"Senate Committees Advance Trump’s Energy, Environment Nominees"
"President Trump’s picks to lead the nation’s energy and environment-focused agencies all sailed through committee votes on Thursday morning."
Source: The Hill, 01/24/2025
EJToday: Top Headlines
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"Bloomberg To Fund UN Climate Agency After US Exit From Paris Accord"
"Billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that his foundation would fund the UN climate change agency after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement. Bloomberg’s pledge will cover the 22 percent of its $96.5 million budget previously provided by the US for 2024-2025."
Source: France24, 01/24/2025"Elon Musk’s DOGE Sued Minutes After Trump Inauguration"
"A lawsuit claiming billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” violates federal transparency rules was filed within minutes of President Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, kicking off a legal battle over a key aspect of the incoming administration’s agenda."
Source: Washington Post, 01/24/2025"Revealed: US Climate Denial Group Working With European Far-Right Parties"
"Climate science deniers from a US-based thinktank have been working with rightwing politicians in Europe to campaign against environmental policies, the Guardian can reveal."
Source: Guardian, 01/24/2025Health Researchers Alarmed As Trump Pauses Travel, Communications
"Health officials and experts said this week they are reeling after the new Trump administration on Tuesday abruptly halted external communication at the Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health."
Source: Washington Post, 01/24/2025"Trump Resurrects ‘God Squad’ To Bend The ESA"
"The committee that decides the fate of endangered species is rarely summoned. But the president’s “energy emergency” could change that."
"The Trump administration is putting its faith in an empowered “God Squad” that might help energy projects maneuver around Endangered Species Act obstacles.
In verse meant to be far-reaching, President Donald Trump’s new executive order designating an “energy emergency” strengthens what the landmark environmental law formally calls the “Endangered Species Act Committee.”
Source: E&E News, 01/24/2025"Amid Raging Fires, House Passes Contentious Forestry Bill"
"The House on Thursday passed legislation that supporters say will improve how the nation manages its forests to prevent fires but opponents argue will undercut environmental safeguards."
Source: The Hill, 01/24/2025"With EPA Support, The Corps Is Moving Forward With The Yazoo Pumps"
"The U.S Army Corps of Engineers announced last Friday it’s moving forward with an altered version of the Yazoo Pumps, a flood relief project that the agency has touted for decades. The project now also has the backing of the Environmental Protection Agency, whose veto killed a previous iteration in 2008 because of the pumps’ potential to harm 67,000 acres of valuable wetland habitat."
Source: Mississippi Today, 01/24/2025Trump Wants To Upend Calif. Water Policy. Officials Say It Could Do Harm
"In one of the first acts of his second term, President Trump is seeking to put his stamp on California water policy by directing the federal government to put “people over fish” and send more water from Northern California to the Central Valley’s farms and Southern California cities."
Source: LA Times, 01/24/2025As Workers Clean Up After The LA Fires, Can The State Keep Them Safe?
"The LA fires have left domestic workers and day laborers jobless. They may soon be hired for wildfire cleanup work, where they can be exposed to ash and other toxins."
Source: CalMatters, 01/24/2025Over 50,000 Evacuated As Wildfire Imperils Homes North Of Los Angeles
"More than 50,000 people were under evacuation orders or warnings Wednesday as a huge and fast-moving wildfire swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles, but fire officials said a rapid ground and air assault was giving them the upper hand."
Source: AP, 01/23/2025Fossil Fuel Companies Use Twitter/X Social Media To Block Climate Progress
"To the extent that X ever was the “public square” of the internet, it is clearly no longer such a place. The platform — known as Twitter until it was rechristened in 2023 by Elon Musk — has become an echo chamber for extremist conspiracy theories and hate speech — or, depending on what you’re looking for, a porn site."
Source: Grist, 01/23/2025"EPA Moves To Withdraw Decision On Paraquat, Delays Report On Risks"
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving to withdraw its interim regulatory decision on paraquat, announcing that it needs more time to examine the potential health effects of the weed killing chemical that has been widely used in agriculture for decades, but also linked for years to the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease."
Source: The New Lede, 01/23/2025"Two Industry Officials Expected to Help Oversee E.P.A. Chemical Rules"
"A former chemical-industry executive who fought against stronger regulations under the first Trump administration is returning to take a critical role at the Environmental Protection Agency, two people with knowledge of the appointment said, raising concerns of corporate influence on chemical safety regulations."
Source: NYTimes, 01/23/2025Trump’s No. 2 Pick for EPA Represented Companies Accused of Pollution Harm
"The man tapped by President Donald Trump to be second-in-command of the federal agency that protects the public from environmental dangers is a lawyer who has represented companies accused of harming people and the environment through pollution." "David Fotouhi, a lawyer who recently challenged a ban on asbestos, worked to roll back climate regulations and water protections while serving in the Environmental Protection Agency during Trump’s first administration."
Source: ProPublica, 01/23/2025
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