ENVIRONMENT

Privatizing National Parks Puts America’s Best Idea At Risk

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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…

An Update on Thoreau’s Necessities of Life

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“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

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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…

Doublespeak: Trump Guts EPA While Claiming to be for Protecting the Environment

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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…

Ryan Zinke of Montana Sworn in as Trump’s Secretary of the Interior

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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

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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

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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.…

Trump’s Move to Approve Oil Pipelines Rekindles Battle in North Dakota

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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…

President Donald Trump Issues Media Blackout at Federal Agencies

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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

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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

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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…