EPA Chief Lee Zeldin is good at tailoring his message to MAGA media. But that sometimes puts him at odds with EPA's official justifications for actions -- whether it be a rule or the cancellation of a grant. And that could be a liability if he moves over to DOJ: www.eenews.net/articles/fro...
Posts by Jean Chemnick
EPA finalized its endangerment finding repeal on legal grounds. But today, Zeldin told the Heartland gathering that their view that greenhouse gases would be net beneficial to humanity would be proved right in the coming decades as harmful warming fails to materialize.
EPA is due to finalize its repeal of Biden power plant climate rules in "early spring." Tick tock. It hasn't gone to OMB. But there is growing speculation that it will pull the rule back based on a critique of CCS, with a supplemental "endangerment" draft.
subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...
The unprecedented heat wave currently enveloping the western U.S. could portend intensifying drought, water shortages, strong summer heat and intense wildfires later this year, scientists warn. My story: 🔏www.eenews.net/articles/alarm-bells-ear...
EPA's endangerment finding and car rules repeal suggested that oil prices fall because of Trump policies. Lower future prices at the pump would mean consumers pay less for policies that keep demand high.
But then came Trump's war...
www.eenews.net/articles/epa...
Trump wants more data centers to generate their own power.
But living next to tech industry gas turbines has made this VA neighborhood "unbearable" due to noise. One resident is taking sleeping pills, another can't walk his dog.
My latest for @eenews.bsky.social
www.eenews.net/articles/one...
The Clean Air Act is a somewhat clunky instrument for tackling climate change -- at least for some sectors.
So, if the Clean Air Act is going to be broadly unavailable for greenhouse gas regulation post-endangerment repeal, what comes after that?
www.eenews.net/articles/Why...
Trump administration cuts, layoffs and restructurings have cast a shadow over U.S. participation in a major international climate modeling initiative -- a collaboration that federal scientists have been at the forefront of for decades. My story today: www.eenews.net/articles/tru...
Dispatch from my other life: Our upcoming concerts (Mar 13 & 14!) celebrate composer & long-time Cantori collaborator Adolphus Hailstork. I wrote a lil note on the program, which explores themes of freedom, resistance to tyranny & rebuilding after devastating conflict. 👇
www.van.org/articles/Can...
The fact that Congress has signed off on Clean Air Act methane rules (three times, actually. CRA,IRA,OBBBA) could be a problem as EPA prepares to defend the endangerment repeal. www.eenews.net/articles/the...
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals sounded highly skeptical of EPA's case for cancelling the "green bank" grants yesterday, though that probably doesn't mean the nonprofits will be able to access their award funds anytime soon. Takeaways with @lesleyclark.bsky.social: www.eenews.net/articles/4-t...
I went on C-Span's Washington Journal this morning to talk about EPA's endangerment finding rollback. People on the other site had a lot of opinions about that, let me tell you.
www.c-span.org/program/wash...
Well, I was up really, really early. I was on C-span. It was fun, but the callers asked questions about chem trails and salmon and the Hanford Nuclear site that I was hopelessly ill-equipped to answer.
Instead, it's betting that recent Supreme Court decisions and a more conservative bench will allow it to walk away from regulating climate pollution (with Lesley Clark): www.eenews.net/articles/epa...
And it sidelined the five contrarians DOE picked to write that "review" of science last summer, that has run into so many problems: (by @scottpwaldman.bsky.social) www.eenews.net/articles/tru...
Thank you for that!
People briefed on the endangerment finding repeal tell me that it's based on legal arguments only. It doesn't take aim at the actual science of warming.
The repeal could decimate federal climate policy -- if it survives legal challenge.
So, has anyone out there actually seen the text of the endangerment finding rollback? Because they haven't put it out. And I'm told Zeldin might not even have signed it yet?
on Signal at jchemnick.01
I'm told that the endangerment finding repeal package lands next week. I look at what that could mean for other climate rules, state action, and the future of U.S. climate policy.
And on Signal at jchemnick.01, for any tips on when, where, etc.!
www.eenews.net/articles/Her....
But public comments from major cities and organizations -- which would not be part of any form letter campaign -- aren't there. Where are they? Isn't EPA supposed to be making them available at this stage?
A tiny fraction of the 572k public comments EPA received on the endangerment draft have been posted. When I asked EPA about that recently, it said that was because only one sample comment for mass mailer campaigns was posted, “As any reporter familiar with EPA rulemakings would know."
JUST IN: In a new lawsuit, Minnesota officials say DHS mishandled evidence from today's crime scene and made "astonishing" law enforcement decisions. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
EPA will soon release its final repeal of Obama's greenhouse gas endangerment finding and all climate regulations for cars and trucks. Then comes all the litigation. Here's my cheat sheet about what folks will be looking for in the final version: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...
And thank you, @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social, for your help with the story.
Anybody know if a University of Chicago economist who wasn't even in the government at the time wrote almost half of the regulatory impact analysis for EPA's endangerment/car rules draft repeal? Because it sure looks like he did. Signal jchemnick.01.
www.eenews.net/articles/whi...
Are you an OAR employee who worked on climate issues and has been reassigned somewhere else? I'd love to know where they're sending you. On Signal at jchemnick.01
EPA still has a "walking around money" left over in fy 2026. But it's choosing to furlough some people while others remain on the job and drawing a paycheck. It appears to be keeping those working on deregulation and other priorities. @ellieborst.bsky.social and I: www.eenews.net/articles/epa...