{"id":35012,"date":"2018-06-11T08:38:30","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T13:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=35012"},"modified":"2018-06-11T08:38:30","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T13:38:30","slug":"epa-staff-say-the-trump-administration-is-changing-their-mission-from-protecting-human-health-and-the-environment-to-protecting-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=35012","title":{"rendered":"EPA Staff Say the Trump Administration Is Changing Their Mission From Protecting Human Health and the Environment to Protecting Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 id=\"page-title\" class=\"page__title title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.desmogblog.com\/2018\/06\/10\/epa-staff-trump-administration-changing-mission-protecting-human-health-environment-protecting-industry\">EPA Staff Say the Trump Administration Is Changing Their Mission From Protecting Human Health and the Environment to Protecting Industry<\/a><\/h3>\n<article class=\"node-12984 node node-blog node-promoted view-mode-full clearfix\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.desmogblog.com\/sites\/beta.desmogblog.com\/files\/styles\/full_width_blog_image\/public\/blogimages\/epa-rally-dc-2018_credit-AP-Photo-Alex-Brandon_do-not-reuse.jpg?itok=vTenIPGD\" alt=\"Protesters at a rally against the current state of the EPA\" width=\"826\" height=\"551\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"new-horizontal-social-bar clearfix\">\n<div class=\"new-horizontal-share-wrapper new-horizontal-fb-wrapper clearfix\">The Environmental Protection Agency made news recently for <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/epa-criticized-blocking-reporters-chemicals-summit\/story?id=55362966\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">excluding reporters<\/a> from a \u201csummit\u201d meeting on chemical contamination in drinking water. Episodes like this are symptoms of a larger problem: an ongoing, broad-scale takeover of the agency by industries it\u00a0regulates.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p>We are social scientists with interests in <a href=\"https:\/\/web.northeastern.edu\/philbrown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">environmental health<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/sociology.ucsc.edu\/faculty\/singleton.php?&amp;singleton=true&amp;cruz_id=lidillon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">environmental justice<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=Km-wos8AAAAJ&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">inequality and democracy<\/a>. We recently published a <a href=\"https:\/\/ajph.aphapublications.org\/doi\/10.2105\/AJPH.2018.304360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a>, conducted under the auspices of the <a href=\"https:\/\/envirodatagov.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Environmental Data and Governance Initiative<\/a> and based on interviews with 45 current and retired <span class=\"caps\">EPA<\/span> employees, which concludes that <span class=\"caps\">EPA<\/span> Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration have steered the agency to the verge of what scholars call \u201cregulatory\u00a0capture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By this we mean that they are aggressively reorganizing the <span class=\"caps\">EPA<\/span> to promote interests of regulated industries, at the expense of its official mission to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/aboutepa\/our-mission-and-what-we-do\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">protect human health and the environment<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"Tweet-header\"><a class=\"TweetAuthor-avatar Identity-avatar u-linkBlend\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EPAScottPruitt\" data-scribe=\"element:user_link\" aria-label=\"Administrator Pruitt (screen name: EPAScottPruitt)\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Avatar Avatar--edge\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/867103862540390400\/TgahiAyA_normal.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-scribe=\"element:avatar\" data-src-2x=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/867103862540390400\/TgahiAyA_bigger.jpg\" data-src-1x=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/867103862540390400\/TgahiAyA_normal.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"TweetAuthor js-inViewportScribingTarget\" data-scribe=\"component:author\">\n<div class=\"TweetAuthor-nameScreenNameContainer\"><span class=\"TweetAuthor-decoratedName\"><span class=\"TweetAuthor-verifiedBadge\" data-scribe=\"element:verified_badge\"><b class=\"u-hiddenVisually\">\u2714<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Tweet-brand\">\n<div class=\"Icon Icon--twitter \" title=\"View on Twitter\" role=\"presentation\" aria-label=\"View on Twitter\">Scott Pruitt Explains Why He Sued EPA So Many Times: \u2018They Deserved It\u2019: <a class=\"link customisable\" dir=\"ltr\" title=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2017\/05\/11\/scott-pruitt-explains-why-he-sued-epa-so-many-times-they-deserved-it\/\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fu5b0nU6Jg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-expanded-url=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2017\/05\/11\/scott-pruitt-explains-why-he-sued-epa-so-many-times-they-deserved-it\/\" data-scribe=\"element:url\"><span class=\"u-hiddenVisually\">http:\/\/<\/span>dailycaller.com\/2017\/05\/11\/sco<span class=\"u-hiddenVisually\">tt-pruitt-explains-why-he-sued-epa-so-many-times-they-deserved-it\/\u00a0<\/span>\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"Tweet-metadata dateline\"><a class=\"u-linkBlend u-url customisable-highlight long-permalink\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EPAScottPruitt\/status\/862745467679121408\" data-datetime=\"2017-05-11T19:05:23+0000\" data-scribe=\"element:full_timestamp\"><time class=\"dt-updated\" title=\"Time posted: May 11, 2017 19:05:23 (UTC)\" datetime=\"2017-05-11T19:05:23+0000\">3:05 PM &#8211; May 11, 2017<\/time><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"Tweet-card\">\n<div class=\"PrerenderedCard is-loaded is-constrainedByMaxWidth\" data-card-name=\"summary\" data-css=\"https:\/\/ton.twimg.com\/tfw\/css\/syndication_bundle_v1_b6ca60da9b93228ca492958b7d1b0b6a37402f5e.css\" data-scribe=\"component:card\">\n<div class=\"TwitterCardsGrid TwitterCard\">\n<div class=\"TwitterCardsGrid-col--12 TwitterCardsGrid-col--spacerBottom CardContent\">\n<div class=\"SummaryCard-image TwitterCardsGrid-float--prev\">\n<div class=\"tcu-imageContainer tcu-imageAspect--1to1\">\n<div class=\"tcu-imageWrapper tcu-image-862745467679121408 js-cspForcedStyle\" data-style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/card_img\/1002808351707631617\/DEA1JSuI?format=jpg&amp;name=144x144_2); background-size: cover;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"u-block\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/card_img\/1002808351707631617\/DEA1JSuI?format=jpg&amp;name=144x144_2\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"SummaryCard-contentContainer TwitterCardsGrid-float--prev\">\n<div class=\"SummaryCard-content TwitterCardsGrid-ltr\">\n<p class=\"TwitterCard-title js-cardClick tcu-textEllipse--multiline\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Scott Pruitt Explains Why He Sued EPA So Many Times: \u2018They Deserved It\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"tcu-resetMargin u-block TwitterCardsGrid-col--spacerTop tcu-textEllipse--multiline\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8216;Exceeded their constitutional authority&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"u-block TwitterCardsGrid-col--spacerTop SummaryCard-destination\" dir=\"ltr\">dailycaller.com<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>How Close Is Too\u00a0Close?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The notion of \u201cregulatory capture\u201d has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tobinproject.org\/sites\/tobinproject.org\/files\/assets\/Novak%20Revisionist%20History%20of%20Regulatory%20Capture%20(1.13).pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">long record<\/a> in <span class=\"caps\">U.S.<\/span> social science research. It helps explain the 2008 financial crisis and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In both cases, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/01\/04\/business\/economy\/04fed.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lax federal oversight<\/a> and the government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/trumps-offshore-oil-drilling-plans-ignore-the-lessons-of-bp-deepwater-horizon-89570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over-reliance on key industries<\/a>were widely viewed as contributing to the\u00a0disasters.<\/p>\n<p>How can you tell whether an agency has been captured? According to Harvard\u2019s David Moss and Daniel Carpenter, it occurs when an agency\u2019s actions are \u201cdirected away from the public interest and toward the interest of the regulated industry\u201d by \u201cintent and action of industries and their <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=TV3BAgAAQBAJ&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PR10&amp;dq=carpenter+moss+regulatory+capture&amp;ots=WEmWNylgry&amp;sig=ltzHmMNpDvgG4r49vP6Eyfsr28I#v=onepage&amp;q=carpenter%20moss%20regulatory%20capture&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">allies<\/a>.\u201d In other words, the farmer doesn\u2019t just tolerate foxes lurking around the hen house \u2014 he recruits them to guard\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2026click on the above link to read the rest of the article\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EPA Staff Say the Trump Administration Is Changing Their Mission From Protecting Human Health and the Environment to Protecting Industry The Environmental Protection Agency made news recently for excluding reporters from a \u201csummit\u201d meeting on chemical contamination in drinking water. Episodes like this are symptoms of a larger problem: an ongoing, broad-scale takeover of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20478,5317,3185,1470,20479,20480],"class_list":["post-35012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environment","tag-chris-sellers","tag-desmog-blog","tag-environmental-protection-agency","tag-epa","tag-lindsey-dillon","tag-phil-brown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35013,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35012\/revisions\/35013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}