"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."
"Senators at a Clean Water Act hearing expressed interest in reopening the law to clarify which wetlands and waterways it protects. But that effort would likely be stymied by the fact that participants in the Environment and Public Works Committee hearing, including ranking member Tom Carper (D-Del.), expressed confusion over basic concepts of Clean Water Act jurisdiction."
"Two key research agencies in the Department of Agriculture will move to the Kansas City area, Secretary Sonny Perdue announced today. The plan will move hundreds of jobs at USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) out of Washington, despite objections from employees and some members of Congress."
"Prosecutors dropped all criminal charges Thursday against eight people in the Flint water crisis and pledged to start from scratch the investigation into one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in U.S. history."
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