center for biological diversity

Scott Pruitt Voted Worst Trump Minion, Ryan Zinke Runner-Up

Scott Pruitt Voted Worst Trump Minion, Ryan Zinke Runner-Up

Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was voted the worst member of the Trump administration, according to the latest, albeit unscientific, poll from New York Times op-ed columnist Gail Collins. Last month, the liberal/progressive journalist and winner of this year’s George Polk Award for commentary, asked readers to “select the […]

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    Trump EPA Slammed for Ag Giant’s ‘Absurdly Low’ Pesticide Fine

    Trump EPA Slammed for Ag Giant’s ‘Absurdly Low’ Pesticide Fine

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement this week with Syngenta Seeds, LLC over violations of federal pesticide regulations at its farm in Kauai, Hawaii. The company, a subsidiary of Swiss biotech giant Syngenta AG, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $150,000 and spend another $400,000 on worker protection training sessions. “Reducing […]

    ‘Dangerous Drift-Prone Pesticide’ Threatens Millions of Acres, Hundreds of Endangered Species: Farmers and Conservationists Sue EPA, Monsanto

    ‘Dangerous Drift-Prone Pesticide’ Threatens Millions of Acres, Hundreds of Endangered Species: Farmers and Conservationists Sue EPA, Monsanto

    On Friday, public interest organizations representing farmers and conservationists made their legal case in a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Monsanto Company, challenging EPA’s approval of Monsanto’s new “XtendiMax” pesticide. XtendiMax is Monsanto’s version of dicamba, an old and highly drift-prone weed-killer. EPA’s approval permitted XtendiMax to be sprayed […]

    Lobster Industry Ensnared in North Atlantic Right Whale Deaths

    Lobster Industry Ensnared in North Atlantic Right Whale Deaths

    By Sam Schipani Last year was not a good one for the North Atlantic right whale. Seventeen of them were discovered to have died, about 4 percent of a total population of 455. Numbers have been low for decades—the species was declared endangered in 1973—but if the current trend continues, the North Atlantic right whale, […]

    Is This the Year the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Goes Extinct?

    Is This the Year the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Goes Extinct?

    By John R. Platt This year the U.S. could experience its first bird extinction in more than three decades. That’s the warning from the scientists and conservationists working to protect the critically endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus). Once common in the grasslands of central Florida, this geographically isolated subspecies has experienced a catastrophic […]

    Ghost Cat Gone: Eastern Cougar Officially Declared Extinct

    Ghost Cat Gone: Eastern Cougar Officially Declared Extinct

    By John R. Platt Say good-bye to the “ghost cat.” This week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the eastern cougar (Puma concolor couguar) to be extinct and removed it from the endangered species list. This news, sad though it is, has been a long time coming. The big cats, once native to […]