Trump Administration
Is Venezuela a “War For Oil”?
It’s an overused cliche, but there is one way in which oil might figure in the recent illegal war: go to Africa to see it
One of the more annoying phrases in the political chant lexicon is “No War For Oil!!” Oil is the mainstay of the world, and the American, economy: blocking supplies of it could be a perfectly legitimate casus belli. In addition, many times when protestors attack a war as being “for oil” they are actually wrong: …
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CONTINUE READINGStuck in the swamp?
Proposed Trump revisions to the definition of “waters of the United States” would reduce wetlands protections, but may (mostly) be required by the Supreme Court.
The Trump Administration has a proposed rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” for the Clean Water Act (comment period closing on Monday, if you want to get your two cents in). The definition is important (and has been the subject of a lot of litigation) because it defines the scope of …
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CONTINUE READINGPing-pong government and the ESA
Recent proposed revisions for the ESA just reset the clock to 2020.
The Trump Administration in November proposed revisions to the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Normally, I would try to do a thoughtful review of the changes and what I think their implications are. But that is really not necessary this time, since what the Administration is proposing is to undo Biden Administration changes …
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CONTINUE READINGVeto trouble
Trump’s veto of consensus legislation is trouble for future bipartisan permitting reform.
This week, President Trump vetoed two pieces of legislation, his first vetoes of his second term. There were two unusual points about these vetoes – even for this Administration. First, the bills in question were small, local matters. One bill involved a water project to benefit rural southeastern Colorado. The other bill expanded the scope …
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CONTINUE READINGKick Him In The Tender Parts
Why in the world does New York still have the Donald J. Trump State Park?
You might have missed it, but while most normal Americans were celebrating the New Year, Donald Trump continued his serial ransacking of public spaces and buildings. On New Year’s Eve, the Administration announced the cancelling of leases of three DC golf courses, with the intention of transferring the leases to the Trump Organization. As golf …
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CONTINUE READINGSome Good News To Close Out This Year
Despite the Trump Administration’s attempts to bring the world into the dark ages, lots of light is blazing
I’m a pretty pessimistic guy. Finding the dark cloud behind the silver lining is something of a specialty for me. But maybe at the end of an atrocious year for environmental law and policy in the United States, we should look for the good news, and thanks to the good people at Canary Media, there …
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CONTINUE READINGThat Was the Year That Was
2025 had a lot of bad environmental news, but also a few rays of hope.
2025 has been a dark time for Americanswho care about the environment. Rather than being a repeat of his first term, which had been bad enough environmentally, Trump’s second term has been a tsunami of bad news. Besides some outright rollbacks, Trump has done his best to purge the government of programs and people implementing environmental law. Much of that has been illegal but effective anyway. The demolition of the East Wing will be remembered as a defining moment, the perfect metaphor for an Administration that has religiously embraced the motto, “move fast and break things.”
CONTINUE READINGNEPA and Democracy
The Trump Administration is at war with transparency and public input.
The Administration is out to limit public oversight of government actions that, taken alone or as a group, will have major environmental impacts – notably, oil production, coal mining, nuclear reactors, and pipelines. Congress will also have less visibility into these important decisions. People are often impatient about procedures that slow decision making, sometimes properly so. But the solution is not a secretive decision-making process. If it’s true that democracy dies in darkness, it’s also true that ugly things rawl out of the woodwork when the lights are off.
CONTINUE READINGPoisoning the well
Trump Administration “pause” on offshore wind projects undermines prospect of permitting deal
Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced that it was “pausing” construction for the five major offshore wind projects on the East Coast, based on “national security” grounds – because of the possibility that wind turbines can interfere with radar operations. This announcement is, to say the least, not helpful for current permitting reform discussions. It emphasizes …
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CONTINUE READINGGames Deregulators Play
Here are the five moves the Trump EPA consistently uses to justify deregulation.
If you start reading the Trump Administration’s arguments for deregulation, a repetitive feeling soon sets in. Every deregulation is different, of course, but there are stock arguments that seem to surface again and again.These arguments have a distortion effect, blurring the benefits of regulations while magnifying their costs.
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