Coal Lobbyist Could Be Next EPA Deputy Administrator
President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in January to curtail lobbying influence in government, is expected to name a coal lobbyist as the new deputy administrator to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Sources told POLITICO that the president is likely tapping Andrew Wheeler, a registered lobbyist for Murray Energy, to be the No. 2 official at the EPA under head Scott Pruitt.
Murray Energy is the largest coal mining company in the nation and has sued the Obama administration multiple times over environmental regulations.
Wheeler has worked in government before. He was an EPA staffer and a Republican staff member at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where he "worked on every major piece of environmental and energy-related legislation over the last decade, including greenhouse gas emissions legislation, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the Clear Skies Act and the Clean Air Interstate Rule," according to his bio at Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting, where Wheeler is a principal and co-leader of the firm's energy and natural resources practice.
If there's anything that indicates that he's pro-fossil fuels, Wheeler's bio lists him as the VP of the "Washington Coal Club."
Incidentally, Wheeler has also worked with many climate change deniers before. He was an advisor to Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma. The snowball-throwing senator thinks environmental regulations kill jobs and just said on Thursday that the EPA is "brainwashing" children.
Murray Energy chairman and CEO Robert Murray, an ardent Trump supporter, said in February that "4,000 scientists tell me global warming is a hoax."
Sources noted to POLITICO that the decision over Wheeler is not yet final and it could be weeks until a nominee is officially announced.
Trump's potential pick would go against his campaign promise to not hire lobbyists as a way to "drain the swamp." Of course, he pledged to revitalize the coal industry so there's that.
"We're gonna put the miners back to work," Trump said on the trail. "We're gonna put the miners back to work. We're gonna get those mines open."
The selection of Wheeler further cements the administration's hostility toward the EPA, which stands to lose about a third of its $8.1 billion budget under the president's 2018 budget proposal.
John Coequyt, the Sierra Club's Climate Policy director, has criticized the possible new hire.
"Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt would have picked a chunk of coal for this position if they could have, but Wheeler is the next most toxic option." Coequyt said.
Yellowstone Grizzly Bears to Lose Endangered Species Protection
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone region on Thursday from the Endangered Species List. The decision comes despite serious concerns in the scientific community about a declining, isolated population with diminishing food resources and record-high mortalities, as well as strong opposition from an unprecedented number of Tribal Nations.
Southeast Is Ground Zero for Genetically Engineered Trees
By BJ McManama
ArborGen Corporation, a multinational conglomerate and leading supplier of seedlings for commercial forestry applications, has submitted an approval request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to deregulate and widely distribute a eucalyptus tree genetically engineered (GE) to be freeze tolerant. This modification will allow this GE variety to be grown in the U.S. Southeast. The reason this non-native and highly invasive tree has been artificially created to grow outside of its tropical environment is to greatly expand production capacity for the highly controversial woody biomass industry.
Think You're Eating '100% Natural' Chicken? Think Again
By Kari Hamerschlag
Many health conscious consumers are reducing their consumption of red meat in favor of chicken—especially products labeled and promoted as "100% natural"—believing they are a healthier option produced without routine antibiotics, artificial substances or other drugs.
Stephen Hawking: 'I Am Convinced That Humans Need to Leave Earth'
Stephen Hawking repeated his warning that humanity needs to leave Earth and colonize the moon, Mars or other planets in order for our species to survive the impending doom of climate change.
"We have given our planet the disastrous gift of climate change ... When we we have reached similar crises there has usually been somewhere else to colonize ... But there is no new world, no utopia around the corner," he said. "We are running out of space, and the only places to go to are other worlds."
Coal Boss Sues HBO Over John Oliver Show
Just like John Oliver predicted, Robert E. Murray has filed a lawsuit in response to the Last Week Tonight host's June 18 show about coal that devoted a large segment skewering the Murray Energy Corporation CEO.
The Republican coal baron and outspoken Donald Trump supporter is suing Oliver, HBO, Time Warner and the writers for the show, the Daily Beast reported.
It's So Hot in Arizona, Meteorologists Need New Weather Map Colors
It's so hot in the American Southwest that meteorologists are using unusual colors for their temperature maps.
As reported by MLive's Mark Torregrossa, with temperatures forecast to hit 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the Phoenix area, the folks at weatherbell.com had to use green for its Wednesday map because the other shades were already used.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: 'One Man Will Not Stop Our Progress'
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has let the world know that Donald Trump does not represent America in his choice to drop out of the Paris climate agreement.
Despite the president's lack of support for the environment, the rest of America will continue to work towards a brighter and greener future, as Schwarzenegger makes clear in the video above.
Natural Gas Is Not the Answer, New Study Finds
By Paul Brown
Natural gas will have to be phased out along with coal if the world is to be kept safe from dangerous climate change. And that seems likely to have to happen far sooner than most official forecasts, according to a new report.
If countries want to reach their Paris climate agreement goals of limiting the long-term world temperature rise to 1.5°C, then many of the proposals to increase gas production and distribution will be unnecessary. New terminals and pipelines will never be fully used and will become stranded assets.
Dallas Goldtooth: The Fight Against DAPL Is Not Over
Oil will continue to flow through the Dakota Access Pipeline this summer and into the fall, despite the ruling from a federal judge last week that the Trump administration must conduct additional environmental review of the project.
