Hate to Start the Year on a Downer

But a couple of posts caught my eye -- the environment is under attack from our own Environmental Protection Agency:

If you have no other reason to spend the next few days researching ways that you might help defeat Donald Trump next year, this should do it. The Washington Post reports that even Trump's own hand-picked Scientific Advisory Board says that the wrecking ball he and his Republican accomplices are using to destroy environmental regulations are in direct conflict with established science:

For example, regarding the EPA’s plan to reverse a rule that limits what sort of dredging or pesticide applications can take place near smaller streams and wetlands, the advisory board said the proposal “neglects established science” that shows how contamination of groundwater, wetlands and waterways can spread to drinking water supplies. A separate report says the economic models used to justify reducing the average mileage targets for cars and light trucks between now and 2026 were “implausible” based on assumptions about the kinds of vehicles consumers will drive in the future.

….The moves come as the agency has overhauled how it factors science into its decision-making. More than a year ago, the EPA disbanded an expert panel charged with updating assessments of the public health risks posed by soot. In December, EPA’s inspector general concluded it failed to analyze how a plan to loosen emissions standards for truck components would affect children’s health. And it is now drafting a rule to restrict which scientific studies it uses to develop public health policies.

We don't need no stinkin' science.

Of course, there's more:

Since taking office, Trump has systematically diluted the influence of scientists on public policy. This is especially true of environmental policy, where he has buried reports that industry, especially fossil fuel production, might not like. And of course, Trump simply doesn’t believe in “experts” because he already knows everything.

In just three years, the Trump administration has diminished the role of science in federal policymaking while halting or disrupting research projects nationwide, marking a transformation of the federal government whose effects, experts say, could reverberate for years.

Political appointees have shut down government studies, reduced the influence of scientists over regulatory decisions and in some cases pressured researchers not to speak publicly. The administration has particularly challenged scientific findings related to the environment and public health opposed by industries such as oil drilling and coal mining. It has also impeded research around human-caused climate change, which President Trump has dismissed despite a global scientific consensus.

This is only one likely result of Trump's policies.