Environmental Politics

"More than half of EPA's science advisory committees could be vulnerable to repeal by the end of the fiscal year under an executive order released Friday."

"A number of conservation groups are asking the Interior Department’s internal watchdog to investigate reports that political appointees are improperly interfering in the release of public records."

"Experts are meeting in Germany for U.N.-hosted talks on climate change amid growing pressure for governments to act faster against global warming."

"At a crucial moment in ethanol policy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is doubling down on its argument that ethanol is better than conventional fuel."

"A top Environmental Protection Agency official gave a presentation last year at a gathering of some of the most zealous deniers of climate science, highlighting the influence a small, fringe movement hawking crank theories now wields in Washington."

"Climate change has become a defining issue in the early Democratic presidential primary. But the Democratic National Committee has rebuffed calls to hold a dedicated debate on the topic, raising concerns that the issue will once more remain siloed during an election cycle."

"Documents that the federal Environmental Protection Agency tried to keep confidential show that its staffers criticized how Minnesota regulators drafted a key permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine, and concluded that the permit would violate federal law because it lacked pollution limits based on the state’s water quality standards."

"Once a skeptic about climate change, Jim Bridenstine came around to the prevailing view of scientists before he took over as NASA administrator. That evolution did not sit well with a Trump environmental adviser, nor a think-tank analyst he was consulting, according to newly disclosed emails that illustrate how skepticism of global warming has found a beachhead in the Trump White House."

"president Donald Trump is trying to take an ax to federal advisory committees, ordering that their numbers be slashed. Trump signed an executive order Friday that directs every federal agency to evaluate the need for all of its advisory committees created under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. And it gives agency heads until September to terminate at least one-third of current committees created by agency heads."

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"Washington Governor Jay Inslee says he has some allies in his push for a climate debate, despite the opposition of the national Democratic Party."