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EPA’s Board of Scientific Advisers, Full of Trump Appointees, Warn Regulatory Destruction Is Very Bad
Again... THIS IS THE SWAMP.
The Environmental Protection Agency is pushing ahead with sweeping changes to roll back environmental regulations despite sharp criticism from a panel of scientific advisers, most of whom were appointed by Trump.
At issue are some of the EPA’s most significant efforts to weaken federal limits on water and air pollution. At least two of the rules — governing mercury pollution from power plants and what sort of chemicals can be used near waterways — are set to be finalized in January. Another rule, which would relax fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, is expected to be finalized by March.
Trump lied saying he would get us “crystal clean water” and the “purest air on the planet.” Instead, the EPA is overrun with Republicans working to let polluters dump more mercury, pesticides, and fossil fuel emissions into our environment.
Three of the four draft reports - posted online - suggest that the administration’s proposals conflict with established science. They were prepared by members of the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board, a panel of experts created by Congress in 1978 to review the agency’s scientific methods.
It is noteworthy that an advisory board dominated by scientists appointed by Trump — some of whom advocate looser federal rules — found serious flaws in the science behind several of the proposed changes....
The independent assessments raise questions about the basis for the administration’s push to unspool regulations enacted under President Barack Obama.
Or said simply, if we use science, we would never destroy these regulations that keep all of us safe.
While previous administrations have occasionally pushed back at findings from scientific advisers... friction between the group and the EPA has escalated under Trump — even though nearly two-thirds of its 44 members were appointed by him.
H. Christopher Frey, an environmental engineer who served on the board from 2012 to 2018, said that EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler has effectively marginalized the group. In 2019, the board met less frequently than at any time in the past two decades.... The number of industry experts on it has tripled while the portion of academics has been cut nearly in half.
Our people will get sicker. We must defeat Trump and remove Republicans from as many positions of authority as possible.