Weekend Reader, Sunday Feb. 25

Weekend Reader, Sunday Feb. 25

What's this? The leading Congressional Benghazi warrior sets his sights on Scott Pruitt?

Funny things happen to some Congressmen when they consider life after Congress.


Trey Gowdy, the angular South Carolinian who rose to fame with his relentless pursuit of the Benghazi investigation, announced he won't run again in 2018. Gowdy came to Congress in the 2010 election by swamping incumbent Bob Inglis in the primary.

In a year when "primaried" became a verb, a moderate like Inglis—who even spoke up about climate change—had no chance.

A former prosecutor who won the nickname "Bulldog," Gowdy took the lead in pressing the Benghazi investigation—credited (or blamed) with helping defeat Hillary Clinton. His strong conservative credentials seemed perfect for Trumpism.

But last week by Trumpian standards, Congressman Gowdy Benghazi'd up the wrong tree. As chair of the House Oversight Committee, he sent a letter Tuesday to EPA, demanding details on Administrator Scott Pruitt's extensive first class travel, and on the size of his entourage.

Pruitt is said to have pulled field investigators off of protecting the environment and into a head-of-state sized personal security detail. Democrats on a second panel, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, have made a similar request.

Then there's the Cone of Silence. Pruitt reportedly spent $25,000 to install a private phone booth for conversations.

This week, another facet of Pruitt's leadership turned up. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pruitt offered a spiritual angle to his drill-baby-drill policies:

"The biblical world view with respect to these issues is that we have a responsibility to manage and cultivate, harvest the natural resources that we've been blessed with to truly bless our fellow mankind."

Top Weekend News

Must-read: The New Orleans Times-Picayune and the New York Times are publishing a joint series on Louisiana's disappearing coast. The town of Jean Lafitte waits to be swamped by rising seas and sinking land; and invasive insects compound the unfolding disaster along the vanishing coast.

An EPA report says people of color suffer more from air pollution in 46 states than do white people.

The AP's Seth Borenstein looks at satellite monitoring of the high seas -- and fisheries' huge footprint on ocean ecosystems.

From The Onion: Climate scientists hang it up, advise us to just enjoy the next 20 years. (You know this is satire, right?)

Opinions and Editorials

Former Interior Dept. official David Hayes argues that expanding drilling on public lands is the opposite of "America First."

Pennsylvania's York Dispatch editorializes on Trump's environmental budget cuts, and their impact on Chesapeake Bay.

Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman offers a harsh assessment of Scott Pruitt: First-class travel is the least of his problems.

On Living on Earth, Peter Dykstra and Helen Palmer discuss fatbergs -- the gross, sometimes-enormous globs of fat and grease that clog urban sewer systems.

This Week In Trump

After his forced resignation, Trump climate adviser George David Banks called the Paris Accord "a good Republican agreement."

Sometimes, ya just gotta state the obvious: Are Trump's attacks on science meant to sway public opinion? From The Hill.

A just-released EPA study, conducted in the pre-Trump era, found that people of color cope with air pollution more than white people in 46 states.

The Conservative Political Action Conference hosted a climate change panel discussion. They found good news: Increased CO2 will make blue crabs enormous!!

At EPA, enforcement fines in Trump's first year in office total less than half of any recent President.

A Little Bit of Hope from a Garden

Amidst the misery of Syria's three-way Civil War, a garden in a northern Iraq refugee camp provides a ray of hope—and fresh food. NPR's Julia Travers with a great story.

And Some News for EHN/Daily Climate

We welcome Kristina Marusic as our new reporter. Based in Pittsburgh, Kristina will cover environmental health and justice issues in the region.

3 women in different colored head scarves sitting on ground with a child.

Opinion: Global warming is a crisis of inequality

Climate change-driven disasters often strike hardest where inequality, colonial legacies, and poor infrastructure leave communities most exposed and least protected.

Friederike Otto writes for The Guardian.

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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.

red road bike beside red and white wooden maple leaf painted wall.

Climate change fades in Canadian election as voters prioritize economy and U.S. tensions

Climate change, once a leading issue for Canadian voters, has slipped down the list of priorities in the 2025 federal election amid growing concerns over the economy and U.S. political instability.

Julia-Simone Rutgers reports for The Narwhal.

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Scientist wearing safety glasses working in a lab.
Credit: CDC/Unsplash

Governor of Massachusetts warns against brain drain due to GOP science funding cuts

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey warned that President Trump’s attacks on research institutions and funding cuts are driving scientists out of the U.S. and weakening the country’s global leadership in science.

David Cohen reports for POLITICO.

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The extension .org in woodblocks next to a cup of coffee.

Trump signals crackdown on environmental nonprofits by targeting their tax-exempt status

Environmental organizations across the country are bracing for executive orders from President Trump that may challenge their tax-exempt status and chill legal and advocacy work.

Marianne Lavelle and Lee Hedgepeth report for Inside Climate News.

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An oil rig in the middle of the ocean at sunset, with purple clouds and sea and an orange sky.

Fifteen years after the Gulf oil spill, health claims stall as offshore drilling expands

A decade and a half after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, many Gulf Coast residents and cleanup workers still struggle to receive compensation for alleged oil-related health problems, even as environmental restoration slows and offshore drilling ramps up.

Jack Brook reports for The Associated Press.

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A porch with a flag on the front of it.

Climate-fueled disasters and inflation drive Texas homeowners to face soaring insurance costs

A growing number of Texas residents are struggling to afford or even obtain home insurance as intensifying weather and economic pressures drive premiums to record highs.

Anna Phillips reports for The Washington Post.

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Two men wearing sun hats standing in a field of plants.

Agroforestry cuts deforestation in Southeast Asia, but success depends on local policies

Agroforestry systems have reduced deforestation across Southeast Asia over the past eight years, but new research finds that without the right policies, they can also drive forest loss.

Carolyn Cowan reports for Mongabay.

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From our Newsroom
Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

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

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

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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