By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nothing is more American than the iconic National Park Ranger hat. The idea of protecting nature and providing public access to natural beauty began in the United States and has spread across the world, but now it’s at risk. While the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest…
ENVIRONMENT
A Fairy Tale From 2050: Donald Trump and the Triumph of Anti-Politics
An Update on Thoreau’s Necessities of Life
“The necessaries of life for man in this climate may, accurately enough, be distributed under the several heads of Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel; for not till we have secured these are we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect of success.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden By Glynn…
Trump’s Federal Hiring Freeze Makes America Less Safe
Even Members of Congress and Trump Voters and Fans Who Visit Washington – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — When New York celebrity businessman Donald J. Trump took office in January, one of his first acts as president was to immediately sign a symbolic memo calling for a “hiring freeze” on federal employees. The…
Trump Administration Could Ignore Climate Impacts in Massive New Gulf Oil Drilling Leases
By Glynn Wilson — MOBILE, Ala. — The Trump administration held public meetings in cities along the Gulf Coast this week to generate public comments on the environmental impacts of opening up 95 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to new oil and gas leases. But while federal law and national policy calls for…
Trump Administration Proposes Opening Millions of Acres Offshore to Oil and Gas Development
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — The Trump administration has announced a plan to open up more offshore waters in the continental United States to oil and gas exploration and to remove federal regulations imposed by previous administrations on oil and gas drilling, in spite of findings in a federal lawsuit in the 2010…
Doublespeak: Trump Guts EPA While Claiming to be for Protecting the Environment
By Glynn Wilson – New EPA administrator Scott Pruitt recently told Fox News that Trump’s new executive order abandoning work on climate change and promoting fossil fuels is a return to “core EPA originalism.” This is clearly a perfect example of “doublespeak,” a term inspired by George Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four. The creation of the…
Scientists Issue Statement Opposing Trump Order Withdrawing from Global Climate Change Fight
By Glynn Wilson – Just as the Trump administration moves to roll back environmental protection regulations and withdraw the United States from the growing world community of countries joining the major battle against climate change due to global warming from the burning of fossil fuels, the American Association for the Advancement Science has issued a…
The Strange Events Leading to Trump’s Election and Reversing U.S. Climate Policy
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — A strange series of events led to where we are today, with a reality television celebrity casino mob boss connected to Russian oligarchs in the White House turning back the clock on U.S. policies to combat climate change due to global warming from the burning of fossil fuels.…
Ryan Zinke of Montana Sworn in as Trump’s Secretary of the Interior
Should Environmentalists Be Concerned? – By Glynn Wilson – Americans who value national parks and other public lands have a right to be concerned about President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke of Montana. Zinke, whose record on protecting the environment shows some promise, but also potential problems, was…
Freshman Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz Faces Protesters
Republican Defends Bill to Abolish the EPA By Glynn Wilson – MILTON, Fla. — Freshman Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz faced protesters and supporters at his first day of town hall events since the election, defending a bill he put forward with three cosigners in the House to abolish the EPA. The Florida Panhandle Progressives, local…
Florida Congressman Wants to Abolish the EPA
By Glynn Wilson – A freshman Florida congressman has introduced legislation to abolish the Environmental Protection Agency and he’s joined by co-sponsors in Georgia, Mississippi and Kentucky. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Fort Walton Beach, introduced House Bill 861: To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency on February 10 to be effective on December 31, 2018.…
Standing Rock Sioux Oil Pipeline Protest Comes to an End: Elections Matter
Trump’s Move to Approve Oil Pipelines Rekindles Battle in North Dakota
By Emma Niles – While President Donald J. Trump sharply changed the federal government’s approach to the environment this week as he cleared the way for two major oil pipelines that had been blocked by the Obama administration by signing presidential memorandums calling for the continued construction of the Dakota Access pipeline and the Keystone…
House Republicans Move to Open America’s National Parks to More Oil and Gas Drilling
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the latest move by the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress to weaken federal regulations and conduct a war on science and the environment, Congressman Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would pave the way for more oil and gas…
President Trump Could Make a Difference with Sustainable Infrastructure Projects
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — One of new president Donald Trump’s biggest issues during the campaign was his promise to rebuild America’s “crumbling” infrastructure. People who watch politics closely seem to think this may be the one good thing Trump might be able to accomplish out of all his zany Twitter campaign promises…
President Donald Trump Issues Media Blackout at Federal Agencies
Full Scale War on Science Begins – By Lauren McCauley – Though the majority of President Donald Trump’s controversial cabinet nominations have not yet been confirmed, his so-called “beachhead” teams have arrived at their respective agencies, carrying out orders that make clear that the “War on Science” has begun. On Tuesday, the news broke that…
Explosion at Paper Mill in Florida Generates Little News Coverage
BREAKING NEWS – By Glynn Wilson – A paper mill explosion Sunday night at the International Paper plant in Cantonment, Florida, generated typical local news coverage where the newspaper and television news stations are more concerned about a road closing and the status of schools than a deadly, toxic substance contaminating the area for workers…
EPA Slaps Fiat Chrysler With Clean Air Act Violations
By Glynn Wilson – A day after announcing fines totaling $4.3 billion against Volkswagen, the outgoing Obama administration put Fiat Chrysler on notice for similar violations of the Clean Air Act. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation to Fiat Chrysler for allegedly installing and failing to disclose engine management software in…
Volkswagen Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Pay $4.3 Billion for Cheating on Emissions Tests
Six VW Executives, Employees Indicted in Connection with Conspiracy – Volkswagen has agreed to plead guilty to three criminal felony counts and pay a $2.8 billion criminal penalty as a result of the company’s long-running scheme to sell approximately 590,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S. by using a defeat device to cheat on emissions tests…