On Monday , the Washington Post reports that EPA head Scott Pruitt was behindthe dismissal of halfof the members of the authority ’s Board of Science Counselors . The 18 - member board oversees the rigor and integrity of the scientific research guiding policy decisions coming out of the EPA , from climate alteration to aura pollution . Even more alarming , a spokesman for the EPA told the New York Times their successor may berepresentatives from the foul industriesthemselves . While the move has shock some environmentalists , it seems completely in line with Pruitt ’s longstandinggoal of curtail the EPA’sregulatory power from within .
The Board of Science Counselors has 18 members , at least five of whom were dismissed on Friday . dining table members are typically spat scientists from universities . The dismissed members admit Courtney Flint , a Utah State University investigator studying rural sociology and innate resources , and Ponisseril Somasundaran , a Columbia Univeristy mineral engineer researching hazardous waste management . The member were told via email that their three - year terms on the board , which had just expired , would not be renew . Former board appendage Robert Richardson an associate professor at Michigan State University ’s Department of Community Sustainability , tweetedFriday “ Today , I ’ve been Trumped . ”
An EPA spokesman tell The Washington Post that the display panel members whose terminal figure were not renewed arefree to reapplyfor their billet “ in the same open competitive process as the rest of the applicant puddle ” which may include industry official from timber , poultry and oil party . Thespokesman toldThe New York Times “ The executive believes we should have people on this plug-in who understand the impact of regularization on the regulated biotic community . ”
Pruitt ’s life history has long focused on both obfuscating climate science and trying to stuff environmental regulation . As Attorney General of Oklahoma , Pruitt stood by representative from fossil fuel industries multiple times ashe sued the EPAto cylinder block regulations . The nearly$240,000he’sreceived in donation moneyfrom polluting industry was cause for alarum during his confirmation auditory modality . Now , these diligence will potentially have an even great influence on the EPA ’s ability to formalize any regularisation by weighing in on the unity of the science used to develop policies in the first place .
In his poor time as EPA administrator , Pruitt has already taken major steps toward reducing the agency ’s ability to protect the environment . drop experts who could gainsay the scientific basis for his determination might sound uncheerful , but it ’s wholly consistent with everything else we ’ve seen so far . A causal monitor here that neither Pruitt nor our presidentis certain human activitycauses worldwide warming .
We ’ve reach out to the EPA to support exactly how many scientific discipline advisor are being absent and will update if and when we pick up back . Maybe we ’ll get lucky and only one-half of the scientific advisors for the most muscular environmental regulatory consistence in the country will have doubtful ties to fogey fuel industries ?
[ The Washington Post&The New York Times ]
ClimateClimate changeSciencescott pruitt
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