This is the 552nd edition of the Spotlight on Green News & Views (previously known as the Green Diary Rescue). Here is the April 4 Green Spotlight. Inclusion of a story in the Spotlight does not necessarily indicate my agreement with or endorsement of it.
OUTSTANDING GREEN STORIES
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Weird Science: How Fake News Dominates Social Media: “The Outline had a fascinating piece last month about a science YouTube channel called Ridddle that has nearly two million subscribers and explainer videos on topics like ‘if the sun goes out for 24 hours’ and ‘what will happen if a bucket of water is poured on the sun.’ The videos have racked up millions and millions of views. The only catch is, the science in the videos is completely wrong. At a very cursory glance, some of the videos could seem relatively credible. Then you get to things like ‘The Moon is the Debris of a Spacecraft.’ (1.2 million views!) So what explains the massive spread of this fake science? The Outline’s Jon Christian speculates that perhaps by focusing on science instead of a more controversial topic (read: politics), Ridddle has managed to fly under the radar, unlike, say InfoWars. We don’t have any easy answer, but the spread of fake news on social media seems to plague science.”
WarrenS writes—Necessity Defense Prevails Against Civil Infraction Charges in West Roxbury, MA Pipeline Case!! “In August 2016 I joined an ongoing campaign against a natural gas pipeline construction project in West Roxbury, MA, and committed civil disobedience by illegally entering the site along with several other people. This campaign ultimately included almost 200 people who committed various forms of NVCD. While many people accepted plea bargains or minor penalties, thirteen of us continued to press for a jury trial, at which the Necessity Defense was to be used. Ultimately the Commonwealth of Massachusetts reduced the penalties from Misdemeanors to ‘Civil Infractions’ (the equivalent of a parking ticket), thus denying us the opportunity to present a full necessity defense to a jury. But… More than a dozen protesters who clambered into holes dug for a high pressure gas pipeline said they had been found not responsible by a judge after hearing them argue their actions to try and stop climate change were a legal ‘necessity’ [...] On Tuesday, Judge Mary Ann Driscoll of West Roxbury District Court, found all 13 defendants not responsible, the equivalent of not guilty in a criminal case. She did so after each of the defendants addressed the judge and explained why they were driven to try and halt the pipeline’s construction.”
CRITTERS AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Hunter writes—Another Team Trump effort to roll back threatened species protections is in the works: “Back somewhere in the bowels of Team Trump, yet another effort to roll back environmental protections that land developers and extraction companies don't like appears to be underway. And this one would be a big one: the axing of a rule that provides protections for several hundred of America's threatened species. The proposal's obscure name -- ‘Removal of Blanket Section 4(d) Rule’ -- refers to protections covering approximately 300 animal and plant species, such as the northern spotted owl and manatee, that are at risk of becoming endangered.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has for 40 years used the blanket rule to cover the majority of threatened species, the category considered at risk of endangerment under the Endangered Species Act. A spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service told CNN that to suggest the rule would overturn the protections is inaccurate. But the spokesman, Gavin Shire, would not elaborate about how that characterization was incorrect or what the proposal calls for, and he declined to provide a copy of the document. So the official Trump appointee-crew position is that it doesn't do that, and you're not allowed to know what it does do, and you're not allowed to read the proposed changes to figure it out yourself.”
OceanDiver writes—The Daily Bucket - ducks on rocks: “This was a day of chilly sunbreaks. Late afternoon. Tide was still pretty high, but ebbing. While the buffleheads and scoters paddled around way out in the bay, a pair of Harlequin ducks and several Red-breasted Mergansers were chillin on the rocks at water’s edge. Not in feeding mode. Either standing on a rock or bobbing in the shallow waves.”
Angmar writes—The Daily Snow Bucket: Winter storm Wilbur,(and others), bringing yet more snow: Photo diary.
CLIMATE CHAOS
Walter Einenkel writes—Damning internal documents show Shell knew about climate change causes in the 1980s: “Inside Climate Newsis reporting on a European investigation that has uncovered decades old internal documents from Shell Oil showing that the oil and gas giant had a profound understanding of the destructive capacity that their industry had on the world’s environmental health. They show that as the company pondered its responsibility to act, Shell's scientists urged it to heed the early warnings, even if, as they said, it might take until the 2000s for the mounting evidence to prove greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were causing unnatural climate change. ‘With the very long time scales involved, it would be tempting for society to wait until then before doing anything,’ company researchers wrote in a 1988 report based on studies completed in 1986. ‘The potential implications for the world are, however, so large that policy options need to be considered much earlier. And the energy industry needs to consider how it should play its part.’ Otherwise, a team of Shell experts said, ‘it could be too late to take effective countermeasures to reduce the effects or even to stabilize the situation’.”
Simplify writes—Perhaps the clearest, most concise explanation of global warming you'll see: “There is evidence that the greatly increasing use of fossil fuels, whose material contents after combustion are principally H20 and CO2, is seriously contaminating the earth’s atmosphere with CO2. Analyses indicate that the CO2 content of the atmosphere since 1900 has increased 10 per cent. Since CO2 absorbs long-wavelength radiation, it is possible that this is already producing a secular climatic change in the direction of higher average temperatures. This could have profound effects both on the weather and on the ecological balances. In view of the dangers of atmospheric contamination by both the waste gases of fossil fuels and the radioactive contaminates from nuclear power plants, Professor Hutchinson urges serious consideration of the maximum utilization of solar energy. There it is, easy as pie.* Which thoughtful expert wrote such a crisp summary of this all-important matter? Was it James Hansen in 1988? Bill McKibben in 1989? Some Naomi Klein-like activist who was too early for her time? … No. It was Marion King Hubbert, Chief Geology Consultant… for Shell Oil Company. In 1962.”
Pakalolo writes—Miami streets could flood every single day by 2070 under many climate models, NOAA says: “More grim news for the country’s sea coasts as yet another faster then expected impact from climate change has been identified. NOAA released a report in March that is anything but comforting for those of us that reside on the Eastern Seaboard. As you know, one of the most significant impacts of climate change will be sea level rise. The acceleration of rising seas over the past couple of decades will cause inundation of coastal areas and islands, shoreline erosion, and destruction of important ecosystems such as wetlands and mangroves. As temperatures increase, ‘sea level rises due to a thermal expansion of upper layers of the ocean and melting of glaciers and ice sheets.’ Storm surge will inundate inland coastal areas that have not experienced such flooding before. Alex Harris of the Miami Herald writes: By 2070, most climate models show it could flood every single day, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The remaining models show flooding ever other day. In the report released this week, NOAA said the data reflects a prediction made by the late Margaret Davidson, founder of NOAA’s coastal services center—‘Today’s flood will become tomorrow’s high tide’.”
Pakalolo writes—World's largest high Arctic lake shows startling new evidence of climate change: “Lake Hazen, located on northern Ellesmere Island in Canada’s far north is, by volume, the largest lake north of the Arctic Circle. Arctic indigenous people’s first arrived at Lake Hazen circa 2500 BC. At various times since then, a succession of arctic-adapted cultures, including the modern Inuit, have hunted muskox in the region and fished Lake Hazen’s plentiful population of Arctic Char. Lake Hazen has a maximum depth of 867 feet, a surface area of 335 square miles and a catchment area of 4,260 square miles. ‘The NW half of its catchment is extensively glaciated, while the Hazen Plateau characterized by polar desert tundra lies to the SE. Lake Hazen is an ideal system for examining the impacts of recent climate change on Arctic freshwater ecosystems due to its large size, the variety of ecosystems found within its watershed (including glaciers, tundra, wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems), its location within protected Quttinirpaaq National Park.’ Researchers found that Lake Hazen is reacting rapidly to warming global temperatures in a once stable region of the Arctic.”
OCEANS, WATER, DROUGHT
Besame writes—Daily Bucket: Flow or no? Oroville residents wary of possible water releases down the new spillway: “People living below Lake Oroville are eyeing the Pineapple Express, an atmospheric river pounding Northern California. The 188,000 downstream residents (from Oroville and south for 50 miles) remember last year’s spillway disaster that resulted in their evacuation. Now, one year later, if inflows cause the lake level to reach 830 feet the newly reconstructed spillway must be used for the first time to release water from Lake Oroville. Whether or not this happens depends on how much water flows into the lake and how fast it arrives. The ‘Pineapple Express’ name means the rain originates in the subtropical and tropical Pacific Ocean and is warm. Snow levels were over 11,000 feet (above the highway passes) at the start of the storm Thursday evening. Saturday afternoon, the snow level is expected to lower a few thousand feet. ‘Atmospheric river’ means lots of water with 3 to 7 inches of rain forecasted for the Sierras (the lake’s watershed). Because most of March’s heavy precipitation was cold, it fell as snow above 3,000-5,000 feet elevation and the high Sierra snowpack is 3 to 8 feet deep. Now some of that snow will be hit by warm rain and begin to flow downslope into the lake. This storm should end by Sunday, but another might hit late next week.”
Dan Bacher writes—Metropolitan Water District reverses course on Delta Tunnels again, putting 2 options before Board: “The Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California, one of the key backers of Governor Jerry Brown’s Delta Tunnels project, today changed its position against on whether to finance a two tunnels project or a staged project, with one tunnel to be built first and a second tunnel to be built later. On Monday, MWD general manager Jeff Kightlinger reported in a memo to the board that staff would submit at the board meeting on Tuesday, April 10, a recommendation for the powerful water district to fund its share of a potential first stage of the California WaterFix. This would include two intakes and a single tunnel with a capacity of 6,000 cfs. However, things have changed since Monday. ‘Since then, a number of Metropolitan directors have requested that the option presented at the February 27 board workshop for Metropolitan to finance California WaterFix at a level that would allow the full project to move forward also be brought to the Board for consideration,’ said Kightlinger in today’s memo to Board Members. ‘Accordingly, the board letter that has been posted sets forth both options, with a staff recommendation to express Metropolitan’s support if the Department of Water Resources elects to pursue a staged approach and support of Metropolitan’s participation at up to 47.1% of the project cost,’ he stated.”
Dan Bacher writes—Take action to stop the Delta Tunnels: Call LA Mayor Eric Garcetti! “A new version of Governor Jerry Brown’s Delta Tunnels project has emerged, a staged project consisting of one tunnel built first and another built later when and if the money to construct it becomes available. You can read about the details of the project here: www.dailykos.com/...? The project, officially named the California WaterFix, would be one of the biggest corporate water heists in California history, and residents LIKE YOU would have to pay for it, according to Brenna Norton of Food and Water Watch: ‘Last year you helped us pressure Mayor Garcetti of Los Angeles, and he listened to your concerns by opposing the $17 billion twin tunnels project. Now we need him to oppose a downgraded proposal to build one tunnel for $11 billion! Call Mayor Garcetti at 888-793-4597 and tell him to fight for California by opposing the new version of this tunnel proposal — one tunnel is just as destructive as two and still too expensive!’”
CANDIDATES, STATE AND DC ECO-RELATED POLITICS
poopdogcomedy writes—WV-Sen: Convicted Ex-Massey CEO Behind Biggest Coal Mining Explosion Calls For More Mining Safety: “Wow: A West Virginia GOP Senate candidate, who was convicted in connection with the nation's deadliest coal mining explosion since 1970, is calling for mine safety measures on the eve of the 2010 disaster's eighth anniversary. Don Blankenship was the CEO of Massey Energy at the time of the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion that killed 29 men. The Mine Safety and Health Administration blamed the company for safety violations and assessed $10.8 million in penalties, but Blankenship continues to fault the government. In a lengthy statement Wednesday, Blankenship said natural gas exited the mine after the explosion and he blamed a change in airflow, required by MSHA, for the explosion. To prevent another disaster, he called for better use of technology and dividing MSHA into two separate agencies — one to regulate and another to investigate.”
ENERGY
Fossil Fuels
NoAprilFool writes—Congressman Phil Roe: Environmental Fiddling While Coal Burns: “Roe has repeatedly spoken out against environmental protection regulations. He frequently does so by manipulating voter fears with misleading arguments and economic terror messages. Whether it is toxins from coal or hydraulic fracking, or the Clean Water Act, or the globally important environmental progress represented by the Paris Climate Pact—Roe can be counted upon to pay lip service to environmental values, while keeping his pledge to the Republican-Industrial Complex by voting against environmental regulations and telling us that government is too big and that we just can’t afford to protect our planet the way we wish or the way scientists tell us it needs to be done.”
REGULATIONS & PROTECTIONS
Mark Sumner writes—Trump comes to Pruitt's defense on Twitter—what doing a 'great job' means to Republicans: “On Friday morning, Donald Trump devoted part of his ‘executive time’ to a defense of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
What Trump is spouting here is the official Republican ‘Save Pruitt’ narrative. The narrative that says, ‘Sure Pruitt is pate-deep in paranoid delusions, gets off on staggering wastes of taxpayer money, runs his department like a banana republic and is the poster boy for corruption, but he’s enacting the Trump agenda, so it’s all good.’ But what does that mean? Just how is Pruitt doing ‘a great job’?”
Mark Sumner writes—Scott Pruitt's week in numbers: Cheap rooms, expensive flights and a bulletproof desk: “On Friday morning, Donald Trump devoted part of his ‘executive time’ to a defense of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. [...] What Trump is spouting here is the official Republican ‘Save Pruitt’ narrative. The narrative that says, ‘Sure Pruitt is pate-deep in paranoid delusions, gets off on staggering wastes of taxpayer money, runs his department like a banana republic and is the poster boy for corruption, but he’s enacting the Trump agenda, so it’s all good.’ But what does that mean? Just how is Pruitt doing ‘a great job?’ Well … • He’s destroying the ability of the EPA to address health issues by creating rules that would force scientists to either withhold studies or violate privacy rules. • He’s purging all scientists from the EPA’s scientific advisory boards and replacing them with corporate lobbyists. • He’s keeping toxic pesticides on the market, overriding the report prepared by the EPA’s own researchers. • He says he’s doing ‘God’s work’ by denying climate change. Because he said humans will ‘flourish’ in a warmer climate, and besides, it’s ‘insensitive’ to talk about the damage caused by climate change. • He’s contradicting the agency’s own conclusions on climate change and substituting his own opinions with zero scientific basis. [...] ”
Mark Sumner writes—EPA officials challenged Scott Pruitt's spending and travel—and Pruitt took revenge: “On Thursday afternoon, a story broke that Scott Pruitt once told the agent in charge of his security to use sirens and flashing lights to get him through DC traffic more quickly. When the agent reminded Pruitt that such use in a non-emergency was illegal, Pruitt took revenge, and replaced the agent with someone who would do as he was told, law or no law. Special Agent Eric Weese, a 16-year veteran of the EPA, was replaced by Pasquale ‘Nino’ Perotta. Perrotta now leads Pruitt's unprecedented 24-hour Protective Service Detail, which determined that Pruitt needed to fly in first class because of ‘specific, ongoing threats associated with the Administrator's air travel.’ That single incident … was not a single incident. Because other EPA staff are now coming forward to say that pointing out the rules to Pruitt was a ticket to being moved or demoted.”
Mark Sumner writes—EPA chief Pruitt is standing on the brink—now is the time to push: “Scott Pruitt’s long list of personal indulgences, paranoid antics, and blatant corruption is finally catching up to him. Not even the White House believes the Environmental Protection Agency head’s claims that big raises for two of his Oklahoma buddies were slipped through, over the objection of the White House, without his knowledge. EPA ethics officials didn’t even know about Pruitt’s condo until it hit the news. Despite Pruitt’s insistence that EPA career officials approved his 2017 living arrangement, which went from late February to early August, agency ethics officials weren’t aware of it until news reports late last week. One of Pruitt’s top aides is resigning. Samantha Dravis, the associate administrator of the EPA's office of policy, is considered to be one of the aides closest to Pruitt and has been responsible in the last year for carrying out much of the agency's deregulation policy that has been so controversial.”
Mark Sumner writes—Just as Donald Trump has been waving around the statement of Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee as “proof” that he was in the clear on Russia, Scott Pruitt had a go-to ‘nothing to see here’ pass from the EPA’s top ethics official. EPA on Friday evening released a memo from Kevin Minoli, a career official who serves as EPA’s top ethics expert, clearing Pruitt's lease of any ethical concerns. Minoli wrote that the lease was a ‘reasonable market value,’ and said it authorized Pruitt's immediate family to stay there was well, which they did on unspecified occasions. Except that Minoli was told that Pruitt was renting a single room, with no use of the rest of the townhouse. Which turns out to be … a lie. Pruitt had the run of the place, including a bedroom for his daughter and use of the entire townhouse to host GOP fundraisers. How does what he paid really compare to ‘market rates?’ Here is a map of AirBnB rates in the same neighborhood as the lobbyist’s townhouse. Similar units cost up to $5,000 a month. Pruitt paid $6,100 for his entire six month stay.”
gchaucer2 writes—Three Laws Walk Into a Courtroom. The Perv, Pruitt, Zinke et corrumpere al. Never Read Them: “I’m a bit of an environmental law/regulation geek. Some laws/regulations are complicated and mind numbing; others are simple and almost poetic. The following are three laws which should always be front and center when confronting this maladministration. The battle is in the courts — not the relentless daily declarations that the Perv’s maladministration is doing something horrifying to the environment. They are doing plenty horrifying things in other arenas 1. American Antiquities Act of 1906. The Perv and Zinke only had someone tell them about section one. They ignored Section two. [...] 2. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Congress in 1969 knew how to write a piece of legislation. This short (7 pages on pdf—the above link is not pdf) act is actually poetic in its protection of our environment. It not only is a controlling document for EPA but for ALL federal agencies. [...] 3. The Administrative Procedure Act of 1967 (revised 1999) In particular, besides the definitions section, the most important part is 5 USC Sec. 553 Rulemaking. Please read and comprehend that every newspaper, online, Perv pronouncement about rolling back regulations is not happening immediately.”
Frank Vyan Walton writes—Crony Capitalism: Corporate raider Carl Ichan sits at the center of the Scott Pruitt EPA scandals: “As documented this week by Rachel Maddow it appears that Scott Pruitt was actually vetted and chosen for his position as EPA chief by billionaire corporate raider Carl Ichan and that besides systematically destroying environmental protections he’s also been going out of his way to shovel cargo ship bushel’s of money directly into Ichan’s pockets. [...] Before hiring Pruitt he met with Trump at Trump Tower where he was told to ‘go two blocks down the street to talk to Carl’ which he did and once he received Ichan’s endorsement he was hired. Once you understand Ichan’s links to Pruitt many of his subsequent actions begin to make much more sense. Ichan was brought into the Trump administration as a regulation czar in 2017, but left rather quickly and unceremoniously when it discovered he was using his position to make $100 Millions for himself on the stock market.”
Heavy Mettle writes—Lobbyists Had to Change Locks to Get EPA Head Scott Pruitt Out of Their Rented DC Condo: “Keep leaking, someone: Someone really hates Scott Pruitt, and they keep leaking unflattering information about the EPA administrator to make sure that the rest of the country does, too. The latest leak comes courtesy of Politico, which is reporting that Pruitt was such a poor tenant at his $50-a-night Capitol Hill room that his “disgruntled landlords” had to eventually change the locks on him. Pruitt, Politico reports, was only supposed to live in the condo for six weeks as he got settled in D.C. But when the six weeks were up, he asked the condo’s lobbyist owners if he could stay. This happened repeatedly, and the owners — energy lobbyist Steve Hart and his wife, health-care lobbyist Vicki Hart — ‘began to wonder if he would ever leave’.”
samer writes—More Pruitt "lulz": His $50-a-night landlords had to kick him out: “We’ve all heard about Pruitt’s sweetheart $50 a night deal. (Youth hostels with bunk beds start at $80 a night.) But get this: his landlords—aka the lobbyists he was shilling for—got so tired of him that: The couple, Vicki and Steve Hart, became so frustrated by their lingering tenant that they eventually pushed him out and changed their locks. After trying to nudge Pruitt out of their home over the course of several months, the Harts finally told Pruitt in July that they had plans to rent his room to another tenant.”
jamess writes—Scott Pruitt is an 'expert' in Graft and Corruption: “After spending a career suing the EPA from the outside — Scott Pruitt is now in charge of dismantling the EPA from the inside. But that destructive ‘dream job’ he’s got is not enough — Scott Pruitt wants to bilk the American Taxpayers, for all he’s worth too. [...] Instead of being the Chief of {not} ‘Protecting our Environment’—he should be the Chief of Frivolous Government Expenditures. You know, all those things that Pruitt is really good at. You know, all those things that the Republican Party used to rant against. Now they just quieting accept the Fact, that their Party is being permanently ‘stamped’ as the Party of Graft and Corruption. And the Swamp King is leading them there, with hardly a murmuring word in dissent from {cowardly} conservative water-carriers.”
MTmofo writes—Pruitt flew coach when it was his money paying for airfare: “Along with the list of profligate spending of taxpayers’ dollars to buy his way into the Robin Leach Hall of Shame, now we learn In his first three months in office, before pricey overseas trips to Italy and Morocco, the price tag for Pruitt’s security detail hit more than $832,000, according to EPA documents released through a public information request. Nearly three dozen EPA security and law enforcement agents were assigned to Pruitt, according to a summary of six weeks of weekly schedules obtained by Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. [...] On weekend trips home for Sooners football games, when taxpayers weren’t paying for his ticket, the EPA official said Pruitt flew coach. He sometimes used a ‘buddy pass’ obtained with frequent flyer miles accumulated by Ken Wagner, a former law partner whom Pruitt hired as a senior adviser at EPA at a salary of more than $172,000. Taxpayers still covered the airfare for the administrator’s security detail.”
ursulafaw writes—Trump Says He's Got Scott Pruitt's Back -- All The Better To Put A Knife In It, Like The Others: “Donald Trump didn’t have any official meetings scheduled for Wednesday, which meant doubled up ‘executive time’ which translates as lots of cable news watching and that may not bode too well for embattled EPA head Scott Pruitt. Even the conservative Tulsa World made an editorial comment today, via this cartoon, about Pruitt’s future. Maybe Tillerson, McMaster and Shulkin can use a fourth for bridge? [...] But the White House made it clear Wednesday that President Donald Trump is not pleased with all the negative headlines surrounding him. Pruitt's challenges appeared to deepen when White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders — asked why Trump is ‘OK’ with the EPA administrator renting a condo from a lobbyist for $50 a night — responded that ‘the president’s not.’ ‘We’re reviewing the situation,’ she said, adding: ‘The president thinks that he’s done a good job, particularly on the deregulation front. But again, we take this seriously and we’re looking into it and we'll let you know when we finish’."
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—Scott Pruitt and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: “According to one anonymous administration official, Trump called Pruitt yesterday morning to show his support for the embattled EPA administrator. Trump reportedly told Pruitt ‘keep your head up’ and ‘keep fighting,’ and ‘we have your back.’ However, given the White House’s history of having people’s backs publicly and then sending them packing, speculation has started about who would replace Pruitt. More than 20 members of Congress have called on Pruitt to resign, and yesterday two Republicans joined the chorus. At this point, it’s hard to imagine someone who could be worse in the job, but we’re keeping a watchful eye on Andrew Wheeler, currently in line to be confirmed as deputy administrator. Emily Atkin at the New Republic calls Wheeler ‘a more extreme choice to lead the agency than Pruitt.’ Wheeler, a coal lobbyist and former Inhofe aide, has a history of denying climate science and has been accused of abusing his power to go after opponents. He was confirmed by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in February but has yet to have a full confirmation hearing.”
NewsCorpse writes—Was EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Ambushed on FOX News Under Orders From Donald Trump? “Every now and then somebody on Fox News strays from the herd and does or says something critical of Donald Trump. It's a rare event that is mostly confined to outliers like Shepard Smith or a courageous guest. In most cases it is treated as the aberration that it is and quickly buried under the rush of Fox's typical pro-Trump propaganda. On Wednesday, however, the criticism came from an unlikely source. Ed Henry, the chief national correspondent for Fox News, interviewed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Scott Pruitt (video below). In what Pruitt must have assumed would be a friendly media encounter, he was surprised by the aggressive tone of Henry's inquiries. The questions addressed some of the most controversial scandals that have erupted during his tenure at the EPA. Henry asked Pruitt why he went around Trump to give two top aides raises after the President refused the request. When Pruitt said that it was staffers who did that and that he didn't know anything about it, Henry pushed back asking Pruitt to confirm that he didn't know what was going on in the department he was supposedly running.”
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & GARDENING
kishik writes—Saturday Morning Garden Blogging Vol 14.14 ~ How you do April: “10 degrees at this time of year makes a big difference. They updated the forecast for next week forecast (thank goodness!) because it was previously showing night temps in the upper twenties to mid-30s. PLUS as of the writing of this diary, they took back the 3-5” snow forecast for April 7 (yay!!) While last year’s April-is-May weather was not usual, neither is this month’s April-is-March weather. I’m just hoping that we don’t get May-is-April weather that we got last year. And yes, I’m one of those that somehow never has time to clear up her photos in her phone, so I have all these weather forecast snapshots from years past! 5-10 degrees difference affects how some plants grow and develop at the start of spring.”
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Meteor Blades writes—Under Pruitt, EPA's sloppy effort to gut eco-rules gets headlines, but is faring poorly in court: “While Environmental Protection Agency-hating EPA chief Scott Pruitt is mostly in the news these days for his free-spending of taxpayers’ money and his ethically twisted behavior, actions that have sparked a growing call for him to resign, the former Oklahoma attorney general continues to launch sorties against environmental and energy-related rules the Trump regime wants to roll back as a favor to its corporate puppeteers. Environmental advocates are justifiably appalled. But they are also cheered a bit by the incompetence being displayed in the rollback efforts. As Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman report, the sloppiness with which Pruitt and his team are presenting their arguments for diluting or demolishing eco-rules isn’t making the grade in court. Judges have rejected six Pruitt attempts to reverse Obama-era regulations—including those on lead paint and methane emissions—and more rejections are probably on the way.”
ClimateDenierRoundup writes—For the EPA, Denier Science is A-OK to Roll Back Clean Car Standards: “We’ve known for some time that the EPA would challenge the current CAFE standards, which call for passenger cars for model years 2022-25 to meet a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Less of a given were the reasons the EPA would cite for the rollback. The EPA expressed concern this week for consumer cost, choice, and safety, but the agency’s decision comes after months of lobbying on the part of the Auto Alliance. Since Trump took office, the Auto Alliance — which represents 12 major automakers and 70% of all car and light truck sales in the U.S. — has been pestering the administration to rollback current CAFE standards. [...] In February 2018, the Alliance submitted a report — written by industry shills with ties to the Heartland Institute and General Motors — to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is responsible for proposing new CAFE rules. The report called into question the impacts of climate change and tailpipe pollutants in an effort to undercut the need for fuel economy regulation.”