MOTHER JONES ECONUNDRUMS: Hawaii Just Banned 70 Percent of Common Sunscreens & MORE 9JUL18

THIS WEEK'S ECONUNDRUM

Hawaii Just Banned 70 Percent of Common Sunscreens For a really good reason. MORE ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH COVERAGE Republicans in Congress Sure Seem Happy Not to Have to Defend Scott Pruitt Anymore It's Barely July and This Wildfire Season Already Looks Terrifying The Dirty Little Secret Behind "Clean Energy" Wood Pellets MORE FROM MOJO A Lawyer Met With 11 Separated Parents in One Day. What She Heard Is Terrifying. Trump Broke Up Families to Deter Illegal Immigration. New Numbers Show That Plan Has Failed.

EARTHJUSTICE NEWSLETTER: This is what energy democracy looks like 22APR18

FROM EarthJustice on Earth Day, a day we should all be renewing our commitment to do the best we can to protect our Mother Earth! Click the links to read the full articles, participate in EarthJustice actions and / or to donate to EarthJustice, because the Earth needs a good lawyer!

With a team of more than 100 legal experts on staff and more than 400 active cases, Earthjustice is holding accountable those who threaten to harm our environment and break our bedrock environmental laws.

No reason for dirty natural gas Three California communities in six months have defeated plans for gas-burning power plants, fueling a new trend. Clean energy is not only healthier; now it’s cheaper, too. READ MORE   THIS EARTH DAY, GIVE THE EARTH A GOOD LAWYER With a team of more than 100 legal experts on staff and more than 400 active cases, Earthjustice is holding accountable those who threaten to harm our environment and break our bedrock environmental laws. Help us win in court today! DONATE NOW     Halting a coral reef heistA federal court nixed permits that allowed collectors to snatch approximately a quarter of a million fish out of Hawai‘i’s waters. READ MORE A high-schooler shouldn’t handle the most dangerous pesticides on the marketA recent court ruling puts EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on notice that the courts are going to be scrutinizing any rule that reduces health protections for farmworkers. READ MORE One step closer to saving wild salmonAn Earthjustice victory means that endangered baby salmon will have an easier migration. But anti-wildlife lawmakers are already trying to dash their chances of survival. READ MORE It’s illegal to ignore civil rights complaintsBut after decades of delaying investigations in some of the nation’s most polluted communities, the EPA needed a federal court to explain that to them. READ MORE   “This string of court rulings shows that the Trump administration is repeatedly breaking the law. It’s not just me saying that—federal judges have been saying it repeatedly in recent weeks, and ruling against the Trump administration.” — Earthjustice Vice President of Litigation Drew Caputo, on recent federal court decisions rejecting the Trump administration’s efforts to delay and roll back protections for public health and the environment READ MORE HOW YOU CAN HELP Scott Pruitt is unfit to lead the Environmental Protection Agency Since his first day as head of the Environmental Protection Agency for the Trump administration, Scott Pruitt’s number-one priority has been to dismantle our nation’s bedrock environmental and public health protections. TAKE ACTION Don’t let dirty industry pollute our waters and communities Coal ash, the toxic remains of burning coal in power plants, is full of chemicals that cause cancer, developmental disorders and reproductive problems. Don’t let the EPA take away our protections from this toxic pollution threat. TAKE ACTION

Scott Pruitt, longtime adversary of EPA, confirmed to lead the agency 17FEB17

WITH the betrayal of fotze heidi heitkamp D(?) ND and fotze joe manchin D(?) WV the senate confirmed scott pruitt to head and destroy the EPA. As Michael Brune of the Sierra Club stated “For environmental groups, it means we’re in for the fight of our lives for the next four years.” America, what have we done????? From the +Washington Post .....
Scott Pruitt, longtime adversary of EPA, confirmed to lead the agency
By Brady Dennis February 17 at 1:50 PM 

Scott Pruitt, who as Oklahoma’s attorney general spent years suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its efforts to regulate various forms of pollution, was confirmed Friday as the agency’s next administrator.

Pruitt cleared the Senate by a vote of 52-46, winning support from two Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Only one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, voted against him, saying he had “fundamentally different” views than she about the EPA’s role.

The vote came after Democrats held the Senate floor for hours overnight and through the morning to criticize Pruitt as a pawn of the fossil-fuel industry and to push for a last-minute delay of his confirmation. Part of their argument was an Oklahoma judge’s ruling late Thursday that Pruitt’s office must turn over thousands of emails related to his communication with oil, gas and coal companies. The judge set a Tuesday deadline for the release of the emails, which a nonprofit group had been seeking for more than two years.

Republicans pressed forward with the afternoon vote, saying Pruitt had been thoroughly vetted in recent months and calling on Democrats to end what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called “a historic level of obstruction” in holding up Trump administration nominees.

[On eve of confirmation vote, judge orders EPA nominee to release thousands of emails]

Pruitt’s confirmation marked a serious defeat for environmental advocacy groups, which wrote letters, waged a furious social media campaign, lobbied members of Congress, paid for television ads and sponsored a series of public protests to keep the Oklahoman from taking the reins of EPA.

“Scott Pruitt as administrator of the EPA likely means a full-scale assault on the protections that Americans have enjoyed for clean air, clean water and a healthy climate,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, said in an interview. “For environmental groups, it means we’re in for the fight of our lives for the next four years.”

Pruitt has sued the EPA more than a dozen times during the Obama administration, challenging the agency’s authority to regulate toxic mercury pollution, smog, carbon emissions from power plants and the quality of wetlands and other waters. In Oklahoma, he dismantled a specialized environmental protection unit that had existed under his Democratic predecessor and established a “federalism unit” to combat what he called “unwarranted regulation and systematic overreach” by Washington.

And as the one-time leader of the Republican Attorneys General Association and the privately funded Rule of Law Defense Fund, he spearheaded a group of attorneys general that fought the Obama administration on such issues as the Affordable Care Act, Wall Street reforms and efforts to extend overtime pay to more workers.

That combative approach has won him praise from some fellow Republicans and the oil and gas firms that have helped fund his efforts, as well as from Trump, who has criticized the EPA for what he calls burdensome and unnecessary regulations.

“Whoever was nominated by President Trump, the environmental community was going to demonize,” said Jeff Holmstead, who headed EPA’s air and radiation office under President George W. Bush and is now a lawyer representing energy firms. But he said he thinks Pruitt will prove to his critics and to EPA employees that he does believe in the agency’s core mission, even as he has argued that the EPA overstepped its legal authority under Obama.

[Acting EPA head: Hiring freeze challenges ‘our ability to get the agency’s work done’]

“Over the past eight years in particular, [the EPA] has completely micromanaged the states. I think you’ll see a real effort to reset that balance,” Holmstead said. “I think he really does believe in the rule of the law. He believes the role of executive branch is to carry out the intent of Congress. I think he’s committed to doing that.”

Still, the prospect of Pruitt leading the EPA horrifies environmental advocates, who accuse him of repeatedly questioning the overwhelming scientific consensus around climate change and often defending the interests of fossil-fuel firms over the health of ordinary citizens.

His nomination also has clearly rattled some agency employees, who fear he will be eager to carry out the promise that Trump made on the campaign trail to “get rid of [EPA] in almost every form. We’re going to have little tidbits left, but we’re going to take a tremendous amount out.”

More than 700 former EPA officials recently wrote to Congress opposing Pruitt’s confirmation, saying he “has gone to disturbing lengths to advance the views and interests of business.”

Even some current employees openly protested his nomination, notably during a recent rally in downtown Chicago near the agency’s Region 5 offices.

Holmstead insisted such protests don’t represent all EPA employees. “I really think that for the vast majority of people at EPA, this idea that there is fear and trembling is a vast exaggeration.”

Minutes after Friday’s confirmation, the EPA tweeted for the first time since Trump’s inauguration.

“We’d like to congratulate Mr. Pruitt on his confirmation!” the tweet read. “We look forward to welcoming him to the EPA.”

 Follow

U.S. EPA 

✔@EPA

We’d like to congratulate Mr. Pruitt on his confirmation! We look forward to welcoming him to EPA.

1:27 PM - 17 Feb 2017

 
•  104104 Retweets
 
•  127127 likes

Susan Hogan and Sean Sullivan contributed to this report. 

Read more:

Scientists just detected a major change in Earth’s oceans linked to warming climate

Antarctic sea ice used to be the darling of climate doubters. Not anymore.

Scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump

Endangered Species Act may be heading for the threatened list

The EPA’s social-media accounts have been silent since the inauguration

Brady Dennis is a national reporter for The Washington Post, focusing on the environment and public health issues.

  Follow @brady_dennis

A pedophile has no business running a day care center. A climate denier has no place running the EPA & TAKE ACTION: Last chance to reject Scott Pruitt & Nearly 800 Former EPA Staffers Sign Letter Opposing Scott Pruitt 16FEB17

scott pruitt as head of the EPA /  +U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the same a putting a fox in a hen house or putting a pedophile in charge of a day care center. He has actually sued the EPA over environmental regulations and is a climate change denier, a perfect choice to head the agency in the opinion of the drumpf/trump-pence administration. If you value clean water, clean air, then you need to take the advise of  +Greenpeace USA and +Earthjustice  and contact your senators now and demand they vote against scott pruitt as head of the EPA. If you don't want to call using the toll free number below  (I did call, was connected to Sen Kaine's office), e mail your senators here.
NOTE, I did e mail Senators Kaine and Warner, and posted on their facebook pages. Sen Warner already has his opposition to pruitt's nomination posted, he will vote no. Sen Kaine has not made his position public. From Greenpeace, EarthJustice and +Huffington Post .....

Two of Trump's nominations down in one week! Is Scott Pruitt next? Call 1-877-969-2590 and tell your Senator not to put Scott Pruitt in charge of the EPA!

The resistance is working! First public outcry caused Michael Flynn to resign as National Security Director, now fast-food executive Andrew Puzder has withdrawn from consideration as Labor Secretary.

Will climate-denier Scott Pruitt be next? Call your senator TODAY at 877-969-2590 and tell them to vote against Pruitt’s nomination as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

If you’ve never called your senator before, don’t worry. It’s easy! There’s a script and a toll-free number ready for you. It will only take a couple of minutes, but it will make a big difference.

Step 1: Dial 877-969-2590.

Step 2: Before you are connected with your senate office, you will hear a message from me with some brief talking points.

Step 3: After the message ends, you will be transferred to one of your senators' offices. You may be put on hold, but don’t hang up! Your message couldn’t be more important.

In case you want to practice ahead of time, here are the talking points written out:

1. My name is _______ and I’m calling to ask the senator to vote NO on Scott Pruitt’s nomination to head up the EPA. 
2. Scott Pruitt is a known climate-change denier who pushes fracking and other dirty energy sources over clean energy. By nominating Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Donald Trump is putting America’s communities, health, and environment at risk. 

Call 877-969-2590 today to tell your senator to vote NO on Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA. 

As Oklahoma Attorney General, Pruitt blocked basic protections for clean drinking water and helped the industry hide the connections between fracking and earthquakes.¹ Pruitt has made a career suing the EPA to undo critical environmental protections for our air and water. He’s also received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry since 2002, leaving little doubt about whose interests he’ll protect as EPA head — and it’s not people or the environment.² 
If climate change denial is going to be the default position of the Trump White House, then relentless resistance will be the default position of the American people. It is now up to each one of us to fight for each other, and to resist the ways in which Donald Trump and his crony cabinet threaten our communities, climate, and country.

Thousands have already spoken out in resistance — writing messages, showing up at rallies, and going to town halls. Now let’s pick up the phones and make sure we can’t be ignored! Call 877-969-2590 right now. 

In united resistance,

Jill Pape
Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace USA

P.S. The resistance is growing louder by the minute — and it’s working! Add your voice by calling 877-969-2590 to stop the appointment of climate-denier Scott Pruitt.

¹ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/14/us/scott-pruitt-trump-epa-pick.html² http://www.followthemoney.org/show-me?c-t-eid=6583668&d-cci=36,33&d-ccb=95,98,97#[{1|gro=y

TAKE ACTION: Last chance to reject Scott Pruitt

Last month, nearly one million letters—over 55,000 from Earthjustice activists—urging their senators to vote NO on Scott Pruitt’s nomination as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were personally delivered to the Senate. On February 2, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to send Pruitt’s nomination to the full Senate for a vote, despite the fact that he stonewalled more than 1,000 critical questions about his views on the environment and potential conflicts of interest. This is unacceptable, and now we need you to speak up again. The full Senate will vote this week on whether or not to confirm Pruitt as the head of the EPA. We need you to flood your senator’s office with calls telling them to vote NO on Scott Pruitt.

More than 870,000 messages from the public—including 55,819 letters from Earthjustice activists—are presented as Sen. Carper speaks during a “sunshine” roundtable on Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. Witnesses testified, shining a light on what impacts Pruitt may have if confirmed as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

We have never encountered a presidential nominee like Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt. His record on vital community protections and environmental standards indicates an open hostility towards the essential purpose and functions of the EPA—the very agency he seeks to lead. Our Congressional leaders must not act as if they have a mandate to destroy critical environmental and public health protections, because nothing could be further from the truth. The Senate must not overlook the fact that the majority of voters value clean air and clean water, and trust the EPA to protect us from Big Oil and polluters. Instead, our senators should protect the health of our communities by rejecting Scott Pruitt’s nomination. Raise your voice with thousands of Earthjustice activists now—call your senator and urge them to vote NO on Scott Pruitt. Sincerely,

Nearly 800 Former EPA Staffers Sign Letter Opposing Scott Pruitt

“Scott Pruitt represents what we environmental lawyers call an ‘imminent and substantial endangerment’ to our health and environment.”

 02/16/2017 12:19 pm ET | Updated 2 hours ago

Hundreds of former Environmental Protection Agency officials have signed a letter in protest of Scott Pruitt’s nearing confirmation as EPA Administrator. 

The letter, put together by the nonprofit group Environmental Integrity Project, was signed by 773 former EPA staffers, including scientists, engineers and attorneys. The EIP sent the letter to the Senate, where members could confirm Pruitt as early as Friday, the organization said in a statement. 

“Pruitt, a close ally of the oil and gas industry, has made a career of suing EPA and attacking the idea of federal action to reduce pollution – while simultaneously failing to enforce environmental laws in his own state and shutting down the Environmental Protection Unit in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office,” the EIP said in the statement.

As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Pruitt sued the EPA more than a dozen times. He is a climate change denier whose own LinkedIn page refers to himself as “a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.”

In a January confirmation hearing, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) asked Pruitt if “there is any safe level of lead that can be taken into the human body.”

“Senator, that is something I have not reviewed nor know about,” Pruitt replied. (The answer is no).

Ellen Spitalnik was a former EPA attorney who served both Republican and Democratic administrations from 1980 to 2002. She signed the letter in opposition to President Donald Trump’s pick.

“My life’s work is protecting public health and the environment, so I must speak out against this unqualified extremist,” Spitalnik said in a statement. “Pruitt represents what we environmental lawyers call an ‘imminent and substantial endangerment’ to our health and environment. He threatens the very integrity of EPA and must not be allowed to continue shutting down environmental enforcement, disregarding science and putting private interests above public good.”

In a 2014 New York Times investigation, the publication said that Pruitt blasted the EPA in a letter he wrote to the organization as attorney general. It turned out the letter had first been written by oil and gas industry lobbyists that opposed regulations. Pruitt had copied the letter nearly word for word on his own stationary.

Staff at the EPA told Reuters this week that once Pruitt has been confirmed, Trump has prepared a handful of executive orders meant to reshape the agency.

“It is clear that [Pruitt] will launch an unprecedented attack on basic environmental protections that will result in more pollution and illnesses for the American people,” said one of the letter’s signers, Judith Enck, in the statement. Enck was an EPA Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey from 2010 until last month.

“He will do permanent damage to the work of the EPA.”

MY E MAIL TO SENATORS KAINE AND WARNER VIA THE LVC WEBSITE....

If Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from dirty energy companies and then acted on their behalf when suing the Environmental Protection Agency, how can we trust him to now lead it? It is like putting a pedophile in charge of a day care center.

If confirmed, Pruitt could block the Clean Water Rule for good and the Clean Power Plan in its tracks. The damage to our environment after 4 years of the EPA being mismanaged and deregulated by scott pruitt will take decades to reverse and repair, and some damage may be permanent.

An overwhelming majority of Americans agree that we need strong action on climate change and we need it now. We urge you to oppose Scott Pruitt and demand an EPA Administrator who is guided by science, respects our environmental laws, and will place protecting public health first.

You must vote NO on the scott pruitt nomination to head the EPA.