From Dale Jamieson at NYU, scholar on law, environment, philosophy, politics
intersection:
I was asked by a reporter today for an opinion on trump's designation of Scott
Pruitt as EPA administrator. I avoid making statements in which I might be
thought intemperate, but in this case I think the risk is worth taking. i don't
know how much play it will get, but here is my statement.
Trump’s designation of Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator sets a new standard of
irresponsibility. Like some of Trump’s other designated appointees, Pruitt has
no demonstrated competence for the position he is supposed to hold; his
attitudes towards (and apparent knowledge of) science would disqualify him from
many positions in the world of environmental policy. Unlike some other Trump
appointees of questionable competence, Pruitt is intellectually and politically
committed to destroying the very agency that he is supposed to administer, and
to undermining the laws it was created to uphold. Appointing him as EPA
administrator is like appointing an education-despising illiterate as Secretary
of Education, a pacifist as Secretary of Defense, or an active racist to the US
Commission on Civil Rights. The only precedent I can think of is Reagan’s
appointment of Anne Gorsuch as EPA administrator, who was forced out of office
by a Republican Senate after 22 months in office. We’ll see what kind of
courage and integrity today’s Republican senators have.
**********************
Dale Jamieson
Professor of Environmental Studies and Philosophy
Affiliated Professor of Law, Affiliated Professor of Medical Ethics
Chair, Department of Environmental Studies
New York University
Gerald C. Nelson
Professor Emeritus, UIUC
+1 217-390-7888 (cell)
+1 970-639-2079 (land line)
http://bit.ly/1arho7d
From: <envreseconepa-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of "Nelson, Gerald C"
<gnelson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: "envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 5:04 PM
To: "envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [envreseconepa] Re: New EPA Administrator
The DOD and intelligence agencies have done a lot of work on the need to
prepare for the consequences of climate change. A few links of relevance.
Almost all of Naval Air Station Oceana and Marine Corps Base Quantico sit
safely more than 9 feet above the local high tide line. But 13 percent of Naval
Station Norfolk – the world’s largest naval complex – lies below 5 feet.
http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/uploads/ssrf/VA-Report.pdf
Here’s a link to an NRC study
https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12914/national-security-implications-of-climate-change-for-us-naval-forces<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nap.edu_catalog_12914_national-2Dsecurity-2Dimplications-2Dof-2Dclimate-2Dchange-2Dfor-2Dus-2Dnaval-2Dforces&d=DQMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=U_yoTzpF5FX7LaYgWCwCRwOLG6cISFwSbZSa1jSPRYg&m=nvyXRVGAHJpLegGx_LpTBpzfh3-Od6gdZNiPcHZdKWA&s=ZEKEWuXUexecrdg4G3dTJ2OA2U3aFMn6kuhldJJD7Lk&e=>.
A link to a National Intelligence Council page about some reports it
commissioned on climate change -
https://www.dni.gov/index.php/about/organization/national-intelligence-council-nic-publications/the-impact-of-climate-change-to-2030-commissioned-research-and-conference-reports<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.dni.gov_index.php_about_organization_national-2Dintelligence-2Dcouncil-2Dnic-2Dpublications_the-2Dimpact-2Dof-2Dclimate-2Dchange-2Dto-2D2030-2Dcommissioned-2Dresearch-2Dand-2Dconference-2Dreports&d=DQMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=U_yoTzpF5FX7LaYgWCwCRwOLG6cISFwSbZSa1jSPRYg&m=nvyXRVGAHJpLegGx_LpTBpzfh3-Od6gdZNiPcHZdKWA&s=kAmcqANAeB5kA9x6j0JVvUsQJ7dFqDjrHJon_6HQbkc&e=>.
Re water, I live in Western Colorado and 70% of the water in the river runs
right by my house. 2010 projections are for a 10 % decline in flow from higher
evaporation. I can find a reference for the figure if it would be useful.
[cid:image001.png@01D2517C.57AA7870]
Gerald C. Nelson
Professor Emeritus, UIUC
+1 217-390-7888 (cell)
+1 970-639-2079 (land line)
http://bit.ly/1arho7d<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1arho7d&d=DQMGaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=U_yoTzpF5FX7LaYgWCwCRwOLG6cISFwSbZSa1jSPRYg&m=nvyXRVGAHJpLegGx_LpTBpzfh3-Od6gdZNiPcHZdKWA&s=eO15AD0KpTt-M1jJRzJOeUW3npgJ4eFbSxZNXPjOZJ4&e=>
From: <envreseconepa-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Ashley Camhi
<alcamhi@xxxxxxx>
Reply-To: "envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 4:30 PM
To: "envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <envreseconepa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [envreseconepa] Re: New EPA Administrator
I like the idea of writing an op-ed, I can commit to working on something for
the Arizona Republic.
I've been thinking about how to deal with or address McCain and there may be
something to doing some research on the impact to military bases from rising
sea levels and the increase in natural disasters. I'm sure a lot of that's
already been done but I could pull it together into some kind of report.
Another big issue in Arizona is of course water and there are plenty of climate
models that show the impact that climate change is going to have on the
increasing population in Arizona. I'm not sure if he would be receptive but
that was the angle that came to mind.
Ashley
On Dec 8, 2016 6:11 PM, "Thomas Lyon"
<tplyon@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:tplyon@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
John McCain sponsored the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act of 2003 that
passed the Senate. So he clearly used to be on the side of science. Over
time, though, he seems to have flipflopped.
In a February 2010 Arizona radio interview, after the host had made lengthy
comments claiming that “80 percent” of global warming science “is based on
fraud and misinformation,” McCain, who had previously countered such inaccurate
statements, made no correction. He also denied ever having supported
cap-and-trade.
He has also called the Waxman-Markey bill in the House (which was very similar
to McCain-Lieberman) "appear[ing] to be a cap & tax bill that I won't support"
So I am not so sure McCain is much of a climate champion any more.
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 3:41 PM, Baldwin,EC
<E.C.Baldwin@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:E.C.Baldwin@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Shouldn't John McCain be on the list? He's sponsored acts in the past.
On the organisational issue, "slack" is excellent for team work. It's an
enhancement of IRC, allowing you to peel off into separate conversations,
attach files, etc, while keeping out of people's inboxes, so people can dip in
and out as works for them (you can @ individuals if you do need their
attention). I think a lot of companies use it internally, so it must be fairly
secure.
Elizabeth Baldwin
Sent from my phone -- apologies for any typos
On 8 Dec 2016 20:31, Ashley Camhi <alcamhi@xxxxxxx<mailto:alcamhi@xxxxxxx>>
wrote:
Would anyone be willing to reach out to notable professors in these three
states to get them to join the listserve? That way we can begin to have a
coordinated effort. I am not sure that as we continue a listserve is the best
way to organize, but I think it is good for our initial discussions. If you
have thoughts of a better mode of communication (e.g. closed facebook page or
something to that nature) I would be more than happy to put something together.
Ashley
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 3:24 PM, Shana McDermott
<shanamcdermott@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:shanamcdermott@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I recently became involved with Citizens Climate Lobby and they seem to be
(relatively) successful in their use of techniques that Rick mentioned i.e.
craft articles for public news media develop legislative contacts at the
federal level. With this in mind, I am willing to write articles for my
local/regional newspaper and meet with local representatives. If others are
also interested in also doing this, then perhaps:
1. it would be a good idea to make a list of possible high-impact newspaper
article ideas. Or run ideas by each other on this forum.
2. those who have experience effectively communicating with a political
representative could provide insights and tips on how to proceed. This is
especially relevant and timely for people in ME and OH who could contact Susan
Collins or Rob Portman as Tom mentioned.
Shana
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 2:20 PM, Thomas Lyon
<tplyon@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:tplyon@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Following up on my own post, I found this article from just before the
election:
https://thinkprogress.org/these-republican-lawmakers-are-turning-to-climate-action-to-help-keep-their-seats-7b9b3893c9de#.x5f51vi5t<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__thinkprogress.org_these-2Drepublican-2Dlawmakers-2Dare-2Dturning-2Dto-2Dclimate-2Daction-2Dto-2Dhelp-2Dkeep-2Dtheir-2Dseats-2D7b9b3893c9de-23.x5f51vi5t&d=DQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=U_yoTzpF5FX7LaYgWCwCRwOLG6cISFwSbZSa1jSPRYg&m=YNj95z7a9BabIJWED-kQeetX7mwmnRbOaWtPlCvpzOc&s=uvt8z5pexIHMNorg33xKDB90eHOPQkaBH2Ec29Eums8&e=>
It indicates that the following Republican Senators have broken with their
party's head-in-the-sand denialism on climate:
Lindsey Graham (SC)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Kelly Ayotte (NH)
Susan Collins (ME)
Rob Portman (OH)
Mark Kirk and Kelly Ayotte lost to Democrats, so the obvious Senators to target
are
Lindsey Graham
Susan Collins
Rob Portman
Tom
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 3:15 PM, Thomas Lyon
<tplyon@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:tplyon@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I heard on the news today that Senator Schatz (D-HI) is going to grill Pruitt
and make his confirmation difficult. Since the filibuster has been eliminated
for Cabinet appointments, confirmations will stand on a majority vote.
However, the new Senate will have 48 Democrats, so it will take just 3
Republican Senators to vote NO on Pruitt.
If we could identify 3 Republican Senators who are not climate deniers and
lobby them hard...who knows?
Tom
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 2:47 PM, Rick Casey
<caseyrick@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:caseyrick@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
This is one idea I had:
Inside the EPA administration, can we identify those next in the chain of
command, and communicate to the concerned academic community how we might begin
communicating with them on how to resist the faulty policy directives that are
sure to come from this new director.
In other words, this would be an infiltration action taken for the good of the
people and the environment. I suspect much of the staff at the EPA will not
like these policy directives either, and will want to actively resist
implementing them. I am wondering if the academic community can build public
support for them, by publicizing and criticizing the directives and the
specific EPA staff that are instructed to carry them out. This could be a
combination of articles in public news media, contact with legislative
representatives at all levels of government, and other regulatory agencies, to
make the public as aware as possible how ill advised and unpopular the policies
actually are.
The analogy is to war crimes, where soldiers have the right to resist criminal
orders from commanding officers. Another analogy is the Irish resistance that
actively infiltrated the British police during its occupation of northern
Ireland, in order to get intelligence on planned actions, and anticipate them.
Just a thought....
Rick Casey
Lafayette, CO
On Thu, Dec 8, 2016 at 11:26 AM, Ashley Camhi
<alcamhi@xxxxxxx<mailto:alcamhi@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
As many of you know the new head of the EPA was announced yesterday - Scott
Pruitt, Oklahoma Attorney General.
Here are a few reference articles:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/07/trump-names-scott-pruitt-oklahoma-attorney-general-suing-epa-on-climate-change-to-head-the-epa/?utm_term=.676974035f44<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.washingtonpost.com_news_energy-2Denvironment_wp_2016_12_07_trump-2Dnames-2Dscott-2Dpruitt-2Doklahoma-2Dattorney-2Dgeneral-2Dsuing-2Depa-2Don-2Dclimate-2Dchange-2Dto-2Dhead-2Dthe-2Depa_-3Futm-5Fterm-3D.676974035f44&d=DQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=U_yoTzpF5FX7LaYgWCwCRwOLG6cISFwSbZSa1jSPRYg&m=YNj95z7a9BabIJWED-kQeetX7mwmnRbOaWtPlCvpzOc&s=c3-hbl3taER6oOgMscGhN5mZdyEuvKBCuj_6WdpmoJw&e=>
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-trump.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2016_12_07_us_politics_scott-2Dpruitt-2Depa-2Dtrump.html-3Frref-3Dcollection-252Fsectioncollection-252Fearth-26action-3Dclick-26contentCollection-3Dearth-26region-3Drank-26module-3Dpackage-26version-3Dhighlights-26contentPlacement-3D2-26pgtype-3Dsectionfront&d=DQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=U_yoTzpF5FX7LaYgWCwCRwOLG6cISFwSbZSa1jSPRYg&m=YNj95z7a9BabIJWED-kQeetX7mwmnRbOaWtPlCvpzOc&s=MOwXOiaKV0ms5Hdfona-pG9QREVIUgRtbYP-tfTaTVg&e=>
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/opinion/an-enemy-of-the-epa-to-head-it.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nytimes.com_2016_12_07_opinion_an-2Denemy-2Dof-2Dthe-2Depa-2Dto-2Dhead-2Dit.html-3Faction-3Dclick-26pgtype-3DHomepage-26clickSource-3Dstory-2Dheading-26module-3Dopinion-2Dc-2Dcol-2Dleft-2Dregion-26region-3Dopinion-2Dc-2Dcol-2Dleft-2Dregion-26WT.nav-3Dopinion-2Dc-2Dcol-2Dleft-2Dregion-26-5Fr-3D0&d=DQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=U_yoTzpF5FX7LaYgWCwCRwOLG6cISFwSbZSa1jSPRYg&m=YNj95z7a9BabIJWED-kQeetX7mwmnRbOaWtPlCvpzOc&s=fySKsala7-9ESh0qjEC_MO43FhnQjjsoqLXsybwHzHM&e=>
I really think this is a good group for discussion and action. It would be
great to get this conversation started up once again now that we know who will
be in charge. Now let's think about what we can do.
Thanks,
Ashley
--
Ashley L. Camhi
Doctoral Candidate
Center for Biology & Society
EcoServices Lab
School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University
--
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[http://d13pix9kaak6wt.cloudfront.net/signature/me-badge.png]
Rick Casey
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--
Thomas P. Lyon
Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Policy
Ross School of Business
School of Natural Resources and Environment
University of Michigan
701 Tappan St., Room 6366
Ann Arbor, MI 48409
734-615-1639<tel:734-615-1639>
--
Thomas P. Lyon
Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Policy
Ross School of Business
School of Natural Resources and Environment
University of Michigan
701 Tappan St., Room 6366
Ann Arbor, MI 48409
734-615-1639<tel:734-615-1639>
--
_________________________
Shana M. McDermott, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Economics
Trinity University
(860)989-6202<tel:%28860%29989-6202>
--
Ashley L. Camhi
Doctoral Candidate
Center for Biology & Society
EcoServices Lab
School of Life Sciences
Arizona State University
--
Thomas P. Lyon
Dow Chair of Sustainable Science, Technology and Policy
Ross School of Business
School of Natural Resources and Environment
University of Michigan
701 Tappan St., Room 6366
Ann Arbor, MI 48409
734-615-1639<tel:(734)%20615-1639>