But if history repeats itself, a backlash is coming --
| Trump Administration is the Greatest Threat the EPA Has Ever Faced The Trump administration is the greatest threat the EPA has ever faced. That's the conclusion of a report compiled by the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI), an international network of academics and nonprofits best known for spearheading the movement to archive public environmental data before Trump took office. The report, which came out on June 20, is based on confidential interviews with 60 current and former employees of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The interviews with current employees describe an EPA that is becoming unmoored from its role as a public agency and turning into something of a private fiefdom for EPA head Scott Pruitt. These conversations revealed that managers who meet with Pruitt aren't allowed to take notes, so as not to leave a paper trail that could be subject to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests. Several EPA agents who previously investigated and prosecuted environmental crimes have been reassigned to serve as Pruitt's 24/7 bodyguards. While Pruitt has dismissed rumors that his staff have been seeking to close the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago, EPA staffers said that the rumors were real and that the attempted closure was retaliation for Region 5's campaigning against Pruitt's appointment. Interviewees said that the general consensus among career EPA staff was that Pruitt's ultimate goal was not to weaken the EPA but to eliminate it entirely.
Photo by Krblokhin/iStock Tell Congress to Defend the EPA: Send a message to your representative and senators to tell them to oppose any attempt to eliminate the EPA. Tell Our National Parks and Monuments Why You Love Them: Tell us a little bit about some place that is meaningful to you. Where it is, what you experienced there, why you remember it so fondly. July/August Issue of Sierra Magazine: Read the latest! Our new issue contains articles about tigers in India's natural preserve, the plan to restore Louisiana's coastline, and more. Is There a Way to Recycle Rubber Bands?: Mr. Green snaps to the answer.
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