Trump says he will allow commercial fishing in national monument
An Antiquities Act edition of "can he do that"?
On June 5, President Trump issued a "Proclamation on Modifying The Northeast Canyons And Seamounts Marine National Monument." This Proclamation follows a court defeat for opponents of the National Monument -- the DC Circuit last year dismissed a claim by commercial fishing interests that the National Monument was unlawfully designated. Trump's Proclamation purports to modify President Obama's 2016 Proclamation creating the National Monument. The Obama Proclamation...
CONTINUE READINGIt’s just a start, necessary and long overdue
A February report shows green NGOs are adding diversity, but still have a long way to go
The callous killing of George Floyd by a white police officer; the shooting of Breonna Taylor in her bed by police executing a no-knock warrant; the pursuit and murder of black jogger Ahmaud Arbery by white vigilantes; a white woman calling police to intimidate black birder Christian Cooper, who asked her to follow Central Park dog leash rules. The confluence of these widely reported events makes it impossible to ignore how different the lives of black people in America ...
CONTINUE READINGNEPA, emergencies and executive power
Once more we need to ask, can Trump do what he claims to be doing?
Late Thursday, the White House issued another in a seemingly endless series of administrative orders. Under the typically overblown title "EO on Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities," it was touted by the President's team as a way to speed infrastructure permitting and another step in the anti-regulatory agenda they have pursued since Trump's inauguration. It is intende...
CONTINUE READING(Still More) Bad News on the Doorstep
New Reports Document Accelerating Wildlife Extinctions, Global Deforestation Trends
While public attention in recent weeks and months has understandably focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial justice shockwaves triggered by George Floyd's tragic death, another disaster continues apace. This week the New York Times published two alarming stories documenting the accelerating decline of our global environment. The first, entitled "Extinctions Are Accelerating, Threatening Even Human Life," focuses on a new scientific report published by...
CONTINUE READINGAnother Casualty of US Withdrawal from the WHO: The Environment
Unbeknownst to many, the WHO does important work on pollution problems.
Withdrawing from international cooperation in the midst of global pandemic is an idea that’s just as bad as it sounds. President Trump's decision to withdraw from the WOrld Health Organization (WHO) withdrawal will also be harmful in other ways. Notably, a major component of the WHO’s work involves the health impacts of pollution and dangerous chemicals. Air pollution is an important focus of the WHO’s work. Appallingly poor air quality in the mega-cities of t...
CONTINUE READINGWe All Have a Role in This Fight
Those who fight for the environment must fight for racial justice, as well.
All people have a moral obligation to express outrage about the disgraceful violence against African Americans and about the systemic racism that feeds it. Even more so if one considers oneself to be an environmentalist. A key component of an ecological perspective is an understanding of the interconnection of all living things. Violence against some is violence against all. An important rationale for environmental action is to protect the health and safety of the planet...
CONTINUE READINGGreen in Black and White
It's Time to Show Up
My favorite opening line from any Earth Day speech ever was this: “Today, black and white, yellow and brown, we are all green.” The speech was delivered three decades ago; the place was Times Square; and the speaker was David Dinkins, New York City’s first (and to date, only) African-American mayor. How I wish his words were, then or now, description rather than aspiration. That our common earth-saving cause created a bridge across chasms of race and class ...
CONTINUE READINGFailures of the Heart
Does anyone in the Administration actually care about police killings? Or public health? Or future generations?
"I REALLY DON'T CARE DO U?" That slogan embodies much about the Trump Administration. That includes Trump's response to the death of George Floyd and the ensuing demonstrations. But it includes much else. Including police killings and the coronavirus. "I REALLY DON'T CARE DO U?" is emblazoned on a jacket of Melania Trump's. She wore the jacket on a trip to see children who had been torn away from their parents by immigration authorities. The message seemed obvious. ...
CONTINUE READINGTrees Will *Not* Solve Climate Change
The authors of a controversial, influential paper backtrack -- again
Last summer, I pointed to a then-new paper in Science that concluded that planting trees could remove two-thirds of historical anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere at very low costs. At the time, I characterized the claims in it and the associated media communications as "misleading, if not false, as well as potentially dangerous." I stand by that statement, and the authors have backtracked, not once, but twice. To catch up: The paper's original ...
CONTINUE READINGElection 2020: The Battle for the Senate
Control of the Senate will determine the environmental views of new judges and whether any environmental legislation can pass.
Control of the Senate will have a big impact on post-2020 policy in many areas, notably including the environment (and climate policy in particular). Right now, as best as I can tell, the Republicans still have a small edge, but that edge may be eroding. To get a sense of the state of play in the battle for the Senate, I looked at two well-respected forecasters, Cook Political and Larry Sabato. Democrats need a net gain of three seats if Biden wins (because his Veep...
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