Well, we knew this was coming. Scott Pruitt, in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board.
The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency’s regulatory reach by reducing the role of academic research.
A spokesman for the E.P.A. administrator, Scott Pruitt, said he would consider replacing the academic scientists with representatives from industries whose pollution the agency is supposed to regulate, as part of the wide net it plans to cast. “The administrator believes we should have people on this board who understand the impact of regulations on the regulated community,” said the spokesman, J. P. Freire.
The dismissals on Friday came about six weeks after the House passed a bill aimed at changing the composition of another E.P.A. scientific review board to include more representation from the corporate world.
President Trump has directed Mr. Pruitt to radically remake the E.P.A., pushing for deep cuts in its budget — including a 40 percent reduction for its main scientific branch — and instructing him to roll back major Obama-era regulations on climate change and clean water protection. In recent weeks, the agency has removed some scientific data on climate change from its websites, and Mr. Pruitt has publicly questioned the established science of human-caused climate change.
If anyone out there donates money to a cancer organization and if that cancer organization does not condemn and distance itself from these EPA issues, then quit giving money to them and send a message to explain why you will no longer support them. Many cancers are either caused or strongly suspected of being linked to environmental causes–through workplaces (firemen, people who work in chemical/agriculture/metal industries, drinking tainted water, breathing in air contaminated with carcinogens, etc.). And climate change-related issues will also be linked to the prevalence of certain cancers. This issue is about much more than what meets the eye.
The States are going to have to double down on their research institutions and how bout all those gazillionaires with kids and grandkids giving some money for research.
Since at least 1900, the U.S. has been a Corporate State. See what Major-General (retired) Smedley D. Butler said in 1935:
“I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”
― Smedley D. Butler, War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America’s Most Decorated Soldier
Unless and until we rise up and overthrow the Corporate U.S. State, which is a major driver of Climate Disaster leading to the Sixth Extinction (See The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History: Elizabeth Kolbert: 9780805092998: Amazon.com: Books https://www.amazon.com/Sixth-Extinction-Unnatural-History/dp/0805092994) and a dismal future for our grandchildren (See Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity 1, James Hanse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Z8IWLO/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1), there is NO hope for the future.
The USA is a SICK country.
People are distracted by their screens and this country has gotten dumber.
Distracted man who fell to his death from San Diego cliff identified http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/28/distracted-man-who-fell-to-his-death-from-san-diego-cliff-identified.html
WOMAN FALLS OFF CLIFF WHILE TEXTING https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/woman-falls-off-cliff-while-texting/
This Earth, we call home, is being raped FOR PROFIT and won’t last.
“Professor Stephen Hawking thinks the human species will have to populate a new planet within 100 years if it is to survive,” the BBC said in a statement posted online. “With climate change, overdue asteroid strikes, epidemics and population growth, our own planet is increasingly precarious.”
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/05/05/stephen-hawking-says-weve-got-100-years-to-get-off-this-planet.html
So READ! At least that helps.
Go watch the TOTAL Solar Eclipse and experience this marvel.
http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/path_through_the_US.htm
And THANK, Diane! Thank YOU, Dr. Ravitch!
Hillary would have never appointed such a disaster to the EPA.
And Lamar Alexander was the architect of more corporate representation on this board. Diane, you know him. Why would he put the foxes in the henhouse?
This reminds me of the time that they put all educators on the panels for testing and accountability in my state. Oh wait, they only had two compared to the eight business people. Yes. The corporate world has it so tough. They’re shut out of everything, poor things.
LG, sorry to say that he doesn’t listen to me
Not Lamar Alexander. Lamar SMITH. Of Texas. Again. The US Laboratory for Bad Policy and Poor Choices while holding a flag and carrying a Bible.
This is the same Lamar Smith who believes “99% of Americans’ support waterboarding”. In 2013 he introduced the “High Quality Research Act” which is none of those words.
The bill said that any research done using federal funds must have its RESULTS and FINDINGS approved by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives. And if the findings do not coincide with the anti-science members of the committee in the pocket of industry –
the research is TAKEN from the researchers and disposed of by Congress AS IT SEES FIT.
And who is Chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology…? Lamar Smith. A coincidence, I’m sure. Whut? No?
This goes beyond unbelievable. How STUPID and HARMFUL can the Orange Idiot get? Guess we’ll find out. I’m sure industry representatives have the health of Americans and our environment in mind.
Why doesn’t the Orange Idiot see that we need clean air, clean water and no destruction to the environment? Guess that takes more deep thinking than he is capable of doing. All that matters in his little mind is more profits for corporations and the wealthy.
How to Make Trump Care About Global Warming: The Daily Show
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Published on May 3, 2017
After demonstrators protest the Trump administration’s anti-environmental stance, Trevor explains why it’s in the president’s best interest to care about global warming.
So, they plan on increasing environment hazards, to our health, while making, basically, everything a pre-existing condition…what chance do we stand? for that matter what chance do they stand…we all breath the same air and like the pawn and the king all go back into the same box. it might take them a bit longer to get into the box but it won’t for their children and grandchildren )-;
Thank you for the correction. I could not possibly wrap my head around this if it was Alexander.
This doesn’t surprise me in the least. We have a brain dead administration in WDC with NO common sense. The corruption is beyond mind boggling.
Several months ago the Columbia Journalism Review’s lead article was “Who Cares if it is True”. That is the modus operandi of Trump. God help us.
Begin quote
….people like the Koch brothers,…want Scott Pruitt as the head of the EPA. Over the years the Koch brothers have had to pay tens of millions of dollars in fines for violating the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules. In Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt fought for the rights of the Koch brothers over the rights of the citizens and the environment, and they wanted Scott Pruitt to do the same thing at the main EPA that he did as Oklahoma Attorney General, and he’s going to.
End quote
More at https://trofire.com/2017/05/06/koch-brothers-spent-millions-put-climate-change-denier-charge-epa/
I wonder what the odds are that in 2018, the GOP will lose its majority in both Houses of Congress and start losing some of the states it controls.
Slim, unless the protesters get organized and put up some really good and well-vetted candidates for every office occupied by the GOP, get the candidates to stay on message, and muster the financial, person-to-person, and social media support they will need to get past the hurdles, including gerrymandered districts. Issue-centered demonstrations are great, but not enough.
The Washington post reported that half the scientific board of EPA was not reappointed at the end of their first term, although two terms had been customary.
Getting rid of the GOP dominated Congress will depend upon how much the populace is hurt by the GOP bills. If enough people loose their insurance through Trumpcare and people become informed on other issues there is a chance. However, none of these losers would have been elected if the populace had been informed. People seem to vote according to their emotions..and facts of any type don’t matter. Hitting people in the pocketbook might make a difference.
There is still a large segment of the population that doesn’t believe in climate change. Our ‘great leader’ says it is a Chinese hoax. Corporations are hiding what they know so that they can continue to destroy the environment and make big profits. This probably won’t make a difference until health of everyone becomes affected. By then it is too late to do anything to rectify the situation.
Long term, I’d like to think that the Repubs are shooting themselves in the foot. The Dems need to step up with definite plans that show they care about people. Too many of them have also been bought out by lobbyists who enrich their pocketbooks.
The House passed a horrible version of ‘health care reform’ which is about giving tax breaks to the wealthy and getting less care for more money. Jimmy Kimmel has comments regarding his wanting every American to have affordable good health care:
Jimmy Kimmel on Response to Emotional Monologue About Baby & Health Care Debate
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Published on May 8, 2017
Jimmy returns from his time off after his newborn son Billy had heart surgery and he talks about the outpouring of love and support he has received, the not-so-nice things some people have said, and he speaks with Louisiana’s Republican Senator Bill Cassidy about the health care debate.