President Joe Biden

A big green turnaround

As the US government flips, a few random looks back, and a peek ahead.

Hope you're enjoying America's first weekend under Joe Biden. Is it too soon for a little Trump-era nostalgia?


Let us pause to remember Scott Pruitt and Ryan Zinke. You do remember Scott Pruitt and Ryan Zinke, don't you? They were Trump's initial EPA Administrator and Interior Secretary, respectively. Both left beneath their own ethical clouds. Both are now working in "consulting" roles for a battery of companies the two used to regulate. According to an investigation by Bloomberg News, Zinke signed with both a gold mining company and a pipeline maker in 2019. Such consulting is legal for high-ranking ex-officials. Federal lobbying was forbidden for five years after leaving office due to an Executive Order written by President Trump—until Trump himself revoked that same order hours before he left office.

Pruitt has found similar work with a midwestern coal company, according to the Indianapolis Star. The Washington Post reported Pruitt pitched his services as a sort of celebrity spokesmodel to the National Association of Manufacturers shortly after leaving government. NAM said they did not retain Pruitt.

Both men were investigated Congressionally and criminally, with no charges against either.

In his first days in office, Biden marked his climate turf with spectacular gestures. With mere strokes of his pen on Inauguration Day, he restored U.S. participation in the Paris Climate Accord and pulled the critical permit for completion of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Before Inauguration Day, Biden assembled a climate A-Team that included John Kerry as an international superdiplomat; former EPA head Gina McCarthy as Kerry's domestic counterpart; ex-Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as Energy Secretary.

But a major question in President Biden's assembling climate team lies with his designated Senate point person, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. The coal-friendly, moderate Democrat will face re-election next year if he chooses to run for his third Senate term.

I'd also like to see some gentle persuasion brought upon those whose rigid beliefs hijack their lives, but from my 12 years in Washington DC, I think it's a near-impossibility. There's a sad example in plain view in the middle of the city: The bedraggled few who still patrol the grounds of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in vain hope that their buddies from 50 years ago are still Missing In Action, alive in Hanoi tiger cages.

If you think for a minute that climate denial is on its deathbed, consider these poor souls' deathgrip on fantasy.

Three final, loosely related thoughts about how our nation's Capitol could serve us better:

    1. Anyone who has anything to do with politics should be term-limited: Senators, consultants, lobbyists, and especially TV pundits;
    2. Anyone who refers to Washington as "This Town" has clearly been in "That Town" too long, and;
    3. Anyone who looks at our national convulsions of the last few weeks, few months, or four years and concludes that "the system works" should be escorted outside the Beltway and given a permanent expulsion.

    Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

    His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher, Environmental Health Sciences.

    Banner photo: President Joe Biden address the crowd and nation during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. (Credit: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/flickr)

    Can tires turn green?

    Tire manufacturers are adopting greener production processes and more renewable materials, but they have yet to get a grip on tire particle pollution.

    Senator Whitehouse & climate change

    Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

    For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.

    'I wanted to cry': Devastating risks of spray foam insulation hidden from Vermont homeowners

    When asked how a homeowner could assess whether they’re hiring a high-quality insulation installer, Brent Ehrlich, a products and materials specialist at BuildingGreen, said, “I don't really have a good answer to that.”
    climate change reshapes California coast
    BigStock Photo ID: 430218898
    Copyright: NFL1
    Available for extended license use

    California’s cliffs are crumbling as climate change reshapes the coast

    Planners always knew choices would have to be made whether to keep building along the edge of the Pacific. They just didn't think it would happen so quickly.
    Arctic warming biodiversity disruptions
    Denali National Park and Preserve/Flickr/Commercial use & mods allowedNPS Photo / Alex Vanderstuyfhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

    Just between us squirrels, there might be trouble in the Arctic dating scene

    Climate change appears to be disrupting the hibernation of females in the Far North, scientists say, and that could affect mating season.
    James Hansen climate warming warning
    cereid2/Flickr/

    James Hansen warns of a short-term climate shock bringing 2 degrees of warming by 2050

    The famed researcher publicly released a preliminary version of a paper-in-progress with grim predictions of short- and long-term warming, but not all climate scientists agree with its conclusions.

    climate impacts on Lake Erie
    John Beagle/Flickr/Commercial use & mods allowedhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

    Bracing for climate impacts on Lake Erie, the walleye capital of the world

    Though fisheries are thriving now, “continuing warming on the trajectory we’re going is not going to be good for walleye and yellow perch.”

    From our Newsroom
    halliburton fracking

    How the “Halliburton Loophole” lets fracking companies pollute water with no oversight

    Fracking companies used 282 million pounds of hazardous chemicals that should have been regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act from 2014 to 2021.

    President Joe Biden climate change

    Op-ed: Biden’s Arctic drilling go-ahead illustrates the limits of democratic problem solving

    President Biden continues to deploy conventional tactics against the highly unconventional threat of climate change.

    oil and gas wells pollution

    What happens if the largest owner of oil and gas wells in the US goes bankrupt?

    Diversified Energy’s liabilities exceed its assets, according to a new report, sparking concerns about whether taxpayers will wind up paying to plug its 70,000 wells.

    Paul Ehrlich

    Paul Ehrlich: A journey through science and politics

    In his new book, the famous scientist reflects on an unparalleled career on our fascinating, ever-changing planet.

    oil and gas california environmental justice

    Will California’s new oil and gas laws protect people from toxic pollution?

    California will soon have the largest oil drilling setbacks in the U.S. Experts say other states can learn from this move.

    Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
    Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.