.
3
Somebody is working his butt off to deliver promises for the big polluters. He should be paid millions, if not billions, as his work is worth much more than that to them. For the rest of America? We'll probably just get some more cancer, live for some less years, about which Pruitt couldn't care less - and we don't expect him to care, really, given what kind of person he is.
3
The USA has been taken over by organized crime. Happy Fourth of July.
4
Pruitt is not the stupidest member of Trump's administration, but he is one of the most dangerous.
6
Thorough reporting except for one item:
MAGA means and meant undo the Obama years, we had an election, we will have more
Odd how the people who agree with you are smart and those who oppose are dolts
MAGA means and meant undo the Obama years, we had an election, we will have more
Odd how the people who agree with you are smart and those who oppose are dolts
1
He's just making America great again … get over it … now take a deep breath! Cough, cough, cough, wheeze, wheeze, wheeze!
2
It appears that Mr. Pruitt is not interested in climate change per se, but in rolling back regulations intended to control environmental pollution, on the grounds that anything that impedes short term, wealthy, business interests is to be dismissed.
Pruitt is doing the job he was asked to do. It has been clear for some time he has little use for any science that disagrees with the political agenda of this administration: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/06/30/scott_pruitt_wants_to_... .
His approach has little to do with scientific investigation and building consensus, or even the expectations that certain theoretical considerations may eventually be overturned. He has turned this into a bizarre high-school debate exercise, where he wants to give one side resources and ignore the others. Where judges in the debate are chosen to reinforce a preferred outcome.
This has happened in other circumstances, but not often to this extent. He wants the "Merchants of Doubt" at the head of room, and opposition pushed to the back bleachers. Science be damned.
Pruitt is doing the job he was asked to do. It has been clear for some time he has little use for any science that disagrees with the political agenda of this administration: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/06/30/scott_pruitt_wants_to_... .
His approach has little to do with scientific investigation and building consensus, or even the expectations that certain theoretical considerations may eventually be overturned. He has turned this into a bizarre high-school debate exercise, where he wants to give one side resources and ignore the others. Where judges in the debate are chosen to reinforce a preferred outcome.
This has happened in other circumstances, but not often to this extent. He wants the "Merchants of Doubt" at the head of room, and opposition pushed to the back bleachers. Science be damned.
1
So, this Republican appointee, appointed by this Republican "president" advised and consented to by Republican senators, is hell-bent on destroying the environment and our health, yet people still support and vote for Republicans. Don't blame the pathological greed of the corporate tools in office; blame the voters who put them there.
2
Scott Pruitt is a pathetic political parasite puppet dummy lawyer beholden to the dollars and cents of his fossil fuel industry puppeteers ventriloquist masters.
Under little Scottie Pruitt and tiny Donnie Trump the USEPA is the United States Energy Protection Agency.
Who knew?
Under little Scottie Pruitt and tiny Donnie Trump the USEPA is the United States Energy Protection Agency.
Who knew?
2
Another Trump success story in what appears to be an endless chain of abominations.
3
We now have complete idiots running our government. To undermine our environmental protections is simply evil. To do so in the name of advancing business interests is treasonous. Especially when you consider that business is doing quite well in America. Let's call these guys, from Trump down, exactly what they are: traitors.
5
This needs to be the headline of every paper in America. Stop watching Trump's idiot show, and show that he and his rich cronies are out to destroy what is left of the middle class. Then, Americans need to start screaming their heads off that they want their children to have clean air and water. Trump isn't a dictator. Stop him.
4
Congressman Faso is my representative in District 19, New York. Three of us met with him in April of this year to at least convey our concern about the policies of this administration. I talked about my concerns about the gutting of environmental policies and showed him the New York Time's original article about the chemical shown to harm children's development. He took the copy. Yes, he has shown concern over New York State's waterways. Yes, he is backed by the Mercer family with huge financial support. Do those two facts go together? Of course not. Where are you now, Congressman? I am livid over the essential disappearance of the EPA and this fast train to Hell. If the world of business remains this craven, we are all doomed and have lost our souls. Dante needs to come back and write a sequel.
3
Pray for the Republic.
Don't pray, vote!
3
Hey Pruitt, why don't you ask what's left of the 79 charred people from the Grennfell Tower block what they think of "business oriented" regulation?
5
He gets his own helmet and everything. Smiles all around. Billy's going to look great with that third limb growing out of his skull. And all the coal miners vehemently agree. Weeee!
What is Pruitt wearing on his head in the picture? Despite all the lawyers described in this column there don't seem to be any concerned with environmental justice. Pesticides, methane, poisoned children...who cares...we got rid of those pesky regulations put in place by a Black Man named Obama.
2
the photo ???? are those MINeRS or Execs posing as miners
1
Think of this guy the next time you're in Phoenix and it's too hot for your airplane to take off.
168
Sarah -- you really don't understand that Phoenix was built in the middle of a dessert that gets really hot and always has --- even before there was an EPA or we had hairless apes walking around planet earth. And you obviously don't grasp that any warming trend in Phoenix is in all likelihood due to it having become an urban heat island over the last 100 years or so. In 1900 Phoenix had 5000 inhabitants. Now the city has 1.6 million and the metro area over 4 million.
Spare us your outrage re it being too hot in Phoenix.
Spare us your outrage re it being too hot in Phoenix.
I live in Phoenix, I know that feeling!
I like to think of this guy every time I rummage for my albuterol inhaler: This one's for you, Scott!
I thought Dick Cheney was brazen.
Ken Paxton is under indictment for a charge of securities fraud that could carry a 99 year prison term and yet mouthing off about finally "being heard".
What kind of nightmare scenario are we living that, not only is this guy a sitting state Attorney General, he has direct access to Washington?
Ken Paxton is under indictment for a charge of securities fraud that could carry a 99 year prison term and yet mouthing off about finally "being heard".
What kind of nightmare scenario are we living that, not only is this guy a sitting state Attorney General, he has direct access to Washington?
19
. . . can can effect the rollback of even collecting the data that would support intelligent, data-driven regulation. Willful ignorance and blatant corruption.
1
I had dinner with a Trump supporter on election eve.
She told me one thing she knows for sure is that Mr. Trump loves this country.
I told her he didn't pay taxes, contribute to charity or had any passion that didn't make him money. Nothing he has every done has been patriotic.
She was completely in denial. She didn't believe a word I said.
Since the election Trump has staffed the cabinet and the agencies with people determined to destroy each one in their own incompetent way through the elimination of regulations or neglect. She is still in denial.
Blue state people like me are starting to think it is time to separate from the red states. We need to fund our own infrastructure and our federal dollars need to stay in our state.
I am all for states rights now - lets keep blue dollars home.
She told me one thing she knows for sure is that Mr. Trump loves this country.
I told her he didn't pay taxes, contribute to charity or had any passion that didn't make him money. Nothing he has every done has been patriotic.
She was completely in denial. She didn't believe a word I said.
Since the election Trump has staffed the cabinet and the agencies with people determined to destroy each one in their own incompetent way through the elimination of regulations or neglect. She is still in denial.
Blue state people like me are starting to think it is time to separate from the red states. We need to fund our own infrastructure and our federal dollars need to stay in our state.
I am all for states rights now - lets keep blue dollars home.
44
any evidence other than your own political biases that Trump isn't patriotic? Seems to me that anyone who elects to leave the private sector where he could continue running things per his own judgment and occupy the WH and become the target of the slings and arrows of outraged liberals -- I'd say that has to be motivated by something akin to patriotism.
Unlike the career politicians (Clinton, Obama) who have made their careers as political animals and who need office to survive (see Clinton foundation, Billy's speechifying fees) a billionaire doesn't need the aggravation. And we obviously have evidence -- thanks to the intrepid reportage of MSNBC -- that Trump paid a lot of taxes.
Unlike the career politicians (Clinton, Obama) who have made their careers as political animals and who need office to survive (see Clinton foundation, Billy's speechifying fees) a billionaire doesn't need the aggravation. And we obviously have evidence -- thanks to the intrepid reportage of MSNBC -- that Trump paid a lot of taxes.
Yes, Trump loves this country, but only for what it can give him. Follow the money and see the true motives of the right, Republicans and especially his base of cult members who believe whatever they are told - if it comes from their leader.
2
We're not going to change them, they are too far gone. We have to focus our energy on our own supporters and agenda. After all, we are in the majority.
Who coul possibly be against clean water and chemicals that harm children? Scott Pruitt and his industrial handlers. As Trump would say, "Sad. So sad."
9
"Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth." Quote of Albert Schweitzer to whom Rachel Carson dedicated her landmark treatise on modern man's adverse assault on the environment of this planet. Under this administration the EPA should be renamed the Environmental Destruction Agency!
19
I agree, but disagree. The EPA will not be doing the destruction. That's the job of Pruitt's Corporate friends. Meanwhile, Trump will be telling those that will be adversely effected, Jobs, jobs and more jobs, and they will be happy.
Until they desperately need the healthcare that they won't have.
The only way to wrestle control away from the oghligarcs that threaten humanity is with massive civil unrest.
13
Good point, but very dangerous. Trump would love it, in fact I believe he is doing what he can to make it happen. Why? Cause he needs an excuse to shut down free Press, arrest reporters as agitators, declare martial law to prevent demonstrations, and grab voter registration roles to he can fix the next election. Why is he against investing the Russian hacking? He is against it cause these are the techniques he plans on using in 2020. It has nothing to do with collusion. Collusion hasn't happened yet, but I am sure the seeds will be planted when Trump meets Putin.
Gene, you are absolutely correct, the time has come for all of us to stand up and face the destroyers of this country. The gloss of Independence Day has been well & truly tarnished by these parasites in Washington. When I see them wearing the flag on their lapels it makes me wonder what their America is!
And thanks to him, we're ALL going to die a horrible, choking death a little sooner. Some of us, like those being doused with pesticide overspray, many of them children, will die a lot sooner.
15
That's the problem but it won't happen in the US until most of us are dead. If people can see the destruction they don't think it will happen. On the other hand if they see a mountainous wave coming at them they run like a racehorse. the danger is eminent. Strange - isn't it?
TonyZ asks "why do intelligent people follow such obviously toxic policies?" Obvious... follow the money.
17
Scott Pruitt is nothing more than a shill for industry. He is an ignorant country bumpkin that puts dollars before the health and safety of the citizens of this country.
Methane is far more dangerous to climate change than carbon dioxide yet "know nothing" Pruitt has stopped even monitoring of methane. While he decries the added cost to industry, the public understands these costs will be passed on in the cost of gasoline. We should be monitoring and then deciding what the most effective policy should be to control methane from getting into the atmosphere!
Methane is far more dangerous to climate change than carbon dioxide yet "know nothing" Pruitt has stopped even monitoring of methane. While he decries the added cost to industry, the public understands these costs will be passed on in the cost of gasoline. We should be monitoring and then deciding what the most effective policy should be to control methane from getting into the atmosphere!
23
I am sure that EPA regulations were implemented only after extensive, scientific study and analysis so are Pruitt’s decisions accompanied by supporting data and facts or just vague statements (such as “stymied business” or “cost industry xxx dollars” or cost America jobs) that reek of backroom cronyism or mindless political agenda? It’s hard to imagine that so many regulations could have undergone, in less than six months, the rigorous scientific review one would expect when the health and welfare of the American people and the environment are at stake.
14
The decision to permit the use of the Dow pesticide was opposed by the scientific staff at EPA. Pruitt isn't interested in "scientific review" but in pursuing a dangerous ideology that will harm us all in the long run.
1
Don't be so sure. Remember the laws are passed by the idiots in Congress and I was stunned at their ignorance when I found out. You would be too. The new health care bill is a very obvious example.
Spot on.....the "extensive,scientific study,and analysis" was a simple cheque from the Koch brothers or from the Mercers.
1
This is nothing but a political debate about the role of big government in every aspect of our lives. Obama was all for big government. Evidently people didn't buy it, so they voted the Dems out at every level of government. Now the Democratic rump is bent out of shape because Trump is implementing the policies he ran on. What is the "science" of all this? I would say that the vast majority of NYT readers has never read a single scientific article on the subject, so they really know nothing except what is fed to them by biased news articles written by reporters who themselves know nothing except what they are told by "scientists" who are definitely out of their element when they become embroiled in politics. So lets stop the pretense of invoking scientific "evidence" which is filtered second and third hand from actual scientific reports which no one has ever read.
6
Ed -- Agree. It is obvious that most of the Climate Change alarmists that comment in the Times haven't the foggiest notion about how science operates, skepticism or data. They just know they love mommy earth and that all the proposed solutions are right in the progressive wheel house.
And by the way commentariat -- you do know that environmentalism and belief in climate change are two separate issues? One can be pro environment and still think that the argument that we are destroying the planet due to warming is more politics than science.
And by the way commentariat -- you do know that environmentalism and belief in climate change are two separate issues? One can be pro environment and still think that the argument that we are destroying the planet due to warming is more politics than science.
2
Dear Ed,
I happen to be both a professional scientist and reader of the NYT. While I have no affiliation with the EPA, I've read a fair number of primary scientific papers related to "the topic." According to my understanding of the literature, human caused climate change was theoroized over 100 years ago, mostly forgotten about for several decades, revisited in greater detail starting in the '60s, and then fully accepted by the '90s. Current research focuses more on understanding the possible outcomes as they affect different parts of the globe differently I consider Scott Pruitt's actions to be in opposition to established science at best, and at worst, an attack on the people of the United States. Have you read any of the relevant scientific literature? Do you disbelieve some of it? I'm very interested to understand where the greater public's misunderstandings start, and how scientists have failed so miserably at communicating their knowledge.
Regards,
Eric
I happen to be both a professional scientist and reader of the NYT. While I have no affiliation with the EPA, I've read a fair number of primary scientific papers related to "the topic." According to my understanding of the literature, human caused climate change was theoroized over 100 years ago, mostly forgotten about for several decades, revisited in greater detail starting in the '60s, and then fully accepted by the '90s. Current research focuses more on understanding the possible outcomes as they affect different parts of the globe differently I consider Scott Pruitt's actions to be in opposition to established science at best, and at worst, an attack on the people of the United States. Have you read any of the relevant scientific literature? Do you disbelieve some of it? I'm very interested to understand where the greater public's misunderstandings start, and how scientists have failed so miserably at communicating their knowledge.
Regards,
Eric
4
Sir, some of us have read quite a bit of the science first hand. I think many of us would appreciate it if you would enlighten us with your scientific knowledge that leads you to the conclusion about the ignorance of the rest of us.
I don't think anyone would disagree with your analysis that the EPA has become a major political crisis, precisely because it appears that no science whatsoever has been taken into consideration in many, if not most, of Pruitt's decisions to roll back regulations originally established on the basis not only of science, but after long processes in which both the public AND the regulated community had ample opportunity to comment and submit their own supporting data. A process, I might add, that does not seem to have been followed in the rescinding of these regulations.
Pruitt's decision not to consult with the scientists available to him at EPA but to rely on only one sector affected by his decisions have contributed significantly to the public's perception of his agenda being driven more by political ideology than science.
The issue is not whether or not readers of the New York Times understand the science behind EPA regulations, but whether those regulations are based on science that is unbiased, defensible, reproducible, and is itself based on peer-reviewed data. The question in the article is whether industry-friendly "lawyers, lobbyists, and allies" can provide better counsel than EPA scientists on this question..
I don't think anyone would disagree with your analysis that the EPA has become a major political crisis, precisely because it appears that no science whatsoever has been taken into consideration in many, if not most, of Pruitt's decisions to roll back regulations originally established on the basis not only of science, but after long processes in which both the public AND the regulated community had ample opportunity to comment and submit their own supporting data. A process, I might add, that does not seem to have been followed in the rescinding of these regulations.
Pruitt's decision not to consult with the scientists available to him at EPA but to rely on only one sector affected by his decisions have contributed significantly to the public's perception of his agenda being driven more by political ideology than science.
The issue is not whether or not readers of the New York Times understand the science behind EPA regulations, but whether those regulations are based on science that is unbiased, defensible, reproducible, and is itself based on peer-reviewed data. The question in the article is whether industry-friendly "lawyers, lobbyists, and allies" can provide better counsel than EPA scientists on this question..
4
To fully personalize the effects of these loosened regulations, there should be a companion article explaining the effect of pollutants on infants and children, and the unborn. Pollutants clearly have the potential to threaten the lives of the unborn, either through increased risk of stillbirth or through increased rates of genetic disease. Pollution is a significant "right to life" issue that should concern churchgoers on Sunday morning. How disingenuous this administration! Increase risk for the unborn, and once born and disabled, take away health care! Will churchgoers do nothing?
12
And who is going to pay for dealing with the consequences - environmental, health, and economic - when disaster strikes?
17
we are
1
Oh. our children and grandchildren but that's OK I'll be safely dead by the time the Earth gets to be unlivable. So, who cares, I've had an easy, luxurious life!
Notice the pattern: emphasize superfund sites, socializing the cost of pollution (albeit with even less money to do so); but lift regulations, reducing the cost to polluters. Stock holders delight! The business of America really is business.
11
Quick profits for a few, while the many face shorter life expectancy. In the meantime, the tides are rising, Antarctica is melting. The oligarchy of the 0.1 percent is sucking the life out of America.
14
"Overshadowed by the Russia investigation" is a beautiful thing to distract us from the real menace of this administration. Pruitt,Devos,Perry and the other cabinet members are quietly as they can dismantling our protections from the unfettered greed of the multinational corporations. This is the story that needs to be front and center. We all of us know what a (fill in the blank) Trump is. Please put his tweets far away behind the used car ads,and focus on the real damage
17
Boy, the Republicans have chutzpah! In possibly one presidential term, the Republicans will facilitate the corporate takeover of government. Impressive! Maybe the NYT could find someone who can make a legitimate argument how this is justified and how it will turn out well for the country.
9
The Trump regime is bringing us to the precipice of nuclear war,polluting our water,endangering our health by reintroducing harmful pesticides and herbicides and,and taking the health insurance away for 22 million American citizens!This is the republican agenda for making "America great again!"
12
Tangible v. intangible pollution????
6
Pruitt isn't doing it alone. The heartless, selfish and corrupt Republican party of "I've got mine" put him there.
11
My vote in the recent NYT survey of worst cabinet appointments is looking better by the second.
2
It is always comforting to me when agenda-driven, aging white male politicians start trying, in that cute, willfully ignorant way, to mansplain hard stuff like science. This stark demonstration of ... um, intellect ... warms the cockles of my heart. This is exactly the equivalent of hearing an expert discuss the finer approach to scooping-up dog doo.
6
Why should Republicans care about poisoning children's nervous systems?
It goes right along with eliminating Medicaid.
Their attitude: Each man for himself. I'm all right Jack.
It goes right along with eliminating Medicaid.
Their attitude: Each man for himself. I'm all right Jack.
11
I love it when progressives whine. Hardly any of the comments offer substantive reasons why these EPA rules shouldn't be rolled back. We the people didn't get to vote on any of them through our elected reps, and the EPA in many areas had overstepped its bounds.
Texas should be responsible for ensuring that its rivers (like the Brazos) and shores are clean. The feds don't have any business getting involved. And guess what folks -- a lot of pollution is caused by individuals -- so people can learn to behave.
The EPA didn't prevent the Flint water supply issue, did it?
If states want to allow fracking, why should the EPA get involved.
Now I could see situations where corporations might want the feds to regulate certain things, so that nut job factories like California don't create rules that cripple industry. But in general the feds have a limited role to play -- not no role, just not a "we can control the economy" role.
And Pruitt was right to get rid of the clean air act. That was pure politics on Obama's part. Pruitt has the right idea in having a "red team -- blue team" debate on climate change that is public before making any further policy decisions.
So the progs should just chill and quit believing that the feds have to be in charge of everything.
Texas should be responsible for ensuring that its rivers (like the Brazos) and shores are clean. The feds don't have any business getting involved. And guess what folks -- a lot of pollution is caused by individuals -- so people can learn to behave.
The EPA didn't prevent the Flint water supply issue, did it?
If states want to allow fracking, why should the EPA get involved.
Now I could see situations where corporations might want the feds to regulate certain things, so that nut job factories like California don't create rules that cripple industry. But in general the feds have a limited role to play -- not no role, just not a "we can control the economy" role.
And Pruitt was right to get rid of the clean air act. That was pure politics on Obama's part. Pruitt has the right idea in having a "red team -- blue team" debate on climate change that is public before making any further policy decisions.
So the progs should just chill and quit believing that the feds have to be in charge of everything.
24
So you love to hear progressives whine do you? I wonder why; I get no satisfaction from hearing conservatives cry. But in your analysis I see no reference to any facts supporting your belief that Obama's EPA overreached. I see no specific policies that an objective observer could look at and remark "you know, he might have a point." I see no facts showing how the legal and evonomic resources of local governments are better equipped to go head to head with large corporations than the resources and experience that can be efficiently leveraged by the Federal government.
And those "nut job" factories in California seem to be doing okay given that California's GDP is just below that of the United Kingdom and above France.
You know, I like a good argument too; but I simply do not get your apparent satisfaction in thinking you are winning an argument when you provide nothing to support your position beyond the certainty of your opinion. I also do not understand the thinking to suggest that all science is subject to continuing debate when the decision process is preordained to favor corporate overreach.
I do, however, wish your opinion was correct, that people should just learn to behave. Unfortunately I have yet to see this behavior play out well when the economic stakes are high and the playing field is not level.
And those "nut job" factories in California seem to be doing okay given that California's GDP is just below that of the United Kingdom and above France.
You know, I like a good argument too; but I simply do not get your apparent satisfaction in thinking you are winning an argument when you provide nothing to support your position beyond the certainty of your opinion. I also do not understand the thinking to suggest that all science is subject to continuing debate when the decision process is preordained to favor corporate overreach.
I do, however, wish your opinion was correct, that people should just learn to behave. Unfortunately I have yet to see this behavior play out well when the economic stakes are high and the playing field is not level.
7
You are correct EPA didn't prevent Flint water crisis. But it looks like the Michigan Attorney will be sending several people to prison because of it.
Expect many more " Flints" thanks to Pruitt.
Expect many more " Flints" thanks to Pruitt.
7
That's a good one ralphie, Texas as the paragon of safety regulation. Texas, the state that has a history of towns and cities being devastated or literally wiped off the map due to lax regulations regarding petrochemical storage, the most recently being West, where 14 died and some 100 were injured... I can imagine how your residents will suffer when state officials are the primary "caretakers" of the water supply. But you identify yourself as living in Connecticut right, so no worries right?
6
Weaponizing the EPA against the environment is another one of the republicans fine ideas to make America great again. I'm afraid I'll never be able to come back from despising this political party after Trump has gone. Forget Obama's legacy; what will Trump's legacy be? My money is on destruction and chaos and a boon to Xanax sales across the country.
13
Just what we need in the country. No environmental oversight by the federal government also.
Scott Walker (Wisconsin) appointed Cathy Stepp to head our Department of Natural Resources. No college degree. No environmental experience.
At first they tried to ram through a Gogebic mining deal in northern Wisconsin.
That fell through when Gogebic backed out.
But another ongoing issue is our water resources, among other issues. . Kewaunee County pleads for the DNR and whoever else to do something about their water supply and the bacterial content. The "mega farms" rule there and so does the manure. Tons and tons of it. Unfortunately nothing is being done.
Not only will our environment be demised throughout the country, but the Republicans want to take away healthcare sources/benefits that would help people when they get sick. And we all know that will happen, if not already, because of decreased environmental policies.
Asbestos? No problem. Flint, MIchigan water? No problem. (there's always bottled, right?). Cow manure? No problem. Round-up that was supposed to "be safe"? No problem.
And these are just a few. As Pruitt is added to the list of "swamp drainers" which is another unfunny joke.
What have we done to our children and future generations?
Scott Walker (Wisconsin) appointed Cathy Stepp to head our Department of Natural Resources. No college degree. No environmental experience.
At first they tried to ram through a Gogebic mining deal in northern Wisconsin.
That fell through when Gogebic backed out.
But another ongoing issue is our water resources, among other issues. . Kewaunee County pleads for the DNR and whoever else to do something about their water supply and the bacterial content. The "mega farms" rule there and so does the manure. Tons and tons of it. Unfortunately nothing is being done.
Not only will our environment be demised throughout the country, but the Republicans want to take away healthcare sources/benefits that would help people when they get sick. And we all know that will happen, if not already, because of decreased environmental policies.
Asbestos? No problem. Flint, MIchigan water? No problem. (there's always bottled, right?). Cow manure? No problem. Round-up that was supposed to "be safe"? No problem.
And these are just a few. As Pruitt is added to the list of "swamp drainers" which is another unfunny joke.
What have we done to our children and future generations?
12
As Ronald Reagan stated; "America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere". Pure evil. And this from the richest country in the world.
If we don't have the money to clean up our mess, then who does? The top 400 richest pay only 23% income taxes. Tax them properly and pay the lousy $170 million to save children.
Funny that.
If we don't have the money to clean up our mess, then who does? The top 400 richest pay only 23% income taxes. Tax them properly and pay the lousy $170 million to save children.
Funny that.
10
According to some science report, if I got it right, it ALREADY too late to save the Earth. And yet, we are still ignoring the fact that we need to take care of our environment seriously. I cry for my future, my children and my grandchildren. We are going to pay a serious price.
5
Mr. Pruitt's actions are damaging both the economy and the health of Americans. It is difficult to understand why. It is totally unwise to ignore the science of the environment.
In my nearly 50 years of experience in energy and environmental policymaking, regulations are the result of industries of affluence seeking to gain economic hegemony in their markets. Regulations in the public interests, particularly the health of people, provide lasting economic benefits but may be harmful to an industry. No one in their right mind would believe that we could have continued to pollute and concentrate toxins in industrial production as we did before E.P.A.
Because we are innovative, and must compete for markets, there are real risks to human health that must be detected and regulated before very serious damage is done.
The "invisible fumes" from exhaust pipes is a good case. Studies, particularly the studies that map cancer or fetal damage corridors in the US show very clearly that there are negative health consequences of tailpipe exhausts.
We also now know that the build-up of CO2 & Methane in the atmosphere is happening much faster than the Earth's natural sinks can absorb them and this phenomena warms the Earth's climate and acidifies the ocean. The warming climate risks triggering a self-sustaining planet warming by thawing the permafrost and releasing millions of tons of global warming gases and increasing the acidity of the oceans threatening the food chain.
In my nearly 50 years of experience in energy and environmental policymaking, regulations are the result of industries of affluence seeking to gain economic hegemony in their markets. Regulations in the public interests, particularly the health of people, provide lasting economic benefits but may be harmful to an industry. No one in their right mind would believe that we could have continued to pollute and concentrate toxins in industrial production as we did before E.P.A.
Because we are innovative, and must compete for markets, there are real risks to human health that must be detected and regulated before very serious damage is done.
The "invisible fumes" from exhaust pipes is a good case. Studies, particularly the studies that map cancer or fetal damage corridors in the US show very clearly that there are negative health consequences of tailpipe exhausts.
We also now know that the build-up of CO2 & Methane in the atmosphere is happening much faster than the Earth's natural sinks can absorb them and this phenomena warms the Earth's climate and acidifies the ocean. The warming climate risks triggering a self-sustaining planet warming by thawing the permafrost and releasing millions of tons of global warming gases and increasing the acidity of the oceans threatening the food chain.
7
What is most insidious here is the removal of civil servants whose mission it is to act as a buffer to big business and act as a gatekeeper to the public interests. Why negotiate with the federal governmaent when you can remove those people and place businessmen and lobbyists directly into the positions of power. This is the real crisis in many of our cabinets, EPA, Education, Health and Human services, etc. We no longer have administrators interested in what's best for the public; we now have operatives interested in using these agencies for their own and their corporate cronies personal bank accounts. It's criminal and horrid and a slap in the face to our democratic principles.
6
$70 million is peanuts for gas drillers, whose CEO's alone earn multiples of that amount. The financial argument for loosening these regs is ludicrous.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-12-Highest-Paid-Oil-Gas-CE...
What is not ludicrous is the intensive effect that methane has on global warming and the utter contempt these hooligans - Pruitt and Trump - have for their children, as well as everyone and every thing else. Amplifying the effect are gas producers in other countries who need not bother with methane leakage mitigation as well.
Now is the time for scientists, Congress - that already rejected these measures and concerned citizens to stop it.
.
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-12-Highest-Paid-Oil-Gas-CE...
What is not ludicrous is the intensive effect that methane has on global warming and the utter contempt these hooligans - Pruitt and Trump - have for their children, as well as everyone and every thing else. Amplifying the effect are gas producers in other countries who need not bother with methane leakage mitigation as well.
Now is the time for scientists, Congress - that already rejected these measures and concerned citizens to stop it.
.
4
According to the EPA website, in November 2016 the EPA issued a revised assessment of the risks of chlorpyrifos use on foods and in water. The assessment showed that current safety standards for both food and non-food water borne residues of chlropyrifos are exceeded. In March 2017 the EPA denied a request to revoke all tolerances and cancel all registrations of chlorpyrifos. The agency will continue it's study of the pesticide's effects on humans, publishing it's assessment by October 1, 2022.
I take comfort in their resistance to de-regulation of this dangerous chemical but will continue to monitor progress of the EPA administrator's attempts to increase health risks merely for the sake of increasing corporate profits.
I take comfort in their resistance to de-regulation of this dangerous chemical but will continue to monitor progress of the EPA administrator's attempts to increase health risks merely for the sake of increasing corporate profits.
1
This is not States rights, it's corporate rights.
2
Not Obama's these are regulations of the majority of Americans who support environmental regulations. The regulation of Americans who object to cleaning up industry mess on the taxpayers dime. The regulations of people who refuse to put a price tag on everything. These are rules approved of by most Americans.
2
Surely these actions by Pruitt open Pruitt, the EPA and the organizations they are supposed to regulate to lawsuits. Now is the time for Environmental organizations to fight back in the courts for justice. The New York Times should do some articles on who is fighting back so we know where to send contributions.
9
A farmer once tried to reduce the costs of feeding its horses. He decided to cut down the amount of hey they fed on. The horses lost some weight but continue to do their job he reduced it further and the horses got skinnier but still did the job. It reduced further and further. Eventually the horse died.
The weakening of EPA regulations have a similar effect. It reduces life expectancy but it doesn't kill humanity. But if you keep reducing further and further, then eventually the cost to human or environmental health increases exponentially, until eventually America ceases to be the shining star on the hill and become a shooting star, dying off in obscurity.
The weakening of EPA regulations have a similar effect. It reduces life expectancy but it doesn't kill humanity. But if you keep reducing further and further, then eventually the cost to human or environmental health increases exponentially, until eventually America ceases to be the shining star on the hill and become a shooting star, dying off in obscurity.
2
Trump's administration will go down in history as the most callous and destructive ever unless the agenda of his appointees can be stopped through lawsuits and the beaucratic process.
Democrats should be campaigning against his policies and educating the public how bad they are for the country.
Democrats should be campaigning against his policies and educating the public how bad they are for the country.
5
Gee what could possibly go wrong. The EPA wouldn't exist if industry could police itself. Do we really want to go back to brown air and undrinkable water. What a backwards country we are becoming.
6
It's called an OLIGARCHY. And this country under #45 will implode because of it.
3
As important as this is, it is not very likely to swing any votes. The average American has no idea what these rules are about and how they might affected.
We've seen what happens when there is not a strong EPA presence: some states will push ahead while others are inert. I'm thankful I live in California, which has both the strongest environmental safeguards and one of the strongest economies.
We've seen what happens when there is not a strong EPA presence: some states will push ahead while others are inert. I'm thankful I live in California, which has both the strongest environmental safeguards and one of the strongest economies.
1
The EPA had sufficient regulations back in 2000 to protect the environment. The thousands of regulations implemented under Obama had but one objective, exert Federal central control over a wide range of industries. Who needs to nationalize industries when one can create regulations that essentially accomplish the same goal. The EPA became the tool of Marxists/"progressives" to implement their ideology.
It absolutely needs to be dismantled in it's current form and get back to actually protecting the environment.
It absolutely needs to be dismantled in it's current form and get back to actually protecting the environment.
2
Really? Marxists who want to nationalize businesses? Who yold you that? I want regulations to keep people safe. I dont mind money or profit at all. I do object to businesses poisoning my air and water, and your air and water too!
1
To be even a semi sentient being one can only feel deep disgust at this shameful attempt to undermine perhaps destroy the very reason for being of the EPA -- how demoralizing it is for the talented people who work at the EPA, and for our country, another e.g., of a long shadowy stain. Such sweeping damages being done -- will we find our way out of this morass before it's too late to undo them?
4
Mr. Pruitt knows very well that EPA was created and expanded because most
States were either unwilling or unable to pass legislation to reduce the polluting by-products of transportation, manufacturing and agriculture. Pruitt's call to shift the responsibility of environmental legislation to the States is nothing more then a hypocritical ploy to repeal EPA, without offering a replacement.
States were either unwilling or unable to pass legislation to reduce the polluting by-products of transportation, manufacturing and agriculture. Pruitt's call to shift the responsibility of environmental legislation to the States is nothing more then a hypocritical ploy to repeal EPA, without offering a replacement.
3
No surprise...Pruitt was (and still is) the tool of industry that has a financial inducement to ruin the environment. Government is there to build, promote and protect those resources that we as citizens share, like our air and water. The Trump administration's highest and primary priority is to protect the interests of industry(which i guess was inevitable as a result of the Citizen's United decision) and not individuals or the populous as a whole. The same priorities extend to other departments, such as Interior, Energy, HUD, Education, etc etc. It is a good thing to rationalize policies and spending. It is not ok to rip out decades of thoughtful work without the input from scientists.
Not only is the Swamp not being drained-it is being filled up with more gators and crud for the benefit of the few.
Not only is the Swamp not being drained-it is being filled up with more gators and crud for the benefit of the few.
4
I agree the industry shouldn't create the rules, but when Obama was issuing his executive orders on the the enviroment, I'm assuming that's what this is about, who told him how to proceed. I hope any president or law maker has the sense to consult with industry experts. Would the economy recovered is we were paying five dollars a gallon at the pump? If a politician wanted to immediately stop fracking I would doubt his ability to lead.
Trumps push back against hs predecessor's eexecutive orders will do little to effect the enviroment. Texans are paying less than two bucks for regular and natural gas is still cheap. You have to thank Obama, the industry, Congress, the EPA and the courts for that.
Trumps push back against hs predecessor's eexecutive orders will do little to effect the enviroment. Texans are paying less than two bucks for regular and natural gas is still cheap. You have to thank Obama, the industry, Congress, the EPA and the courts for that.
1
When we rewrite environmental rules so as to inflict disproportionate harm on children, don't we guarantee that there will be a future cost to all of us in terms of the health of our future working population, with more time lost to illness and more demands on the health care system?
Short-term financial benefits for the energy industry surely should be understood in terms of the long-term losses for everyone as our social fabric frays at the center. We can pay now, or we can pay later when the costs are higher.
Short-term financial benefits for the energy industry surely should be understood in terms of the long-term losses for everyone as our social fabric frays at the center. We can pay now, or we can pay later when the costs are higher.
4
Undoing President Obama's environmental regulations shouldn't take more than the first year of Donald Trump's term. After that, the administration presumably intends that the EPA will sit and do nothing for the next three years.
At the end of the year, Scott Pruitt and all his aides and assistants and all the other political appointees in the EPA should resign, and Trump should leave their positions vacant. If the EPA is going to be a do-nothing agency, at least we won't have to pay for their salaries on top of the environmental damage they've done.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
At the end of the year, Scott Pruitt and all his aides and assistants and all the other political appointees in the EPA should resign, and Trump should leave their positions vacant. If the EPA is going to be a do-nothing agency, at least we won't have to pay for their salaries on top of the environmental damage they've done.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
4
Two direct actions are completely doable by citizens who care about themselves and all humankind: (a) get busy advocating for change in local, state, and national elections, particularly the 2018 House, and (b) advocate and introduce citizen-written bills in state houses (if your state house is lock-step Republican) to retain the environmental rules set in place during the Obama administration. States' rights rule, especially in an administration that is limiting federal government oversight. California is leading the country in environmental and social justice positive changes.
Thanks for reading my comments.
Thanks for reading my comments.
1
It amazes me how easily citizens are to give up their freedom for political expediency. The EPA has been out of control. President Obama circumvented the political process by using administrative agencies like the EPA, to enact policies that he couldn't get through congress - please don't whine about a do nothing congress - vote them out. In 2015 the EPA director decided to define "waters of the United States" as every puddle in the country. ThIrty one states opposed the power grab.
The Council and mayor of my hometown, Edmonds, Washington, has voted to do its best to adhere to the Paris Accord. Municipalities and states are the only hope for America's, indeed the planet's future. With 17% supporting Trump's Health "care" bill, we see this administration's disastrous policies are unsupported by the nation at large - that means one thing: dictatorship.
2
Let no one ever again think that the Republican Party is the pro-life or pro-family party. This is the the party that's trying to kill healthcare for millions of Americans, that's weakening clean air, clean water and pesticide rules that will lead to higher rates of asthma, cancer, and lead poisoning. Gutting climate change protections will lead to potentially millions of people on this planet fleeing droughts, high temperatures, and rising sea levels. The death toll from from this party will be in the thousands if not the millions.
3
In my state, where the farm-to-table connection is very visible, field workers have become sickened by various pesticide exposures in recent weeks. http://www.ewg.org/release/days-after-calif-farmworkers-sickened-pestici...
The harm caused to these workers and to the food chain is extremely alarming. I am researching how I can support local or national organizations that fight against rolling back environmental protections.
The harm caused to these workers and to the food chain is extremely alarming. I am researching how I can support local or national organizations that fight against rolling back environmental protections.
2
People are just sheep for industry to control. People would rather be distracted by cheap gadgets and entertainment. We've become so far detached from the only thing that is real, which is the natural world. The results are unthinking, unhealthy people, with a bleak future for those who are interested in the natural world.
Voting matters. The Duck Dynasty crowd doesn't care about how clean our air and water is. How much toxins we're exposed to in our food. So now even if one doesn't support removing the environmental protections we'll all have to breathe less healthy air, drink less healthy water and perhaps eat food exposed to more toxins. All of our childred will be exposed to this degradation of our environment. But the Koch brothers get their wish, more freedom to feed their bottom line and ego. It's called Oligarchy.
You repeat several times that one of the rules that was revoked involves "pollution in the nation's waterways". The Waters of the United States rule very simply expanded the definition of "waterway" to include seasonal creeks, ephemeral wetlands and other places that no one other than EPA staffers consider "waterways". This rule was protested by dozens of state governors as well as Republicans in the House and Senate, who passed a law overriding it that was vetoed by the President.
President Obama's refusal to acknowledge the problems with this rule is part of what created the backlash against his EPA, and it set the stage for the appointment of Pruitt.
President Obama's refusal to acknowledge the problems with this rule is part of what created the backlash against his EPA, and it set the stage for the appointment of Pruitt.
If the 50 environmental organizations that send me reams of paper to solicit funds got together into one powerful group (think NRA) maybe they could influence (frighten) politicians into doing the right thing. Selfish and petty individual agendas and personal enrichment apparently are more important to these groups than accomplishing something.
3
"onerous regulations that have stymied American business." This is a continuous lie. Regulations do not stymie business, they may cut into profits, but often do that by requiring more employees, which means more jobs. If a business cannot exist except by polluting the air and water that belongs to all, then it shouldn't exist.
"Mr. Pruitt, 49, sees himself as a champion of states’ rights, pressing to diminish the intrusive authority of an overbearing federal agency."
Mr Pruitt is the poster child for why the intrusive authority of the federal government is so necessary. Irresponsible tools of corporate corruption such as himself are the reason responsible adults need to be in charge of the EPA.
Mr Pruitt is the poster child for why the intrusive authority of the federal government is so necessary. Irresponsible tools of corporate corruption such as himself are the reason responsible adults need to be in charge of the EPA.
1
As Trump and his band of merry men busily dismantle what to years to establish just to bring us back to a time where life itself was uncertain, and his base chuckles every time he embarrasses himself and the country on Twitter, all we can look forwards to is either joining forces with Russia or becoming a third world country of both. Thank goodness I moved to Canada where sanity still prevails.
We will be fracked to death, polluted by runoff from mines , and wells , power plants emitting pollutants in the air, and the people who enabled this by voting for this monstrosity , will still be waiting to get health care , their kids teeth fixed , jobs promised and given on a temporary on a basis and people like the Kochs and big corporations laughing all the way to the bank . Welcome to a brave new world where the life expectancy of the average citizen will be reduced .
1
"At the time, oil and gas companies were pushing the E.P.A. to roll back a set of rules on methane leaks from drilling wells, which the industry estimates could cost it over $170 million."
Wow! $170 million. Sounds like a lot until you read this May 1, 2017 Reuters headline -- "Surging Chevron, Exxon profits signal oil industry turnaround" -- $4.01 billion at Exxon in the first quarter of 2017.
Wow! $170 million. Sounds like a lot until you read this May 1, 2017 Reuters headline -- "Surging Chevron, Exxon profits signal oil industry turnaround" -- $4.01 billion at Exxon in the first quarter of 2017.
1
Welcome to America's Great Yard Sale!
Sponsored by the Plutocracy.
This great sell-off of American principles, institutions, and resources got kick-started with Citizens United. When politicians went up for sale to the highest corporate bidder, the flood gates of corruption and greed and "quid pro" policies were opened.
Wittness the diversion of public, taxpayer money into corporate and hedge fund pockets through the privatization of public schools. Six hundred billion dollars for the taking through the unregulated and unaccountable "charter industry" and soon to be "voucher industry".
Now through federal, environmental deregulation, a multi-billion dollar gift to industry and corporations, bookends Trump's complete sell-off of public lands and spaces to the fossil fuel industry already underway.
The Piratization (not a spelling error) of America by the greediest of the greedy. The damage done by the acolytes of Gordon Gekko and Ayn Rand will be very hard to recover from.
Sponsored by the Plutocracy.
This great sell-off of American principles, institutions, and resources got kick-started with Citizens United. When politicians went up for sale to the highest corporate bidder, the flood gates of corruption and greed and "quid pro" policies were opened.
Wittness the diversion of public, taxpayer money into corporate and hedge fund pockets through the privatization of public schools. Six hundred billion dollars for the taking through the unregulated and unaccountable "charter industry" and soon to be "voucher industry".
Now through federal, environmental deregulation, a multi-billion dollar gift to industry and corporations, bookends Trump's complete sell-off of public lands and spaces to the fossil fuel industry already underway.
The Piratization (not a spelling error) of America by the greediest of the greedy. The damage done by the acolytes of Gordon Gekko and Ayn Rand will be very hard to recover from.
3
Sadly, the devastation Pruitt's decisions will reap will be irreversible. This will be the legacy of both Pruitt and Trump.
2
That's one issue with EOs and admin rules. The next pres can simply void those policies. Congressional actions cannot be unilaterally rescinded
My dream is one day to see the entire Trump Administration on trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity. But then, alas, it might be too late.
2
I know pollution doesn't respect boundaries, but, it seems to me, that the time is coming for Blue States on both coasts to cluster together to address issues like Gun Control, Environmental Protection, Health Care and Immigration.
We need to start taking care of ourselves and letting these Red Welfare states support themselves and make their own decisions.
We need to start taking care of ourselves and letting these Red Welfare states support themselves and make their own decisions.
1
Yes, the man is evil. But this kind of thing (doing the bidding of industry) didn't start with him. Remember the closed door meetings with energy providers that Dick Cheney used as a basis for the George W. Bush's energy plan? Once again, the instigator is getting money in his pockets as he does huge favors for the industry.
And the rest of us pay for it, both in monetary terms, and far worse, in the kind of planet we leave our descendants.
And the rest of us pay for it, both in monetary terms, and far worse, in the kind of planet we leave our descendants.
2
From my perspective in the UK what Pruitt is doing looks like corruption in public office - how can he do this in what's supposed to be a democracy?
2
The Republican strategy is now clear. Trump with his idiotic tweets provides the perfect distraction for the media, while the Republicans pursue the agenda of their insatiable capitalist overlords.
2
Incredible that an emperor with no clothes and his coterie of man's inhumanity to man (aka the 7 deadly sins in religious circles) can destroy the future of the US and the environment to enrich themselves. Who knew Democracy was so fragile, he didn't even get the popular vote!
Is there a limit to their powers? If not we are living in an oligarchy-autocracy and add theocracy in the near future judging by the 45th's words to his evangelical crowd.
Is there a limit to their powers? If not we are living in an oligarchy-autocracy and add theocracy in the near future judging by the 45th's words to his evangelical crowd.
1
If Mr Pruitt continues to ignore science and put chemical and oil and gas lobbyists in charge of destroying the environment for money, he could at least change the name of the EPA to the Environmental Pollution Agency to better reflect its new mission. Call a spade a spade. These people sicken me, but at least I'll be dead before I have to watch their work sicken our entire planet.
So, when do we arrest Pruitt for destroying regulations that threaten the health of all of us? Public health safety is one of his functional duties and he is disregarding this earnestly so his business buddies do not have to be responsible for their miscreant behaviors as the pocket their now free money.
1
Some Christians must have missed the bible's admonition to be faithful stewards of the resources of mother earth. Unless they took those words to mean "maximize profits." How else to explain the adoration (and votes) from those quarters for the godless man named Trump. One earth, one environment, one chance to get it right. That's all we get. Our children's children may reap the unhealthy harvest sown by Pruitt and his ilk. The apparent glee with which Republicans are reversing environmental protections should earn their leadership a spot in front of a judge of the World Court. Answering to the ultimate judge may come later.
3
NYT: Thank you. Articles like this can fuel change in 2018 & 20. Help us with a series of before-and-after EPA stories & especially pictures http://wxch.nl/2ncPauf to remind us of what is being lost as Pruitt dismantles this extraordinary agency. Remind us of pre-EPA toxic rivers on fire http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/us/21river.html & of Los Angeles smog so thick that children couldn’t go out to play http://bit.ly/2pS3So8.
Readers: let's expand NYT's reach & forward stories like this to our children, grandchildren, social media networks, local news. On this 4th of July weekend, let this alarming story remind us all that our democratic experiment is still fragile - Vote!
Readers: let's expand NYT's reach & forward stories like this to our children, grandchildren, social media networks, local news. On this 4th of July weekend, let this alarming story remind us all that our democratic experiment is still fragile - Vote!
8
Internal Colonialism. The monster having running out of 'them' and "the other" in foreign lands turns on its own.
3
We knew Pruitt was a shil for the 'energy' industry when the state of Oklahoma avoided dealing with the results of fracking for a few years until it was embarrassingly obvious - The sad fact is the narrative of 'job killing' vs 'job creating' is like a card game using a loaded deck; We do not have more jobs in clean energy because over the years we have not created the legislative, educational, or structural change necessary - It's called thinking clearly about the future and creating infrastructure and you can't just snap your fingers to create it - You have to invest to create jobs - The polluting fossil fuel industry has been around for centuries, and the mind set of complacency which champions it a sad by product of success -
Sometime during 70's or 80's America became complacent .... What made this country 'great' was : "Let's try it" ... What is making our country tired and old
is : "If it ain't broke don't fix it"
Scott Pruitt is Babbitt - read the book by Sinclair Lewis - still prescient
Sometime during 70's or 80's America became complacent .... What made this country 'great' was : "Let's try it" ... What is making our country tired and old
is : "If it ain't broke don't fix it"
Scott Pruitt is Babbitt - read the book by Sinclair Lewis - still prescient
5
For as long as Mr. Pruitt heads this agency a change of name is in order. The EDA, Environmental Degradation Agency..
2
Pruitt is all for disabling the pollution regulations that actually save lives in the long run. Too bad for the lower income folks that live next to those chemical, refinery and coal fired power plants. They don't count in Pruitt's vision of America. Pruitt should be taken to court on civil charges and made to take responsibility for his cruel attacks on America's heath and American lives. Some Christian Baptist, a deacon no less when it comes to protecting the poor.
5
With his deep corporate ties, Pruitt came ready with an agenda to advance their wishes and ignore the welfare of the American people. Pruitt is unfit for this office. Which is why crazyman Trump appointed him, being unfit for office himself.
3
It boggles the mind that this person could reverse the ban on Chlorpyrifos as a spray on fruit after years of testing and research demonstrating again and again that it causes developmental defects. This mans's unmitigated greed and utter lack of humanity has become the trademark of the republicans under the Trump administration. Its called "take it while you can." Just a total, complete bunch of crooks.
8
Those who imagine Pruitt's motivation is 'state's rights', or even industry contributions likely miss the real mission behind Pruitt's radical anti-environmentalist extremism.
Analyze the money industrialists actually invested in him, or even the veracity of his 'state's rights' excuse. None of it ads up.
Pruitt is doing this for God. He is a Southern Baptist extremist and his motivations are biblical in origin.
Don't believe Pruitt's pretend legal or political justifications, his deregulationist agenda is based in Dominionism & it's drawn directly from a biblical literalist interpretation of Genesis.
If Pruitt really were motivated by money or ideology, that would be a much simpler, if cynical situation. Pruitt can't be bought nor rationally argued with, he is doing this for his fundamentalist sect's biblical convictions.
Dominionism happens to align with the politicized business interests of the likes of industrialists like the Kochs. But that's not his purpose.
The Pruitt Doctrine is based entirely in Genesis 1:26-28:
"...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth... "
That's it. That's the whole point of Pruitt.
Anyone who would defy God's directive to Adam to use up the earth will get a war from Christian fundamentalists. To secularists it may look like a legal or political crusade, but its entirely biblically-based.
Analyze the money industrialists actually invested in him, or even the veracity of his 'state's rights' excuse. None of it ads up.
Pruitt is doing this for God. He is a Southern Baptist extremist and his motivations are biblical in origin.
Don't believe Pruitt's pretend legal or political justifications, his deregulationist agenda is based in Dominionism & it's drawn directly from a biblical literalist interpretation of Genesis.
If Pruitt really were motivated by money or ideology, that would be a much simpler, if cynical situation. Pruitt can't be bought nor rationally argued with, he is doing this for his fundamentalist sect's biblical convictions.
Dominionism happens to align with the politicized business interests of the likes of industrialists like the Kochs. But that's not his purpose.
The Pruitt Doctrine is based entirely in Genesis 1:26-28:
"...and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth... "
That's it. That's the whole point of Pruitt.
Anyone who would defy God's directive to Adam to use up the earth will get a war from Christian fundamentalists. To secularists it may look like a legal or political crusade, but its entirely biblically-based.
2
Every single Republican in Congress should be forced to spend a week in Beijing -- with their families -- where the air is unbreatheable. Let them see for themselves, if they haven't already, what happens when industry isn't tightly regulated with respect to the pollution of our air and water. The free market will never function in a way that protects our environment, because the cost of all the damage industry does gets socialized.
How anyone in their right minds can think it is OK to let industry run amok just so a few people can make some big bucks -- regardless of the health consequences not only to themselves but to their children as well -- is beyond me.
How anyone in their right minds can think it is OK to let industry run amok just so a few people can make some big bucks -- regardless of the health consequences not only to themselves but to their children as well -- is beyond me.
195
No one, to my knowledge, is advocating turning back air and water pollution standards to pre EPA levels. You are just fear mongering without facts. I civil discussion using facts is what we need. We do not need more fact less demagoguery.
Actually, Beijing is enforcing strict laws about some of those problems now. Cars with various combinations of license plate letters and numbers are not allowed on the roads each weekday, in effort to cut some of the pollution.
I was there two months ago. The pollution got better each weekday, the farther it was from weekend when unrestricted driving allowed.
I was there two months ago. The pollution got better each weekday, the farther it was from weekend when unrestricted driving allowed.
Do you really think it would matter when there is campaign cash on the line?
"Instead, Mr. Pruitt has said, he wants to focus on “tangible” pollution — for example, the Superfund program, which cleans up hazardous waste at old industrial sites."
So Pruitt wants to clean up the hazardous waste left by earlier 'industrialist' but allow current 'industrialist' to create more for the Federal Government to clean up.
So Pruitt wants to clean up the hazardous waste left by earlier 'industrialist' but allow current 'industrialist' to create more for the Federal Government to clean up.
161
Exactly right. He wants to allow these companies to pollute, then use taxpayer dollars to clean up the sites. Guess what job he wants after he leaves office? Think he'll end up working as a lobbyist or attorney for Dow?
And do it with a budget reduced by 25%. I guess you can improve your focus when their are fewer projects to focus on, but somehow I doubt their focus will improve. We will just have fewer sites cleaned up.
Ayn Rand raised them
Who raised these (mostly) men? They don't know the first rules taught in kindergarten -- don't hurt others and clean up after yourself. Even in business school we are taught that external costs of doing business like pollution must be paid by someone, and if business doesn't it is government's job to step in. But modern Republicans like Scott Pruitt not only believe that business should be free to pollute and that government should not interfere.
Methane traps 25 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Our precious little spaceship earth with its thin fragile atmosphere is being destroyed by nasty little Republican men behaving like kindergartners poisoning their playroom for profit.
Methane traps 25 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Our precious little spaceship earth with its thin fragile atmosphere is being destroyed by nasty little Republican men behaving like kindergartners poisoning their playroom for profit.
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Ayn Rand raised them.
Up here in canada we have 2 major parties and 1 lesser party of politicians. Even the 2 parties and the lesser party are not heartless as the Republicans!
You're 2 parties are so far apart, I'm surprised they're both in America, and share the same values as the people of the United States- not from the Republicans!
You're 2 parties are so far apart, I'm surprised they're both in America, and share the same values as the people of the United States- not from the Republicans!
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It is always good to read comments from Canadians, who remind us of how life goes with our northern neighbors.
By the way, happy birthday Canada!
By the way, happy birthday Canada!
For future generations of the poor around the globe, I guess a mass migration, to avoid drought, pollution, insufferable heat and rising sea level, will be their only solution.
Wonder where the next great migration will take them?