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Pruitt Resigns, Nothing Changes – Resistance! by Diana Smith
Boil the Frog! by Bob Root
Pruitt Resigns, Nothing Changes – Resistance! by Diana Smith
July 6, 2018: Pruitt resigned, and the world and cosmos aligned in one large sigh of relief. His resignation letter revealed the craven sense of entitlement he brought to the position — his belief in his ultimate right to plunder the earth based on a twisted theology. His selfish venality for both personal wealth and that of his industrial cronies, leaves behind him an oily stink and a heart-felt good riddance.
Pruitt’s unofficial actions, corrupt and self-serving, are what got him fired. His official actions were just what was intended by the Trump Administration– destabilize global climate change efforts, silence science, remove regulatory protections for clean air and water, and let the robber barons do as they will – without Government oversight. He was a man with visions, but none of these visions were for our next generation.
He achieved many of his goals. America is the only country that actively removes all mention of Climate Change from their public documents. The EPA actively defunded climate change research and projects with individual states. EPA is attempting to remove the basic science behind studies leading to regulations that are at the heart of clean air improvements (and reduction in health-care related issues from breathing bad air).
So now what — Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler is just as much a climate change denier zealot as was Pruitt? Should he become the Administrator, the clean air and water laws will be just as weakly enforced, subverted, and ignored as they were with Pruitt.
Mr. Wheeler’s credentials are mired in the world of fossil fuel, environmental deregulation in favor of heavy industry, and climate change denial. America needs protection from both foreign and native enemies. Those who devalue science, devalue our right to clean air and water, and who do not have the credentials to lead in the protection of the environment should not be allowed to hold this position.
The EPA career employees, through their continued resistance to Pruitt and determination to uphold the mission of the agency helped bring about Pruitt’s downfall (along with his blundering stupidity); how much more energy will this beleaguered band of public servants have to resist from within for another two years? We must support, help, synchronize, cooperate, integrate and do all we can to help them.
The Resistance feeds on our collective energy. Now is the time for us to join with activist groups and organizations – the Resistance works best in loose coordination supporting the singular mission of protecting our environment against Trump and his cronies.
Boil the Frog! by Bob Root
The fact that you are reading this page means that you care about the Earth and the life and wonders it supports. It probably also means that you understand that all the exploration and colonization of other bodies in our solar system will not make up for what we do to make the Earth we know uninhabitable.Therefore, the clear course is to continue to do what we’ve always done to save Earth’s environment, and accelerate our efforts in the face of never-before-seen efforts to sacrifice it for the sake of near-term financial benefit for a selfish few.
Hopefully you read the excellent article in The New Yorker entitled The G.O.P.’s “Boil the Frog” Strategy to Save Trump” (November 16, 2017.) The article primarily focused on the issue of potential collusion with Russia with Russia in Trump’s election campaign but the boiling-frog idea also is reflected in the efforts by the Trump administration to reduce environmental protections. Just considering public land-use issues, consider Trump’s early decision to reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, then his efforts to allow uranium mining close to Grand Canyon National Park, and now moving to permit the development of copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Given the pro-development stance of Interior Department head Zinke we can expect further efforts to impose on public lands that we value and have worked hard to preserve.
So the boil-the-frog approach is part of their strategy, and that is superimposed on the weariness that we all feel trying to fend off attacks from so many directions. Yes! Magazine ran a great article on the issue of burn out (January 1, 2018) and made it clear that gathering and working together is the best solution for burn out – energizing each other with our actions.And Resistance works! Take a look at the successes in the table below, and be encouraged that your efforts can make a difference. So please recommit yourselves in 2018 to work with your group, stay informed of the insidious individual efforts to undermine our environment for profit, and take the necessary actions to resist those efforts. The pages of this website that follow are full of valuable information and actions that will help you move forward.
| Date | What Resistance Achieved! |
|---|---|
| July 5, 2020 | Duke Energy and Dominion Energy announced that the 600-mile natural gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline will be canceled due to the "legal uncertainty surrounding large-scale energy and industrial infrastructure development in the US. Although market forces conspired against the project, the resistance put up in the form of legal challenges by environmental groups played a significant role in the the decision. Also recently, Federal-court rulings halted the Dakota Access pipeline's operations and upheld a freeze on a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline with regard to the Endangered Species Act. The cancellation of the the ACP and other pipeline-related actions spell wins for environmental justice and for the renewable-energy industry. |
| July 1, 2020 | The first two of a planned 180 wind turbines were completed off the coast of Virginia Beach, thanks to laws provided by the Virginia legislature and supported by environmental activism in the state. The turbine field is being built by Dominion Energy supported by $330 million of state funds. |
| April 12, 2020 | The Washington Post reported on efforts by ranch and farm owners in the West to preserve their land through conservation easements against the type of destructive development encouraged by the Trump administration. |
| October 26, 2019 | A new Post poll shows a large majority of Americans say that drilling for fossil fuels off the coasts and on public lands should decrease or remain at current levels. Public opposition to Trump actions to increase such drilling has been extensive and intense. |
| October 25, 2019 | Thanks to pressure on Virginia DEQ and lawsuits brought by such organizations as the Sierra Club, both the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Atlantic Coast Pipeline in Virginia continue to be stalled out, with the main concern being impacts on endangered species. |
| October 17, 2019 | Thanks to persistent pressure from activists, H.R. 1709, the Scientific Integrity Act, finally left the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and will be voted on in the House, where it is likely to pass. |
| February 22, 2019 | Glencore, one of the world's biggest coal mining firms, announced it would cap coal production amid climate concerns expressed by public pressure to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. HRI was not involved but it's a great example of the positive effects of citizen action. |
| January 24, 2019 | Governor Northam, a bipartisan group of legislators, and Dominion Energy all have agreed to a plan to address environmentally unsound coal-ash ponds through recycling and modern, lined landfills. |
| December 24, 2018 | Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring joined with eight other AGs in a lawsuit attempting to block seismic test along the Atlantic Coast, the first step in developing offshore fossil-fuel resources. |
| December 14, 2018 | A panel of federal judges has rejected permits for the Atlantic Coast pipeline to cross parts of the George Washington and Monongahela national forests and the Appalachian Trail, claiming that the Forest Service did not fulfill its responsibility to protect national-forest resources. We can thank citizens opposed to the pipeline who pointed out these issues. |
| November 29, 2018 | A Monmouth University poll report concludes that about 78% of Americans (up from 70% in 2015) believe the world's climate is undergoing change and 54% (up from 41% in 2015) consider the issue very serious. Very significant is the fact that the 64% of Republicans that think climate change is happening is up from 49% in 2015 and the 25% of Republicans that consider the issue very serious is up from 18% in 2015. It looks like the pendulum is swinging toward more concern over this issue, thanks to continued education and publicity on this issue. |
| July 5, 2018 | That awful Scott Pruitt resigned from being the head of EPA, thanks to relentless opposition from many fronts, and a lot of stupidity on his part. Sadly, his likely successor Andrew Wheeler may be worse, but we'll start dealing with that now. |
| July 2, 2018 | VA DEQ claims that the suspension of construction on the MVP is not due to opposition, but they concede the fact that citizens opposed to the pipeline pointing out major problems with erosion helped bring the issue to DEQ's attention in the first place. Check out further information at: MVP Construction Suspension |
| May 2, 2018 | The Washington Post reported on the departures of two officials close to EPA's head Pruitt: Albert Kelly due to scrutiny of actions associated with past banking activities and Paquale Perotta due to irregularities associated with his activities with Pruitt's security arrangements. |
| February 6, 2018 | Kathleen Hartnett-White is officially out as Trump's totally incompetent choice to head the Council on Environmental Quality. |
| January 8, 2018 | On January 8th, regulators killed Department of Energy Secretary Perry’s proposal to prop up coal and nuclear power plants. In a unanimous order released Monday afternoon, the five-person Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said Perry and other supporters of the proposal failed to show that current electricity markets are not just or reasonable. |
| December 19, 2017 | On December 19th, EPA ended a contract with a group (Definers Public Affairs) that had been investigating any EPA employees who disagreed with the Trump administration agenda. |
| November 7, 2017 | All Democratic candidates running for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General in Virginia were elected, and Democratic candidates won many seats in the Virginia House of Delegates formerly occupied by Republicans. We are encouraged that the environment and science in Virginia will benefit from these events. |