Weekend Reader:  Read this and weep.
West, Texas explosion via YouTube

Weekend Reader:  Read this and weep.

A snapshot of the progress and opportunities lost on Election Day 2016.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is in the business of making sure we learn from disasters. They found the regulatory and management failures that killed 15 firefighters in the 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. The Trump Administration has let the CSB wither, and has recommended that it disappear entirely.


The tiny agency's budget is $12 million -- barely more than the cost of three weekend jaunts from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, according to the Government Accountability Oiffce.

Another oversight body, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), tried to weigh in on another Trump initiative -- the proposed intervention to aid failing coal and nuclear power plants by compelling coal and nuke power sales to the grid. The Administration cited "national security" concerns for such a move, but testifying before Congress this week, FERC commissioners said no such concerns exist.

But just in case we do need more uranium, there's this: An effort afoot to end a moratorium on uranium mining on land adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park. Citing possible risks to Colorado River water quality and to sacred sites, in 2012 the Obama Administration barred new mine leases in the area for 20 years.

And national security is also a premise for Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), who wants to roll back the environmental review process on extracting strategic metals like uranium. One of the major beneficiaries of such a move would be the mining giant Energy Fuels Resources, which holds mining claims near the canyon rim. As luck would have it, EF is owned by our new nemeses to the north: Canada.

One of the greatest bi-partisan advances in ocean protection could also fall in coming years. Both Presidents Obama and George W. Bush set aside massive areas as marine reserves. Trump and Zinke have targeted the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Monument for reduction in both size and scope. Centered around Johnston Atoll, 1,000 miles west of Hawaii, the Monument is nearly twice the size of Texas. Its ban on commercial fishing, including rapacious longline boats, may be revoked soon. Marine reserves are the saltwater equivalents of National Parks -- literally their 21st Century equals.

All from a President who has declared journalists, and our Fake News, to be America's biggest enemies. And all of the above without mentioning the relentless and picayune scandals of EPA's Scott Pruitt.

Top Weekend News

Ready for a little good news? For the first time in 33 years, the annual Chesapeake Bay Report Card shows some strong signs of a recovering Bay.

This summer could see record low water levels in the Colorado River and other western streams. (KUER Radio)y.y.

An AP investigation finds that "locally caught" and "sustainable seafood" are marketing terms that can often be used dishonestly.

Ken Ward, Jr. on conflicts of interest in West Virginia's natural gas deal with China. The West Virginia Gazette-Mail is part of a local reporting project with ProPublica.

Newly-elected President Carlos Alvarado's audacious pledge: A fossil-fuel-free nation by 2021. (MNN)

EHN's Must-Read Series, "Breathless"

EHN's Kristina Marusic has put together an ambitious series on challenges and solutions on asthma and air pollution. "Breathless" visits the schools, hospitals, and factories in the Pittsburgh metro area.

Opinion Pieces and Editorials

The Chicago Sun-Times unloads on climate change, Scott Pruitt, and the Trump Administration.

The Los Angeles Times renews its call for Scott Pruitt's head, but admits that it won't change the Trump Administration's environmental assault.

Dana Nuccitelli has a column in The Guardian criticizing the Wall Street Journal's "Big Oil propaganda."

This Week In Trump

The New York Times team's latest example of Scott Pruitt allegedly using his office for personal gain: Putting the arm on a Big Oil PR firm to score tickets to the Rose Bowl.

Republican opposition to Pruitt may have less to do with his ethical challenges than with his hostility toward ethanol.

Scientists at USGS face an onerous new requirement to get approval to attend science conferences: They must explain how their attendance will further one of Interior Secretary Zinke's goals. (Washington Post).

Podcasts of Note

Peter Sinclair's Climate Crock of the Week: The state of Germany's renewables transition.

On Public Radio International's Living On Earth, host Steve Curwood and EHN/Daily Climate's Peter Dykstra discuss the role of an infamous Superfund site as an open-air classroom; and a caper involving alleged water theft for fracking operations along the Texas-New Mexico border.

Get Ready for the Facepalm on This One:

From NPR: Alaska oil drillers are increasingly investing in technology to keep permafrost frozen to make oil drilling and transport easier. So we can get more oil. To melt the permafrost.

a person with a backpack walking on a trail toward red cliffs.

Trump administration slashes environmental reviews to speed fossil fuel permits

A new directive from the Interior Department will cut environmental reviews for drilling and mining projects on public lands from years to weeks, citing an emergency order from President Trump.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

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Sunrise in the woods

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Get the best positive, solutions-oriented stories we've seen on the intersection of our health and environment, FREE every Tuesday in your inbox. Subscribe here today. Keep the change tomorrow.

Group of black women in a conference room discussing business.

More women than men now rank climate change as their top voting concern

A growing gender gap among environmental voters reveals women, especially women of color, are increasingly prioritizing climate issues at the ballot box.

Jessica Kutz reports for The 19th.

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A car driving through a flooded street.

States ramp up efforts to make fossil fuel giants pay for climate damages

A year after devastating floods swept Vermont, new science is strengthening state-level efforts to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-driven destruction.

Austyn Gaffney reports for The New York Times.

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The facade of the Environmental Protection Agency building in Washington, DC.

Trump’s EPA risks billions in legal claims as it targets climate grants distributed under Biden

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to freeze and terminate $20 billion in climate grants awarded during the Biden era, despite internal legal warnings that the move carries significant risk of triggering massive financial liabilities.

Alex Guillén reports for POLITICO.

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Stencil of an electric vehicle on pavement

Supreme Court weighs whether fuel producers can sue over California’s clean car rules

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether fuel companies can challenge California’s clean vehicle standards, a case that could undermine the state’s authority to limit car emissions.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

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Refinery lit up at night with white smoke coming out of smokestacks.

Refinery safety rules in California face rollback after industry settlement

More than a decade after a catastrophic refinery fire sickened thousands, California regulators are weighing a rollback of key safety reforms under a legal settlement with oil lobbyists.

Jim Morris and Molly Peterson report for Public Health Watch.

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Two men working on a large oil pipeline extending horizontally from the earth.

Federal court orders U.S. to pay North Dakota $28 million over handling of pipeline protest

A federal judge ruled that the U.S. government must pay North Dakota nearly $28 million for mishandling its response to protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017, citing negligence by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Mary Steurer reports for North Dakota Monitor.

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Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

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An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

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