GOP eases limits on seven major air pollutants: Party over People

Once again, the GOP has put party and profits over people.  The Republican-led Senate approved to overturn an EPA rule that limited some of the most hazardous air pollutants emitted by heavy industry. 

For the first time in the 55-year history of the Clean Air Act, Congress has weakened the rules on emitting seven pollutants.

Republican Senator John Curtis introduced the resolution, saying it “disincentivized” companies to deploy new technology to reduce pollution. He said the rule passed by the Biden Administration “shut the door on progress”.

Of course, Lee Zeldin, Environmental Pollution Agency Administrator, who lives in a fantasy world, said it won’t have adverse impacts on health or the environment.

Just FYI, here are the seven pollutants named in the resolution and their impacts on health.

Alkyllead compounds – Most common are tetraethyllead and tetramethyllead used as gasoline additives.  Neurotoxins, more toxic than inorganic forms of lead.  Lead adversely affects almost every organ of the body.

Polycyclic organic matter (POM) – A class of compounds that includes hundreds of chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.healtheffects.org/system/files/SR16-Polycyclic_Organic_Matter.pdf

Mercury – Seriously?

Hexachlorobenzene – Shown to cause death, systemic, neurological, developmental, endocrine, and immunological toxicity in humans. One of the “dirty dozen” chemicals outlawed by the Stockholm Convention in 2001.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp90-c2.pdf

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) – Manufacturing was banned in 1979.  Possible carcinogen.

https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/learn-about-polychlorinated-biphenyls#healtheffects

 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofurans (TCDF) – 100% fatal if swallowed,  allowed to come in contact with skin, or inhaled.

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/2_3_7_8-Tetrachlorodibenzofuran#section=Safety-and-Hazards

2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin – Linked to liver injury, dysbiosis, and heart defects

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/2_3_7_8-Tetrachlorodibenzofuran#section=Associated-Disorders-and-Diseases

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-votes-to-overturn-epa-rule-limits-7-hazardous-air-pollutants-clean-air-act/

 

 

Federal judge sees through Zeldin's lies

 

Tuesday, US District Judge Tonya Chutkan blocked the tRump’s Environmental Pollution Agency from ending $14 billion dollars in grants awarded to three climate groups: Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities.  The groups work towards long-term solutions for clean energy and climate-friendly projects.

Last week, EPA administrator/climate change denier/anti-science Lee Zeldin announced the funds would be frozen in what he called a “gold-bar” scheme.  He went onto say the grants “raises significant concerns and poser unacceptable risk”. 

However, Zeldin failed to prove any of his accusations. Judge Chutkan ruled the EPA have not explained why terminating the grants was a rational precursor to reviewing the green bank program, which is where the funds for the groups are kept.

She also said Zeldin’s “vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient”.

In less than two months, Zeldin has tried to show he is on the side of the people by telling us he is saving our tax dollars. Each time, his lies prove he is not a champion for the people nor the environment. 

 https://apnews.com/article/epa-green-bank-zeldin-climate-trump-380000b014480350b35b7b53bd14e277#

https://apnews.com/article/epa-green-bank-zeldin-climate-trump-5168d11b7f63aeaf72001b50221c3c19

EPA Administrator Zeldin lies about carbon dioxide emissions, climate change.

 

 Environmental Pollution Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin didn’t waste time when he came out spreading lies and touting himself as the champion of the “Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative.  He claims that tRump had been outspoken about his desire for people “to access clean air and clean water”.

However, this administration clearly has other plans. 

“Emissions went down during the [first] Trump presidency,” Zeldin said. 

This is a lie.  Emissions dipped during 2020, but that was due to the lockdown during the pandemic.  CO2 emissions have continued to rise over the past 50 years and do not show any signs of slowing.  The United States is the second highest producer of CO2 behind China. 

The timelines of those predictions of “climate change” ending the world have “come and gone,” Zeldin said, and the world is still here.

No, Zeldin.  Another lie.  The predictions of climate change are for the future.  There was no deadline, no “ending of the world” talk.  You made that up.  CO2 emissions have not peaked.  Climate change is real, and it isn’t going away, thanks to you and FOTUS.

While Zeldin talks about clean air, he has proposed rollbacks for car emissions, favoring fossil-fuel burning vehicles, and complaining that electric cars are an obsession with electric vehicles.  What does fElon say about that?

Zeldin also commented”

that Americans who want to be able to go out and purchase a gas-powered vehicle would have that option denied to them by the government

Who has been denied the purchase of a gas-powered vehicle?

Say good-bye to clean air, clean water, clean soil, and clean energy.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/epa-takes-aim-water-air-toxics-protections-part/story?id=119733125

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/icymi-administrator-zeldins-powering-great-american-comeback-unveiled-epa

https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions

https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions?insight=global-emissions-have-increased-rapidly-over-the-last-50-years-and-have-not-yet-peaked#key-insights

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298441/annual-global-methane-emissions/

 

Supreme Court rules against public health, allowing San Francisco to discharge raw sewage in drinking water

 

It didn’t take long for the tRump Supreme Court to begin its campaign of rolling back protections for the public in favor of big corporations.  Announced March 4, the Supreme Court has ruled the Environmental Protection Agency has “overstepped” its authority under the Clean Water Act.  The Republican-controlled Supreme Court voted 5-4 in favor of San Francisco, saying “the agency has adequate tools to obtain needed information from permittees without resorting to ‘end result’ permits.  The Guardian reports that “end result’ is a new term coined by the court.

That means the Supreme Court MADE IT UP!

The court said the EPA overstepped its authority with water pollution permits that contain vague requirements for maintaining water quality, preferring specific requirements.  The permit in question was to limit generic discharges of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean after heavy rains.

Raw sewage?  Who wants any E. coli or fecal matter in their drinking water.  What part of ZERO do they not understand?  Any level of those contaminants can be harmful. I agree that it might be difficult to limit discharges after heavy rains but to relieve San Francisco of any responsibility is reckless and dangerous. 

Amy Coney Barrett was the only conservative to dissent.  Not surprising, Neil Gorusch voted in favor of rolling back protections.  If that name is familiar, it is because he is the son of Anne Gorusch, who was EPA Administrator during the Regan era.   She cut the EPA’s budget by 22% and reduced the number of cases filed against polluters.  Do you recall the character Dioxin Dolly, played by actress Audrie Neenan, from Not Necessarily the News?

Gorusch hired people from the industries they were supposed to be regulating.  Now that does that sound familiar!  Scott Pruitt.  Andrew Wheeler. And the list goes on.

This is just the start, people.  Lee Zeldin, appointed by tRump and sworn in as EPA Administrator in January, is a climate-change denier, zero science education, and tRump boot-licker.  This ruling doesn’t affect just San Francisco.  It sets a precedent that will have far reaching consequences. 

Ignoring facts or a serious lack of understanding puts us all in danger.  Look for reductions in protections for air and soil. 

 

References:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/epa-ruling-sewage-water

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-san-francisco-water-pollution-6874dc505a394d9181b17a0aef41406f

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/politics/supreme-court-san-francisco-poop-epa/index.html

 

 

"WALL-E" released 2008

Pixar's classic animated film about a lonely robot left with the monumental task of cleaning up Earth after being completely trashed and abandoned, WALL-E was released into US theaters June 27, 2008.  It's science fiction, action, and romance all rolled into one.

It is widely considered one of the best animated movies of all time.  It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film, Boston Society of Film Critics Best Animated Film, BAFTA's Best Animated Film, a Saturn for Best Animated Film, two Grammys, and one Scream Award.

In 2021, WALL-E became the second Pixar film to be selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Baiji, Chinese river dolphin, declared extinct 2006

A Chinese news agency announced early December 2006 that a six-week survey of the Yangtze River had failed to detect any baijis (Chinese river dolphins).  The species was declared functionally extinct on December 13, 2006. 

In the 1950s, the baiji population was estimated at 6000 but by 1970, only a few hundred were left.  For years, humans had hunted the baiji and other species using illegal practices, such as electric fishing.  Other causes for the baiji's decline were over-fishing, collisions with boats and ships, and pollution.  There was a failure to determine what the impact construction the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River would have on the baiji.

Pollution in the water resulted in diseases and pathogens which have also caused the decline in the species.

Although hunting the baiji was declared illegal in China in 1983, the animal was still hunted.

However, there have been a few unsubstantiated sightings of the baiji since 2007.  Even if these are confirmed, are there enough of the baiji left to repopulate the species?

The environment is still screwed: Incoming TEPA Admin Wheeler will be just as bad as Pruitt

The Washington Post interviewed Andrew Wheeler, set to become the TEPA's administrator now that Pollutin' Pruitt is gone.  But are we better off now?

In the interview, Wheeler:

1. thanks Pruitt for his service (not a good thing),
2. will work to implement The Donald’s agenda (a very bad thing), 
3. says he was an aide to Jim Inhofe (may God help us all),
4. had the longest confirmation process for EPA deputy admin,
5. promises transparency (sound familiar?),
6. does not consider himself a scientist (being put in charge of a science-based organization),
7. claims the Science Advisory Board was “reconfigured”, not decimated,
8. says the Clean Power Plan was outside the “four corners” of the Clean Air Act,
9. was an industrial lobbyist

I'm not feeling it.  The environment is still screwed.  But we will continue to fight. 

Read WaPo's article here:

Toxic algae threatens Toledo while Pruitt fiddles

Since 2010, the U.S. has seen at least 300 toxic algae blooms in its lakes and ponds, and Lake Erie has experienced some of the worst blooms ever observed. In 2014, a bloom poisoned the water supply for Toledo, OH, affecting 400,000 people. 

Last year, head of the Trump Environmental Pollution Agency Pruitt refused to declare Lake Erie "impaired" under the Clean Water Act.  According to U.S. News, the TEPA said they agreed with state regulators who said they were making progress, and recognized the efforts to reduce pollution feeding the algae.

In April 2017, Ohio EPA Administrator Craig Butler recognized that voluntary farming incentives, such as cutting phosphorus pollution by 40% from 2008 levels by 2025 were not working.

A year later, nothing has changed but once hypothesized, now proven, the growth in algae blooms are related to global warming, and they are only to get worse.  In March, a group of scientists from the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Sea Grant and the EPA released a study that concluded increased greenhouse gas emissions are directly responsible for the increase in blooms.  And as the algae blooms decay, they release more greenhouse gases, a vicious circle.

Furthermore, The Donald, who carried Ohio in the 2016 election, has proposed budget cuts that include cutting funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.  The program funds quality oversight, runoff mitigation and habitat preservation, among many other activities.

GOP Governor John Kasich recently declared "only parts" of Lake Erie as impaired, because the middle of the lake, for example, is not impaired.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz is not happy.  He claims that the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation holes too much influence on Ohio lawmakers, and Toledoans are paying the price.

Obviously, Pruitt is much too busy with this and that to care about Ohio.

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2017/06/21/government-report-says-great-lakes-in-bad-condition-lake-erie-worst-of-the-bunch

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2018/04/17/new-stricer-regulations-coming-for-ohio-farmers-as-kasich-declares-lake-erie-officially-impaired

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2018/05/16/scientists-say-lake-erie-toxic-algae-blooms-could-be-part-of-climate-change-loop

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2017-05-23/epa-rejects-declaring-lake-eries-waters-in-ohio-impaired

https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2017/05/26/the-lake-erie-reckoning-is-here-federal-government-and-ohio-give-cold-shoulder-to-regional-water-supply

"Rebirth of Mothra II" released 1997

The second in the Mothra trilogy, Rebirth of Mothra II, released December 13, 1997 in Japan, pitted everyone's favorite big bug monster against the evil Dagahra.  Clearly a children's film, three kids try to find an undersea city Lost Treasure of Nilai Kinai to restore Earth's environment which is failing. 

However, the rampant pollution has created Dagahra, who might be too powerful for Mothra.  It's sort of a remake of Godzilla vs the Smog Monster (Hedorah) but much better.  The movie of the G-Man's battle against a monster created from pollution had plot holes you could drive a Mack truck through, editing problems that almost seemed like someone with severe ADD had completed it, and just overall WTF?

Rebirth of Mothra II is silly but fun.  It's great to see Mothra in her own movies and showing off some beefed-up powers!

Pruitt's EPA plan to ease methane releases gets shut down by DC Court

In another set-back to Scott Pruitt's EPA, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled 2-1 in favor of a lawsuit filed by the National Resources Defense Council and other agencies concerned with global and atmospheric pollution.  The EPA issued a "stay" of federal standards to reduce leaks of methane as well as other air pollutants from oil and gas wells and facilities.

Like the issue with the mercury releases, the stay was issued without any advance public notice, nor any opportunity for public comment, as required by law.  He also proposed to extend the stay for two years.  Methane and the other air pollutants can produce smog, cause cancer and can trigger asthma attacks.

The Clean Air Council, Earthworks, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Integrity Project and Sierra Club joined NRDC in bringing the lawsuit against the EPA.

What justification could Pruitt have for suspending these poisons? Oh, right.

https://www.nrdc.org/media/2017/170703?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=tweet&utm_campaign=socialmedia

Pruitt's EPA to Ohio: F**k you!

The west end of Lake Erie on the Ohio side is experiencing an algae bloom and not for the first time.  In 2014, an outbreak of blooms contaiminated the tap water in Toledo for about 400,000 people.  The algae blankets the surface of the lake with ugly shades of green, which can last most of the summer.  Algae is toxic and is a health threat to people and wildlife.

And it is recurring more often since global temperatures are on the rise.  Algae reached record levels in 2015.  Ohio and Michigan have taken steps to reduce farm fertilizer runoff and municipal sewage overflows that feed the algae, but these measures have not been successful.

Last month, several environmental groups sued the EPA to make a decision and enforce tighter regulations for polluters.  Molly Flanagan, of the Alliance for the Great Lakes said "By any measure, western Lake Erie does not meet the Clean Water Act's standards of fishable, drinkable, and swimmable for significant portions of the year."

Monday, Pruitt's EPA said it would not declare Lake Erie's wasters "impaired".

A search of the EPA's website does not show any mention of the issue, but this shocks no one who has seen the direction the EPA has taken under Pruitt's administration.  Their silence on the matter is deafening.  One cannot imagine Pruitt taking any action against polluters, but it is no stretch of the imagination to think he ignored the science and data behind the studies.


https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/ohio/articles/2017-05-23/epa-rejects-declaring-lake-eries-waters-in-ohio-impaired
http://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/2017/05/23/lake-erie-algae-ohio-epa/339448001/
http://www.cleveland19.com/story/35497783/epa-wont-declare-lake-eries-waters-in-ohio-impaired-by-toxic-algae
http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/EPA-rejects-declaring-Lake-Erie-s-waters-in-Ohio-11167144.php

Our children are doomed...Pruitt's EPA rejects banning harmful pesticide

Researchers at Columbia University began studying the effects of pollutants on pregnant mothers in low-income neighborhoods long ago but only two years into their study, they discovered that chlorpyrifos, a insecticide used to control bugs in homes for decades, caused brain damage in baby rats.  Scientists discovered that children born with comparatively higher levels of chlorpyrifos weighted less at birth.  Between ages 2-3, they were more likely to experience persistent developmental delays, including cognitive, motor and attention problems.  By the time they reached the age of 7, they had lower IQ scores.

Although the study did not prove definitely chlorpyrifos was the exact cause, it did find that the higher a child's exposure to the chemical, the worse effects.

After the initial results proved the brain damage in baby rats, the pesticide was removed from stores and banned from home use although it is utilized widely in agriculture spraying crops.  Ten years ago, environmental groups brought a petition seeking a complete ban on chlorpyrifos.

Scott Pruitt and his EPA have denied the petition stating there "continue to be considerable areas of uncertainty".  WTF?  He said the agency will make a final determiniation on the pesticide in 2022!  He also said the EPA was "returning to sound science in decision -making - rather than predetermined results".  Trumpsters, this is on you again!

How many children have to suffer brain damage or experience developmental problems before Pruitt is ousted?  Decades of exhaustive research do NOT constitute "pre-determined results" but if Pruitt used his brain, which he has shown conclusively he does not, he would understand that.  Of course, banning the pesticide would mean that Dow Agriculture, who praises the ruling, would have less money to line Pruitt's pockets.

So who cares if our children have lower IQs.  It's what Oklahoma has been striving for!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/health/pesticides-epa-chlorpyrifos-scott-pruitt.html?_r=0
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/us/politics/epa-insecticide-chlorpyrifos.html

Trump proposes 93% cut to Chesapeake Bay clean up program

In another reversal from his campaign rhetoric, The Donald has proposed a 93% budget cut to the Chesapeake Bay Program, a six-state effort with Washington, DC to clean up the largest estuary in the country.  That would mean a budget of $73M to $5M.  It supports a lucrative fishing industry as well as a favorite tourist destination.

As early as last Tuesday, Trump vowed “to promote clean air and clear water” but he also promised to create jobs.  Not only is he putting clean air and clean water in jeopardy, he is proposing cutting 3000 jobs at the EPA.  He has no plans to keep his promises.

Remember that Scott Pruitt is from Oklahoma, and has no knowledge of how to keep such a large body of water free from pollution.  This could set  clean-up efforts back years.


http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-md-trump-epa-budget-20170302-story.html
http://www.dailypress.com/news/science/dp-nws-bay-budget-slashed-20170302-story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2017/live-updates/trump-white-house/real-time-fact-checking-and-analysis-of-trumps-address-to-congress/trump-vows-clean-air-and-clean-water-as-epa-cuts-loom/?utm_term=.6a9c64626d75

Our environment is doomed: The Donald begins his dismantling of the EPA

NPR reports that The Donald is planning to do away with the EPA's "Waters of the U.S." rule, which tries to define what small bodies of water are subject to the Clean Water Act.  There has been much controversy over the ruling when it was signed by President Obama, but Pruitt has sued the EPA over the ruling (2015).

Trump and Pruitt have both used strong language that seems to put the EPA into some sort of eco-terrorist light.

Trump stated:
"Regulations and permits started treating our wonderful small farmers and small businesses as if they were a major industrial polluter. They treated them horribly."
But the EPA's fact sheet on the Clean Water Act clearly shows farmers and ranchers being exempt:

From the Agriculture Fact Sheet:

The Act requires a permit if a protected water is going to be polluted or destroyed, however, agricultural activities like planting, harvesting, and moving livestock across a stream have long been excluded from permitting, and that won’t change under the rule. In other words, farmers and ranchers won’t need a permit for normal agricultural activities that happen in and around those waters. 

If it's clarification that is needed, don't eliminate the rule, revise it, Pruitt!  This isn't rocket science, which you wouldn't believe anyway.

It's old news that Pruitt is in thick with the oil and gas companies who contribute to his campaigns and lawsuits against the EPA to lighten or eliminate restrictions on releasing pollutants.

Trump and Pruitt have no inclination to preserve our environment.  They plan to dismantle the EPA which since 1970 has worked to give us clean air (remember Los Angeles and Manhattan in the 70's?), clean water and clean power.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/28/517016071/trump-aims-to-eliminate-clean-water-rule

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-05/documents/fact_sheet_agriculture_final.pdf

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/01/as-the-planet-warms-senators-shrug/513746/

https://www.desmogblog.com/scott-pruitt