Regs Talk: The CSS Blog
Blogs are authored by CSS members and policy experts, and have been reprinted with permission.
EPA’s Plan to Ignore Co-Benefits Will Cost American Lives
By Derrick Z. Jackson, Union of Concerned Scientists People who can afford to live in their most-desired neighborhood often select it for the primary reasons of convenience, cleanliness, and quiet. Those features come with what environmental scientists call social, economic, and environmental “co-benefits.” For instance, streets lined with trees are associated with less crime, more neighborly […]
Decades-Old Law Hides Dangerous Products and Impedes Recalls
By Rachel Rabkin Peachman, Consumer Reports The deaths were alarming—and hard to miss: 19 infant fatalities, right there in the government data, all linked to the Fisher-Price Rock ’n Play Sleeper and similar products made by the company Kids II. Consumer Reports’ safety experts saw the information only because of an error on the part […]
Taking the “Public” out of Public Service, New Interior Secretary Bernhardt Refuses to Address Climate Change
By Joel Clement, Union of Concerned Scientists Trump Administration Cabinet officials have hit a number of new lows in recent months, but there is a more troubling trend that gets lost in all the scandal and incompetence. In the past, industry-friendly administrations hired political leaders who would emphasize deregulation and industry priorities, and minimize work […]
Honor Fallen Workers by Protecting the Living from Dangerous Workplace Chemicals
By Thomas McGarity and Katie Tracy, Center for Progressive Reform Although Workers’ Memorial Day was officially April 28, the time has not passed for remembering the thousands of friends, family members, and neighbors whose lives were tragically cut short due to fatal on-the-job incidents this past year. We carry on their memories as we renew the fight […]
We Can Do More for Worker Safety
By AFSCME Workers Memorial Day is this Sunday, April 28, when we honor workers killed or injured on the job. On this day in 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was formed. For almost half a century, OSHA has been charged with helping to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for men and […]
Four New (Old) Ways the White House Is Trying to Restrict Science for Policymaking
By Andrew Rosenberg, Union of Concerned Scientists Yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the White House issued new “guidance” for the Administration to “Improve Implementation of the Information Quality Act”. Unfortunately, it reads like a re-hashing of some of the worst ideas for restricting the use of science in policymaking from the […]
Health Experts Defend EPA IRIS on EtO Cancer Risk
By Jennifer Sass, Natural Resources Defense Council Ethylene Oxide—abbreviated as EO or EtO—is one of the hazardous industrial chemicals that the Cancer Lobby is vigorously defending. The chemicals industry’s tactics include science-denial and relying on its friends in the Trump EPA. Now, in a strongly worded letter to EPA, scientists, medical professionals, and environmental health experts are stepping […]
On Worker Memorial Day: Remember the Fallen and Continue the Fight for Workplace Safety and Health
By Kathleen Rest, Union of Concerned Scientists When you wake up and roll out of bed this Sunday (April 28, 2019), count your blessings. Sure, maybe it’s just another work day for you; it certainly is for the millions of people who will be working in the stores, restaurants, and gas stations you may visit. […]
EPA Yet Again Fails to Set Health-Protective Levels for PFAS
By Anna Reade, Natural Resources Defense Council Yesterday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft interim recommendations for addressing groundwater contaminated with PFOA and PFOS, just two of a class of approximately 4,700 chemicals of health and environmental concern. It recommended: Screening level (level over which a potential contamination site should be investigated further) of 40 parts per […]
Three of Trump’s Regulatory Rollbacks Could Cost People Almost $42 Billion a Year
By Sam Berger and Malkie Wall, Center for American Progress Every economy has rules of the road that help determine who benefits and who does not. Through its regulatory and lawmaking powers, the federal government has the ability to set those rules. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has used this power to further bias the system against everyday Americans, […]
What Are People Saying About Trump’s Dirty Water Rule?
By Jon Devine, Natural Resources Defense Council Recently, the Trump administration stopped taking public comment (after an absurdly short period of time) on a proposed regulation that would dramatically weaken the Clean Water Act. The Act is the country’s principal law protecting lakes, rivers, and other water bodies from destruction and pollution. The Environmental Protection […]
From Profound Conflicts of Interest to a Blind Eye for Harassment, Barry Myers Is the Wrong Choice for NOAA
By Andrew Rosenberg, Union of Concerned Scientists When the founder and CEO of AccuWeather was nominated by President Trump to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it immediately raised serious concerns from me and many others. After all, Myers is not a scientist but will be leading a major science agency. His business, AccuWeather, is essentially […]
Trump EPA’s Toxic Chemical Policies Draw Another Lawsuit
By Daniel Rosenberg, Natural Resources Defense Council It’s getting hard to keep track of all the ways The Trump Administration’s EPA—led by coal, chemical, and oil industry lobbyists—is undermining the nation’s bedrock environmental laws and failing to protect the public as those laws require. But when it comes to contempt and disregard for the health […]
Air Pollution Should Be Monitored Using the Best Available Science: Meh, Says the EPA
By Anita Desikan, Union of Concerned Scientists Air pollution causes serious harm to our society – from coughing, to smog in the air, to a visit to the emergency room. And the only way to mitigate the threat of air pollution is to use the best available science and technology to measure it accurately. The […]
Census Case Tests Courts’ Ability to Check Agency Abuses
By Ian Fein, Natural Resources Defense Council The Supreme Court this week will hear arguments in an important case with lasting implications for both the allocation of political power in Congress and, potentially, the judiciary’s ability to check government abuses. NRDC filed a brief in the case earlier this month as amicus curiae (Latin for “friend of […]
All Eyes Are on California
By Susan Grant, Consumer Federation of America Last year, California enacted the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CCPA), the most sweeping state privacy legislation in the country. Even though the law doesn’t go into effect until 2020, there are several bills in the California legislature this year that would either strengthen or weaken it. Why does […]
It’s Earth Day and These 3 Unique (but Endangered) Species Are Giving Me LIFE!
By Jacob Carter, Union of Concerned Scientists It’s Earth Day, and this year’s focus is to protect our species. That focus makes me incredibly happy because of three reasons: 1) I get to return to my roots as an ecologist and tell you about some super cool species, 2) there are lots of endangered species […]
Administrator Wheeler Is Hiding the Truth About Formaldehyde
By Genna Reed, Union of Concerned Scientists In a letter sent this week, the Union of Concerned Scientists along with the Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Environmental Protection Network asked EPA’s Scientific Integrity office to investigate what seems to be political interference that occurred at the EPA in its recent suspension of […]
Judge Rules Trump Administration Violated Law by Opening Public Lands to Coal Leasing
By Rebecca Rowe, Earthjustice Breaking News: A judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration violated the law when it opened up America’s public lands to coal leasing in 2017. Says Earthjustice attorney Jenny Harbine, who argued the case, “This is a victory for communities whose land, water, and way of life is threatened by new coal […]
Trump Administration Power Grab & Yet More Industry-Friendly Deregulation
By Better Markets A memo released by the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed all agencies to submit so-called guidance to the White House for review looks like an attempt to put up another major hurdle to sensible and essential regulations meant to protect the health, safety and security of Americans, including their financial […]