Earth Protect Blog

 April 27, 2017 

OPEN LETTER To Our Elected Leaders at All Levels of Government From hundreds of Former Employees of EPA 

 

 The Earth Warms While Trump Ignores Science To Our Elected Leaders at All Levels of Government -

As former employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we know that science is at the heart of the bipartisan progress our nation has made toward protecting public health and the environment. Americans enjoy cleaner air, water and land today because for decades we have followed the science, using the best available evidence to understand and solve environmental problems. Yet as we mark the 47th Earth Day this month, the Trump Administration and its supporters in Congress are turning their backs on science and what it tells us about the gravest environmental problem of our times – climate change. 

 

On April 22, Earth Day, tens of thousands of people marched in this country and around the world1 to support science and the central role it plays in our lives. On April 29, people will march in cities and towns across the U.S. and the world to demand climate protection. The combined message of these marches is clear – that science must guide and speed our collective efforts to protect life on Earth from climate change. We urge you to join us at the climate marches and heed that message by rejecting the Trump Administration’s climate denial policies and taking the action needed to help arrest human-caused climate change. 

 

Trump’s policy of denial. In a 2010 report that Congress itself commissioned, the National Research Council concluded, “Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for – and in many cases is already affecting – a broad range of human and natural systems.”2 Other national and international scientific groups have since confirmed and strengthened the NRC’s conclusion in light of more recent evidence.3 

Despite these authoritative reports, President Trump recently took two actions that turn a willfully blind eye to climate change, its human causes and its increasingly dangerous consequences: 

His so-called “Energy Independence Executive Order” stalls action to combat climate change and throws away tools that help policymakers and the public better understand, respond to and plan for the changes already underway. His justification has nothing todo with facts, either about climate change or the coal-mining jobs he claims will comeback. See EO Summary.

 

 His proposed budget would defund EPA climate science and virtually eliminate EPA’s capacity to take regulatory action or promote voluntary action in response to scientific findings showing that climate change already threatens the lives, health and property of Americans and people around the world. Other federal agencies would face cuts in climate science and clean energy research. See Budget Summary. 

 

Trump’s unprecedented and irrational break with science. The President’s reckless disregard for the science and consequences of climate change stands in stark contrast to his predecessors’ respect for science and common sense. For nearly 50 years, Republican and Democratic administrations have recognized scientific evidence that pollution has the potential to alter the world’s climate in dangerous ways. In 1970, President Richard Nixon’s Council on Environmental Quality recognized the phenomenon of “man’s inadvertent modification of weather and climate” from growing levels of air pollution.4 In 1992, President George H.W. Bush agreed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the first international treaty to address human-caused climate change. 

4 U.S. CEQ, “Environmental Quality: The First Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality,” August 1970, p. 93-104. That same year, Congress added “climate” to Clean Air Act’s definition of “welfare” effects that the Act protects from air pollution. 

5 U.S. EPA, Technical Support Document for Endangerment Analysis for Greenhouse Gases under the Clean Air Act, Sixth Order Draft, June 21, 2008. 

https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2008-0318-0082 

6 U.S. EPA, Technical Support Document for Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, December 7, 2009. https://www.epa.gov/climatechange/technical-support-document-findings 

7 U.S. EPA, Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act; Final Rule, Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 239, December 15, 2009. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-08/documents/federal_register-epa-hq-oar-2009-0171-dec.15-09.pdf 

 

In 2008 under President George W. Bush,5 and again in 2009 under President Obama,6 EPA conducted exhaustive, public rounds of review of the available scientific evidence of climate change. The agency relied primarily on major, peer-reviewed assessments of the climate science literature by the government-wide U.S. Global Change Research Program, the National Research Council and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. After considering more than 11,000 individual public comments, EPA concluded in 2009 that climate-changing pollution endangers Americans’ health and welfare – and in ways unprecedented in scope and severity.7 

EPA explained that multiple lines of evidence show that most of the recent warming is due to human activities. One, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere have increased to levels not seen in hundreds of thousands of years, and these gases are known to trap heat. Two, multiple sets of temperature records show that the earth is in fact growing hotter, and estimates of past climate changes suggest that changes in global surface temperature over the last several decades are unusual. Three, peer-reviewed climate models that simulate response  

of the climate system to natural and human influences are only able to replicate the observed warming when human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases are included. 8 

8 Ibid, pp. 66523 and subsequent. 

EPA’s endangerment finding was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Based on that finding, EPA began limiting greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and other sources. 

 

Trump’s risk-taking with American lives, property and legacy. Since EPA’s first endangerment finding in 2009, the scientific case that climate change is already occurring and will worsen over time has only grown stronger. Different administrations can and do decide on different policy approaches for addressing the same set of facts. But the Trump Administration is choosing to ignore the facts of climate change, endangering us all. 

Scientists warn of climate change impacts so numerous and far-reaching that they are almost impossible to comprehend – except that we are already beginning to experience many of them: more extreme weather leading to heat waves, flooding, drought, mudslides and wildfires; melting glaciers, rising sea levels and higher storm surges inundating coastal communities; ocean acidification and coral death; the spread of tropical and other diseases to new areas of the U.S.; and migration or extinction of species important to agriculture, fishing, tourism and the world’s biodiversity. Many impacts are, for all practical purposes, irreversible. See Climate Change Science 

 

Summary. 

Action to reduce climate change needs to be taken now. While many air pollutants stay in the atmosphere only a short time, most climate-changing pollution remains in the atmosphere for tens, hundreds or even thousands of years depending on the pollutant. That means that the longer we wait to rein in the pollution, the more it builds up in the atmosphere and the more it warms the Earth, creating the damaging impacts described above. 

Trump’s abdication of global leadership. For climate change to be limited, countries around the world must reduce the pollution fueling it. Recent U.S. efforts to reduce its climate-changing pollution were instrumental to persuading other high-emitting countries to reduce their pollution as part of the Paris Accords. President Trump’s attempts to sweep away U.S. climate protection policies not only diminish the U.S. in the eyes of the world but set a dangerous example for other nations. 

Facing facts. The Trump Administration efforts to extinguish U.S. climate change policy and leadership flout scientific fact and common decency. We are in a global race against time to limit climate change. Unless action is taken now, Americans and people around the world will face the ever-encroaching, increasingly devastating effects of climate change. 

Americans have always taken pride in leaving the world a better place for the next generation. We now stand on the brink of leaving our children and their children a more dangerous and 

diminished world. At the upcoming climate marches and going forward, we call on you, our elected leaders, to stand with us for what has always made this country great – meeting the challenges of our times so that our children can inherit a better world. Take action now to put our world on course for a stable climate future. 

 

Sincerely, 

Deborah Lebow Aal, former Section Chief, Indoor Air, Radiation and Air Toxics Dan Abrams, former Special Advisor, Office of the Chief of Staff Michael Adler, former Grants Specialist Bob Ajax, former Chief, Standards Development Branch, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards Richard Albright, former Director, Office of Environmental Cleanup Frederick Allen, former Counselor, Office of Strategic Environmental Management, Office of Policy Nancy Allinson, former Team Leader/OMIS/OSWER Dwight Alpern, former Attorney-Advisor, Clean Air Markets Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs Marc Alston, former Watershed Coordinator Cindy Anderson, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel, General Law Office Steven W. Anderson, former Regional Judicial Officer and Deputy Ethics Official Mike Anderson, former Director, Management Division Michael Ardito, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Superfund Division Paul Arell, former Manager, Corrective Action Unit William Arguto, former Branch Chief, Drinking Water and Source Water Protection Vicki Arroyo, former Policy Analyst, Office of Science Policy, Office of Research & Development Jo Ann Asami, former Attorney in the Office of Regional Counsel Bob Axelrad, former Senior Policy Advisor, Indoor Environments Division, Office of Air and Radiation Kathleen Ayala, former Environmental Protection Specialist Christopher Ayala, former Personal Property Manager John Bachmann, former Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs Air Office (OAQPS) William Baker, former Air Senior Policy Advisor 

Daiva Balkus, former Director, Office of Cooperative Environmental Management, Office of the Administrator 

Kenneth Bardo, former Environmental Scientist, RCRA Corrective Action Section 

Linda A. Baric, former Budget Analyst 

Cathleen Barnes, former International Program Manager, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Donald Barnes, former Director, EPA's Science Advisory Board 

Jessica Barron, former Human Resources Development Specialist 

Loretta Barsamian, former Deputy Assistant Regional Administrator 

Jeuli Bartenstein, former Director, Human Capital Planning 

Anne Barton, former Director, Environmental Fate and Effects Division, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Dale Bates, former Special Assistant to the Director, Environmental Services Division 

Nancy Beck, former Executive Assistant to the Regional Administrator 

Judy Beck, former Lake Michigan Manager, Great Lakes National Program Office 

Lee Beck, former Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Member of IPCC and shared recipient of 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for Climate Change 

Andrea Belanger, former Special Assistant to the Administrator 

Wendy Bell, former Associate Branch Chief, Office of Wastewater Management, Office of Water 

Catherine Bell, former Manager, Safety, Health and Environmental Management Program 

Kandice Bellamy, former Inspector, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Bonnie Bellow, former Public Affairs Director 

Robert Beltran, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Great Lakes National Program Office and Office of Public Affairs 

Mary Belvill, former Environmental Protection Specialist 

Charmaine Berry, former Environmental Engineer, Water Division 

Victoria Binetti, former Associate Director, Water Protection Division 

Richard Biondi, former Deputy Director Air Enforcement Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Alison Bird, former Environmental Engineer 

Lucia Blakeslee, former Regional Counsel 

Corinne Blanco, former Staff Director, Office of Water 

Bob Blanco, former Drinking Water Implementation Division, Office of Water 

James Bland, former Project Officer/Environmental Protection Specialist 

Michael Bland, former Chief, Information Services Section, Resources Management Division 

Robert Blaszczak, former Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Thomas Bloomfield, former Deputy Regional Counsel 

Barbara Blum, former Deputy Administrator 

Danforth Bodien, former Senior Technical Advisor 

Patricia Bonner, former Lead Staff Public Involvement, Office of Policy 

Barbara A. Borden, former Financial Management Specialist 

Laura Bose, former Manager, Water Division 

Lawrence Bowerman, former Senior Technical Advisor, Waste Management Division 

Joe Boyle, former Chief, RCRA Enforcement Branch 

Patrick Boyle, former Emergency Planner, Hazardous Sites Division 

Marilyn Bracken, Ph.D, former Associate Assistant Administrator, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substance 

Lynn Bradley, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Quality Staff 

Vandy Bradow, former Computer Specialist, National Computer Center, OARM 

Thomas Bramscher, former NPDES Enforcement Section Chief, Water Division 

Simone Brant, former Program Analyst, Climate Change Division, Office of Air and Radiation 

Rob Brenner, former Director, Office of Policy Analysis and Review, Office of Air and Radiation 

John M. Brink, former Chief, Pollution Prevention and Toxics Unit; Pollution Prevention, Pesticides and Toxics Program 

Michael Brody, former Environmental Scientist, Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

Susan Bromm, former Director, Office of Federal Activities, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Katharine Lewis Brown, former Supervisory Program Analyst 

James Brusslan, former Assistant Regional Counsel 

Gerald Bryan, former Director, NETI 

Dale Bryson, former Director, Water Division 

Bruce Buckheit, former Director, Air Enforcement Division, OECA 

Bob Burke, former Writer, Office of Public Affairs and State Agencies 

Mike Burke, former Associate Director, Chesapeake Bay Program Office 

Robert Burm. P.E., former Environmental Engineer

Thomas Burns, former Chief, Program Management Unit, Solid & Hazardous Waste Program 

Fred Burnside, former Director, Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training 

Bonnie Bush, former Environmental Engineer, Clean Air Act Enforcement 

Helga B. Butler, former Branch Chief, ETS and Radon, Indoor Environments Division, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air 

Joan Cabreza, former Senior Scientist, Wetlands Program 

Michael Cairns, former Research Biologist, Office of Research & Development 

David Calkins, former Chief, Air Programs Branch 

Jed Callen, former Section Chief, Office of Regional Counsel 

Carol Campbell, former Assistant Regional Administrator, Ecosystem Protection and Remediation 

Darcy Campbell, former Hydrogeologist, Office of Ecosystem Protection and Remediation 

Mary Canavan, former Congressional Liaison Officer 

Jonathan Cannon, former General Counsel 

Jan Carlson, former Associate Regional Counsel 

Dennis Carney, former Director, Office of Preparedness & Response 

Robert Carr, former Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Glenn Cekus, former Environmental Scientist, Office of Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention 

Jane Chadbourne, former Director, Human Resources Program 

Eugene Chaiken, former Chief, NPDES and Technical Assistance Branch 

Tai Chang, former Deputy Director, Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division 

Lorraine Chang, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel 

Colburn Cherney, former Associate General Counsel for Water 

Suzanne Childress, former Special Assistant to the Head of Enforcement 

David Chin, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Ecosystem Protection 

Patricia Cirone, former Supervisor Risk Evaluation Unit, Office of Environmental Assessment 

Edwin Clark, former Associate AA Toxics and Pesticides 

Milt Clark, former Senior Health and Science Advisor 

Bruce Clemens, former Chief, Environmental Analysis Team, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

Jerry Clifford, former Acting Assistant Administrator for International Affairs 

Kerrigan Clough, former Deputy Regional Administrator 

William Clugston, former Computer Specialist 

Douglas Cohen, former Special Assistant to the Administrator 

Lori Cohen, former Associate Director, Office of Environmental Cleanup 

Jeff Cohen, former Senior Climate Advisor to California; Chief, Alternatives & Emission Reduction Branch, Office of Atmospheric Programs 

Keith Cohon, former Assistant Regional Counsel 

JoAnn Cola, former Environmental Engineer, Enforcement Office 

Jonathan Cole, former Associate Director, Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics & Training 

Robert Collings, former Associate Regional Counsel and Branch Chief 

Kris Colt, former Manager, Pollution Prevention and Materials Management Unit, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics 

Michael Cook, former Director, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response 

Brian Cook, former Policy Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation 

Gail Cooper, former Attorney, Office of Regional Counsel 

John Cooper, former Water Team Leader, Office of Regional Counsel 

Christina Cosentini, P.E., former Environmental Engineer, RCRA 

Elizabeth Cotsworth, former Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air 

Paul Cough, former Director, Oceans & Coastal Protection Division, Office of Water 

David Coursen, former Attorney-Adviser, Office of General Counsel 

David Cowgill, former Technical Assistance and Analysis Branch Chief, Great Lakes National Program Office 

Carol Cowgill, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel 

Kathleen Cox, former Associate Director, Office of Permits & Air Toxics, Air Protection Division 

Michael Cox, former Climate Change Advisor 

Susan Cox, former Environmental Engineer, Water Division 

Jeneva Craig, former Policy Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation 

Elizabeth Craig, former Director, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, Office of Air and Radiation 

Janet Crawford, former Chief, Environmental Assessment, Air Division 

Roberta Crews, former Program Analyst, Environmental Cleanup Office 

Bill Crews, former Attorney Advisor, NEPP

Thomas Crisp, former Scientist of NCEA, Office of Research and Development 

John Cross, former Environmental Protection Specialist - ORCR 

Patrick Crotty, former Chief, Drinking Water Branch 

Richard Crume, former Special Assistant, OAQPS 

Lora Culver, former Supervisor in the Office of Land and Emergency Management 

Marcia Curran, former International Chemical Affairs, Office of Toxic Substances 

Mary Curran, former Research Chemical Engineer, Office of Research & Development 

Nancy Curren, former Organizational Development Specialist 

George T. Czerniak, former Director, Air and Radiation Division 

Thomas Daggett, former Section Chief, Office of Regional Counsel 

Nicholas Damato, former Chief, Enforcement and Direct Implementation Section, Groundwater and Drinking Water Branch, Water Division 

Kathleen Daniel, former Communication Strategist, Office of Communications, Education, and Public Affairs 

Jim Darr, former Chemist, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

Thomas D'Avanzo, former Manager, Assistance and P2 Office 

Elaine F. Davies, former Deputy Director, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation 

Belle Davis, former Director, Policy, Training and Oversight Division, OAM, OARM 

Jay Davis, former Data Analyst, Office of Information Management, Office of Environmental Information 

Cameron Davis, former Senior Advisor to the Administrator 

David Davis, former Deputy Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds 

J Michael Davis, former Senior Science Advisor, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development 

Devra Lee Davis, PhD, MPH, former Executive Secretary, Toxic Substances Advisory Committee 

Thomas G. Davison, former Human Resources Officer 

Dana Davoli, former Toxicologist, Office of Environment Assessment 

Allen Debus, former Quality Assurance/Chemistry Expert & Project Manager, RCRA Corrective Action 

Maureen Delaney, former Policy Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation 

David Dellarco, former Office of Policy 

Thomas DeMoss, former Director, Mid-Atlantic Highlands Action Program 

Rebecca Derr, former Head Team Leader 

Marcella DeVargas, former Environmental Protection Specialist, OPRA 

Thomas Devine, former Director, Office of Program Management and Technology, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

Jane Diamond, former Director, Water Division 

William Dickinson, former Deputy Director, Program Management and Support Division, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Thomas Diggs, former Associate Director, Air Program 

Fred Dimmick, former Deputy Director, Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division, Office of Research and Development 

Gwen DiPietro, PhD, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Waste Management Division, Office of Solid Waste 

Max Dodson, former Assistant Regional Administrator 

Mary Dominiak, former Senior Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

Richard Dowd, former Acting Assistant Administrator, R&D 

Scott Downey, former Manager, Air Enforcement and Data Management 

Barbara Driscoll, former Staff Physical Scientist 

Noah Dubin, former Special Assistant, Office of International and Tribal Affairs 

Anna Duncan, former Chief of Staff, ORIA, Office of Air and Radiation 

James Dunn, former Hazardous Substances Technical Liaison 

Stephen Dunn, former Policy Analyst, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, Office of Air and Radiation 

Norma Duran, former Microbiologist 

Eleanor Dwight, former Public Affairs 

Michael Dworkin, former Attorney-Advisor 

Cindy Dyballa, former Environmental Protection Specialist, OPPE 

Veronica Eady, former Assistant Regional Counsel 

John Eagles, former Finance Manager 

Alan Eckert, former Associate General Counsel for Air and Radiation 

Sheila Eckman, former Environmental Scientist 

Alan Ehrlich, former Patent Counsel, Office of General Counsel 

Barbara Elkus, former Deputy Director, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water

Jay Ellenberger, former Deputy Director, Field and External Affairs Division, Pesticide Programs 

Patricia Embrey, former Deputy Associate General Counsel for Air and Radiation, OGC 

Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator 

Dan Engelberg, former Director, Office of Program Evaluation, Office of Inspector General 

Charles Evans, former WQ Field Programs, Field Operations Division, Office of Pesticide Programs 

David Farrel, former Chief, Office of Federal Activities 

Priscilla "Sam" Farrel, former Environmental Data Analyst, Office of Enforcement and Compliance 

Robbi Farrell, former Environmental Protection Specialist 

Kathryn Faulkner, former Program Analyst, RCRA Enforcement Office 

Michael Feeley, former Director, Office of Public Affairs 

David Fege, former Environmental Protection Specialist, San Diego Border Office 

Elissa Feldman, former Associate Director, Indoor Environments Division, Office of Air and Radiation 

Sandy Johnston Fells, former Regional Congressional Liaison 

Fraser Felter, former Congressional/State Liaison, Office of Public Affairs 

Susan Felter, former Toxicologist, National Center for Environmental Assessment (ORD) 

Penelope Fenner-Crisp, former Senior Science Advisor, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Abraham Ferdas, former Director, Land and Chemicals Division 

Vicki Ferguson, former FOIA Officer 

Richard Fetzer, former Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Emergency Response Program 

Joan Fidler, former Director, Office of Bilateral Affairs 

Rodger Field, former Associate Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Chuck Findley, former Deputy Regional Administrator 

Eric Finke, former Team Leader, Montana Office 

Daniel Fiorino, former Director, Performance Track Program 

Carla Fisher, former RCRA Project Manager 

A. Robert Flaak, former Deputy Director for Management, EPA Science Advisory Board, Office of the Administrator 

Don Flattery, former Senior Advisor - Office of Administration and Resource Management 

Donna Fletcher, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, Office of the Administrator 

Deborah Flood, former Unit Manager, Office of Compliance and Enforcement 

Charles F. Flood, former Computer Programmer 

Greg Foote, former Assistant General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office of General Counsel 

Reynaldo Forte, Jr, former Chief Emissions Monitoring Branch, Office of Atmospheric Programs 

Jack Fowle, former Deputy Director, Health Effects Division, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Jeffry Fowley, former Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Jennifer Fox, former Environmental Engineer 

Douglas Fox, former Branch Chief, Air Quality Research 

Chet France, former Director, Assessment and Standards Division, Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

David Frank, former Environmental Scientist 

Anita Frankel, former Manager, Alaska Oil & Gas Team 

Melissa Franolich, former Attorney-Advisor, Regional Support Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (RSD-OCEA) 

William Franz, former Upper Mississippi River Team Manager 

Roger Frenette, former Deputy Director, Water Management Division 

Rebecca Fried, former Director of Speechwriting, Office of the Administrator 

Lisa Friedman, former Associate General Counsel for Air, Office of General Counsel 

Kristina Friedman, former Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiation 

Robert Friedrich, former Deputy Associate General Counsel, General Law Office, Office of General Counsel 

Bob Fuhrman, former Economist, Office of Policy Analysis 

Laura Fujii, former Environmental Review 

Kent Fuller, former Senior Advisor, Great Lakes National Program Office 

I.L. Pep Fuller, former Counselor for International Affairs, OPPTS 

Jessica Furey, former Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, Economics & Innovation 

Sharon Furrow, former Senior Analyst, Research and Innovation, Human Resources Division 

John Gabrielson, former Ecosystem Restoration Coordinator 

Cynthia Gage, former Senior Research Engineer, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Office of Research and Development 

Jack Gakstatter, former Water Programs Coordinator, Oregon Operations Office

Thomas Gallagher, former Director, National Enforcement Investigation Center 

Roy Gamse, former Deputy Associate Administrator, Policy 

Deborah Garber, former Section Chief, Office of Regional Counsel 

Charles Garlow, former Attorney, Air Enforcement Division 

Anthony Garvin, former Acting Regional Counsel 

Peter Gattuso, former Information Management Specialist, Office of Emergency Management 

Michael Gearheard, former Director, Office of Water and Watersheds 

Robert Geddis, former Enforcement 

Marius Gedgaudas, former Air Technical Expert, Air Programs Branch 

Daphne Gemmill, former National Superfund Community Relations Coordinator 

John Gentile, former Senior Scientist, Risk Assessment Forum 

Carl Gerber, former Acting Assistant Administrator for Research and Development 

John Gevertz, former Environmental Scientist, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances 

Dr. Anne Giesecke, former Environmental Specialist, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances 

Ken Gigliello, former Associate Division Director, Office of Compliance, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Elliott Gilberg, former Director, Office of Site Remediation Enforcement 

Ellen Gilinsky, former Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Water 

Michael Gill, former Superfund and Technology Liaison, Office of Research and Development 

Marcia Ginley, former Senior Enforcement Attorney, Air Enforcement Division, OECA 

Gail Ginsberg, former Regional Counsel 

Eric Ginsburg, former Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Office of Air and Radiation 

William Glasser, former Senior Environmental Scientist 

Gerald K. Gleason, former Assistant General Counsel, Office of General Counsel 

John Glenn, former Environmental Specialist, OSWER 

Aron Golberg, former Attorney-Adviser, Office of General Counsel 

Jessie Goldfarb, former Senior Enforcement Attorney 

Janis Gomes, former Tribal Office, Water Division 

Alan Goodman, former Senior Superfund Project Manager 

Stephen Goranson, former Chief, Information Services Branch 

Virginia Gorsevski, former Program Manager, Office of Air and Radiation, Climate Protection Division 

Judith Graham, former Associate Director for Health, NERL, Office of Research and Development 

Doug Grano, former Environmental Scientist 

Jill Grant, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel 

Mary Greene, former Associate Regional Counsel 

Willis Greenstreet, former Director of Administration and Resources Management RTP 

Rona Gregory, former Senior Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Roger Grimes, former Enforcement Attorney, Office of Regional Counsel 

Barbara Grimm-Crawford, former Special Assistant, Office of Underground Storage Tanks 

Terry Grogan, former Chief, Municipal Waste Reduction Branch, Office of Solid Waste 

Richard Gross, former Chief, Existing Chemicals Branch, Office of Toxics and Pesticides 

Wayne Grotheer, former Chief, Superfund Site Management Section 

Jim Grove, former Regional Enforcement Coordinator 

Leslie Guinan, former Assistant Regional Counsel 

Gary Gulezian, former Director, Great Lakes National Program Office 

Debra Gutenson, former Analyst, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water 

Matt Haber, former Senior Advisor, Air Enforcement Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

James Hagan, Ph.D., P.E., former Deputy Director, WRMA 

Julie Hagensen, former Assistant Regional Administrator 

James Hahnenberg, former Geologist/Remedial Project Manager 

Carol Haines, former Laboratory QA Coordinator and Health and Safety Manager 

Robert Hall, former Director, Office of Resource Conservation & Recovery, Program Management, Communications & Analysis Office 

George Hamper, former Chief, Corrective Action Section 2, Remediation and Reuse Branch, Land and Chemicals Division 

Edward Hanley, former Deputy Assistant Administrator for Management 

Deborah Hanlon, former Associate Director, National Enforcement Training Institute, Office of Enforcement and Compliance 

John Hannon, former Assistant General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office of General Counsel 

James Hanson, former Section Chief, Emergency Response 

Nancy Harney, former Manager, Federal Facilities Superfund Program 

Stephanie Harris, former Microbiologist, Laboratory 

Jeff Hart, former Manager, Office of Inspector General and former Acting Comptroller and Director of Fiscal Management and Planning 

Kathy Hart, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

Deborah Hartman, former Audit Coordinator, Office of Pesticide Programs, OCSPP 

Gilbert Haselberger, former Special Assistant to the Regional Administrator 

Al Havinga, former Director, Compliance Policy Staff, Office of Compliance 

David J. Healy, former Community Planner 

Jamie Heller, former Section Chief, Water Programs 

Rob Henneke, former Director, Technical Library and Environmental Information Center 

Christopher Herman, former Senior Environmental Analyst, Office of International and Tribal Affairs 

Marc Herman, former Superfund Remedial Project Manager, Office of Ecosystems Protection & Remediation 

Donna Heron, former Public Affairs Specialist 

Jeff Herring, former Environmental Scientist, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Jonathan Herrmann, former Director, National Homeland Security Research Center, Office of Research and Development 

Judith Hervig, former Tribal Program Manager 

Marion Herz, former Chief of Staff, Office of Compliance, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Gary Hess, former Attorney, Office of Regional Counsel 

Andrew Hess, former Environmental Scientist 

John Hidinger, former Director, State Programs 

Rebecca Higgins, former Program Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation 

Pam Hill, former Deputy Regional Counsel 

Michael Hingerty, former Deputy Branch Chief, Office of Regional Counsel 

Bill Hirzy, former Senior Scientist, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

Bernadine Abbott Hoduski, former Library Director 

Elizabeth Lee Hofmann, former Chief, Economics and Risk Analysis Staff, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Land and Emergency Management 

Thomas Hooven, former Deputy Director for Management, OPPTS 

Jane Hopkins, former Environmental Protection Specialist, International Affairs, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Diana Horne, former Senior Biologist, Office of Pesticide Programs 

David Howekamp, former Director, Air Division 

Kent Hustvedt, former Leader, Coatings and Chemical Processes Group 

Thomas Jackson, former Grants Manager 

Peter Jackson, former Life Scientist 

Stephen Jackson, former Program Manager 

Christopher James, former Senior Environmental Engineer, Air Quality 

Michael A. James, former Deputy General Counsel 

David Janik, former Supervisory Enforcement Attorney, Legal Enforcement Program, Office of Enforcement, Compliance & Environmental Justice 

Deborah Janik, former Director, Fiscal Management and Planning Program 

Jim Janis, former Director, Program Evaluation Division, Office of Planning and Evaluation 

Margaret Tifft Janis, former Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Chemical Information & Monitoring, Office of Toxic Substances 

Stephen Jarvela, former Federal On-Scene Coordinator 

Steve Jellinek, former Assistant Administrator for Pesticides and Toxic Substances 

David Jesson, former Environmental Protection Specialist 

Neal Johnson, former Program Analyst, Office of the Comptroller 

Jerelean Johnson, former Superfund Project Manager 

Karen Johnson, former Chief, Ground Water and Enforcement Branch, Drinking Water and UIC Programs 

Gary Johnson, former Environmental Engineer 

Michael Johnston, former Director, Laboratory 

Timothy Jones, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Water 

David Joseph, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Air Division 

Roberta Kahan, former Brownfields Coordinator 

Beverly Kahn, former Program Analyst, Technical Management Services 

Henry Kahn, former Senior Statistician, ORD 

James Kamihachi, former Chief, Water Economics Branch, Office of Planning and Management 

Judi I. Kane, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Solid Waste 

Jean Kane, former Senior Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Christina Kaneen, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel 

Richard Karl, former Director, Superfund Division 

Marilyn Katz, former Associate Branch Chief, Coastal Management Branch/Oceans and Coastal Protection Division/Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds/Office of Water 

Lester Kaufman, former Chief, Underground Storage Tanks Program Office 

Sylvia Kawabata, former Manager Brownfields and Site Assessment 

Arthur Kawatachi, former Branch Chief, Water Division 

Robert Kayser, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Solid Waste 

Stephen Keach, former Program Analyst, Office of Strategic Planning and Environmental Decision Making, Regional and State Planning Division 

Dave Kee, former Director, Air and Radiation Division 

Karen Kellen, former President, AFGE Council 238 and Enforcement Attorney 

Cynthia Kelly, former Director, Office of Strategic Planning, Management and Accountability, Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation 

John Kennedy, former Homeland Security Coordinator 

Sharon Kercher, former Deputy Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Enforcement, Compliance and Environmental Justice 

Nancy Ketcham-Colwill, former Chief of Staff, Office of Air and Radiation 

Jim Ketcham-Colwill, former Policy Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation 

Gary Kimmel, former Scientist, Children's Health 

Monica Kirk, former Associate Regional Counsel 

Glenn Kistner, former Superfund Division 

Kent Kitchingman, former Remedial Project Manager, Superfund 

John Koehler, Sc.D., former Environmental Engineer, Air Programs Branch 

Elaine Koerner, former Designated Federal Officer, OCEM, Office of the Administrator 

Carl Kohnert, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Policy and Management 

Frans J. Kok, former Director, Economic Analysis Division 

John Kolojeski, former Deputy Associate General Counsel, Chief of Litigation 

Patricia Koman, former Senior Environmental Scientist 

K. Jack Kooyoomjian, Ph.D., former Designated Federal Official, Radiation Advisory Committee, U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board 

Jill Korte, former Environmental Engineer, Drinking Water Office 

Debra Kovacs, former Pesticides Team Leader 

Ron Kreizenbeck, former Deputy Regional Administrator 

Stephen Kroner, former Senior Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Solid Waste 

Peter Kuch, former Director, Natural Resource Sectors Staff, Office of Policy Analysis 

Veronica Kuczynski, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Chesapeake Bay Program Office 

Michael Kulik, former Director, Office of Public Affairs 

Marilyn Kuray, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel 

Ellen Kurlansky, former Policy Analyst, Office of Air and Radiation 

John La Padula, former Deputy Director, Emergency and Remedial Response Division 

John Laitner, former Senior Economist for Technology Policy, Office of Atmospheric Programs 

Kelcey Land, former Director, RCRA/CERCLA Technical Enforcement Program 

Jan Lane, former Chief of Resource Management, Office Toxic Substances 

Rich Lathrop, former Senior Public Affairs Adviser 

Mary Lauterbach, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic Substances 

Richard Lawrence, former Director, Facility Operations, NVFEL 

Emery Lazar, former Environmental Scientist 

Dennis Lazzar, former Ombudsman 

Susanne Lee, former Associate Deputy General Counsel, Office of General Counsel 

John Leigh, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Municipal Waste Reduction Branch, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

Suzette Leith, former Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Angela Leith, former Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

Susan Lepow, former Associate General Counsel for Water, Office of General Counsel 

Bruce J. Lery, former Water Quality Management Planning, Water Division 

Barry Levene, former Supervisory Environmental Engineer 

Howard Levin, former Audit Resolution Coordinator 

Michael H. Levin, former Director, National Regulatory Reform Staff, Office of Policy 

Alan Levin, former Deputy Regional Administrator 

Tina Levine, former Director, Health Effects Division, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Rose Lew, former Environmental Scientist, Watersheds and Ecosystems Program and Superfund Enforcement 

William Lewis, former Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Superfund Division, Emergency Response Section 

Lori Lewis, former Regional Facilitator 

Clare Lindsay, former Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery 

Ted Linnert, former Office of Communications & Public Involvement 

Barbara J. Lither, former Senior Attorney, Office of Regional Counsel 

Sam Little, former National Transportation EIS Coordinator, Office of Federal Activities 

Richard Long, former Director, Air Program 

Robert Lord, former Wetlands Section 

Judy Lubow, former Senior Attorney, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Teresa Lukas, former Associate Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Lisa Lund, former Director, Office of Compliance, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

John Lyon, former Chief, Municipal Branch, Water Enforcement Division, OECA 

Alisa Greene MacAvoy, former Chief, Watersheds Protection Section, Water Division 

Frank MacFadden, former Financial Management Officer 

Gay MacGregor, former Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

Anthony Maciorowski, former Deputy Director, Science Advisory Board Staff Office, Office of the Administrator 

Barbara Maco, former International Liaison to U.S. Northern Command 

Robert Mairley, former Life Scientist 

Sylvia Malm, former Team Leader, Source Water Protection, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water 

Robert Mandel, former On-Scene Coordinator 

Elaine Manning, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Brent Marable, former Section Chief, Air Enforcement Division 

Sally Marquis, former Manager, Aquatic Resources 

Russell Martin, former Environmental Engineer, Water Division, NPDES Branch 

Debora Martin, former Air/Water Coordinator, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds

Erica Kelly Martin, former Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel 

Karen Martin, former Group Leader, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Office of Air and Radiation 

Nancy Marvel, former Regional Counsel 

Mark Masarik, former Senior Advisor-Idaho Operations Office 

Thomas Maslany, former Director, IECD, OECA 

R. Craig Matthiessen, former Director, Regulations Implementation Division; Office of Emergency Management 

Kathryn Mazaika, former Environmental Scientist, Office of Federal Activities 

Daniel Mazur, former Ecologist 

Barbara Mazur, former Ecologist 

Frank McAlister, former Chief, International and Transportation Branch 

Gavin McCabe, former Assistant Regional Counsel 

Michael McCabe, former Deputy Administrator 

Janet McCabe, former Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation 

Gina McCarthy, former Administrator 

Cora McCoy, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Pesticides Section 

Catherine McCracken, former Community Involvement Coordinator, Superfund and RCRA 

Helen McCue, former Facilities Support Specialist 

Keven McDermott, former Program Manager, Office of Environmental Assessment 

Danna McDonald, former Communications Officer, Office of Science & Technology, Office of Water 

Dan McGovern, former Regional Administrator 

Donna McGowan, former Program Manager 

Shaun McGrath, former Regional Administrator 

Joann Brennan McKee, former Deputy Director, Division of Environmental Policy and Protection 

Charles McKinley, former Branch Chief, Office of Regional Counsel 

Chilton McLaughlin, P.E., former Environmental Engineer, Air and Waste Management Division 

Brian McLean, former Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiation 

Barbara McLeod, former Director, Office of International Environmental Policy 

Dorothy McManus, former Program Analyst, Office of Emergency Management, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Management 

Pamela McMichael, former Human Resource Specialist 

Emma McNamara, former Director, Information Access Division, OEI 

Terry McNutt, former Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances 

Jonathan McPhee, former Assistant Regional Counsel 

John McShane, former Program Specialist 

Patricia Meaney, former Director, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

Mary Lou Melley, former Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

David Menotti, former Associate General Counsel, Air, Noise and Radiation 

Michele Merkel, former Attorney-Advisor, Water Enforcement Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Sharon Metcalf, former Hazardous Waste Branch Chief, Office of Regional Counsel 

Jane Metcalfe, former Senior Advisor, Office of International and Tribal Affairs 

Timothy Method, former Meteorologist, Office of Air Quality 

Cynthia Metzger, former Director, Regional Lab 

Tamara Mick, former Wetlands Regulatory 

Gary Milburn, former Aquatic Biologist 

Philip Millam, former Special Assistant to Regional Administrator 

Frederick Miller, former Director, Environmental Toxicology Division, HERL, ORD 

Debra Miller, former Team Leader and Contracting Officer, Headquarters Procurement Operations Division, Office of Acquisition Management 

Anne Miller, former Director, Office of Federal Activities 

Breck Milroy, former Senior Advisor, International Affairs, OPPTS/OCSPP 

Joel Mintz, former Senior Litigation Attorney, Office of Enforcement 

David Mobley, former Deputy Director, Atmospheric Modeling Division, Office of Research & Development 

Timothy Mohin, former Section Chief, OAR 

Lawrence Molloy, former Environmental Engineer 

Marty Monell, former Deputy Director Office of Pesticide Programs 

David Monroe, former Attorney-Advisor, Office of Enforcement (Pesticides) 

Frank Montarelli, former Office of Communication and Public Involvement 

Jane Moore, former Deputy Director, Office of Wastewater Management, Office of Water 

Susan Moore, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Toxics and Pesticides

Angela Morales, former Lab Technician 

Robert Morcock, former Branch Chief, New Chemicals Program, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

David Morell, former Special Assistant to Regional Administrator and former Director, Office of Transportation and Land Use Policy, Air Programs 

Rick Morgan, former Senior Energy Analyst, Office of Atmospheric Programs, CPPD 

Marcia Mulkey, former Regional Counsel 

Mary Mullaney de Rivera, former Senior Assistant Regional Counsel 

James Mullins, former Section Chief, Emergency Response 

William Muno, P.E., former Director, Superfund Division 

Linda Murray, former Special Assistant to the Director, Health Effects Division, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Carl Myers, former Deputy Director, Assessment and Watershed Protection Division, Office of Water 

Robert Myers, former Superfund Office 

Ronald Myers, former Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Royal J. Nadeau, PhD, former Deputy Director, Environmental Response Team 

Ginny Narsete, former Community Involvement 

Carlton Nash, former Manager, Air Toxics Program 

Lisa Nelson, former Water Division 

Kimberly Nelson, former Assistant Administrator Office of Environmental Information 

Bill Neuffer, former Engineer, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Barry Neuman, former Attorney Advisor, Office of General Counsel 

Amy Newman, former Associate Chief, Economics and Risk Analysis Staff, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery 

James Newton, former Environmental Engineer, Water Division 

Jack Neylan, former Associate Director, Agriculture Division, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Norman Niedergang, former Director, Technology Innovation & Field Services Division, Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response 

Michael C Nishi, former Program Management Advisor, Indian Environmental Office 

Armina Nolan, former Manager, Interagency Agreement Share Service Center West and GMO 

David Novello, former Senior Attorney, Office of General Counsel 

Angela Nugent, former Designated Federal Officer, Science Advisory Board 

Marilyn Null, former Senior Community Involvement Specialist, Federal Facilities Enforcement Office 

Ann Nutt, former Associate Regional Counsel 

Dennis O'Connor, former Senior Policy Advisor 

John O'Connor, former Deputy Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Terry Oda, former Manager, Water Quality Standards and NPDES Permits Office, Water Division 

Margo Oge, former Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

Donald Olson, former Senior Environmental Scientist, Water Enforcement Division, OECA 

Barbara Toole O'Neil, former Environmental Engineer, Air Division 

Peter Ornstein, former Deputy Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Rich Ossias, former Associate General Counsel for Air and Radiation, Office of General Council 

Steve Ostrodka, former Chief, Remedial Response 

David Ouderkirk, former Director, Bridges to Friendship Community Partnership 

Ronald B. Outen, former Branch Chief, Officer of Toxic Substances 

Phil Overeynder, former Environmental Engineer 

Deborah Overeynder, former Environmental Protection Specialist 

James Owens, former Director, Office of Site Remediation and Restoration 

Barbara Pace, former Attorney-Adviser, Office of General Counsel 

Dale Pahl, former Physical Scientist, Office of Research and Development 

Bill Painter, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Watersheds, Oceans, and Wetlands, Office of Water 

Joseph W. Paisie, former Group Leader, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Steve Pardieck, former Drinking Water Branch Chief 

Carol Parker, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Certification and Worker Protection Branch, Field Operations Division, Office of Pesticide Programs 

Doreen Cantor Paster, former Senior Advisor, National Program Chemicals Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

Dorothy Patton, former Director, Office of Science Policy, Office of Research and Development 

Chester F Pauls, P.E., BCEE, former Chief, Underground Injection Control Program and Enforcement Section 

George Pavlou, former Deputy Regional Administrator, Office of the Regional Administrator 

Janet Pawlukiewicz, former Director, Water Security Division 

Greg L. Pennington, former Cost Recovery Specialist, Superfund Program 

Sonya Pennock, former Manager, Public Affairs 

Stephen Perkins, former Director, Office of Ecosystem Protection 

Kate Montague Perry, former Senior Attorney/Advisor, Office of Homeland Security 

Caroline Petti, former Special Assistant to the Administrator on Air and Radiation 

John Philbrook, former Assistant Chief Air Branch 

Robert Phillips, former Grants Administrator, Office of Management Programs 

Ervin Pickell, former Fuels Enforcement Team Leader, AED, OCE, OECA 

Joseph Piotrowski, former Chair, Hypoxia Task Force Coordinating Committee 

Barry Pollock, former Environmental Engineer, Drinking Water Office 

Keri Powell, former Senior Attorney 

Chris Powers, former Supervisory Program Analyst, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds 

Stephen Pressman, former Associate General Counsel, Civil Rights and Finance Law Office, Office of General Counsel 

Ann E Prezyna, former Deputy Regional Counsel 

Lynda Priddy, former Environmental Scientist, Office of Environmental Cleanup 

Frank Princiotta, former Director, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Office of Research & Development 

Martha Prothro, former Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water 

Davina Pujari, former Attorney, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Liz Purchia, former Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Public Affairs 

S.T. Rao, former Director, Atmospheric Modeling Division, NERL/ORD 

Rishi Reddi, former Enforcement Attorney 

Walter Redmon, former Senior Biologist, Water Division 

Larry Reed, former Deputy Director, EPA Superfund Program (OSRTI, OLEM) 

Carl B Reeverts, former Team Leader, UIC Database 

Cynthia Reynolds, former Director, Air & Toxics Technical Enforcement Program 

Suzanne Canning Reynolds, former Records Management Specialist (Management Analyst), Air and Radiation Division 

William Rhodes, former Chief, Atmospheric Protection Branch 

Harvey Richmond, former Senior Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Health and Environmental Impacts Division  

 

John Rigby, former Section Chief, Office of Toxic Substances Michael Risner, former Director of Legal Enforcement Catherine Roberts, former Manager, Particulate Matter Program, Office of Partnerships and Regulatory Assistance, Air Program Donald Roberts, former Environmental Protection Specialist Caren Robinson, former Policy Analyst Donald Rodier, former Branch Chief Karen Rodriguez, former Lead for Habitat and Species Focus Area Janet Rosati, former Remedial Project Manager, Superfund Division Carey S. Rosemarin, former Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel Marv Rosenstein, former Chief, Chemicals Management Branch Lorraine Ross, former Senior Enforcement Attorney Marvin Rubin, former Branch Chief, Industrial Technology Division, Office of Science and Technology, Office of Water Douglas Ruby, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Solid Waste Suzanne Rudzinski, former Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Land and Emergency Management Mark Rupp, former Deputy Associate Administrator for Intergovernmental Relations Carol Rushin, former Deputy Regional Administrator Sara Russell, former Grants Management Officer Carol Russell, former Scientist Daniel Ryan, former Chief of Staff Kendra Sagoff, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office Hedy Salter, former On-Scene Coordinator, Superfund Removal Program Doris Sanders, former Coordinator, Agriculture and EPA, Office of Regional Administrator Diane Sanelli, former Unit Chief, Water Program Joseph Santarella Jr., former Senior Enforcement Attorney Stephanie Sanzone, former Special Assistant, EPA Science Advisory Board, Office of the Administrator Adam R. Saslow, former Special Assistant, Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation Vacys Saulys, former International Activities Coordinator Eric Schaeffer, former Director, Office of Civil Enforcement, OECA 

Chelsea Schafer, former 

Cindy Schaffer, former Microbiologist, Office of Pesticide Programs 

John Schakenbach, former Environmental Scientist 

David A. Schaller, former Sustainable Development and Climate Change Coordinator 

Grechen Schmidt, former Civil Investigator, Office of Regional Counsel 

Sara Schneeberg, former Assistant General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office of General Counsel 

Rita Schoeny, former Senior Science Adviser, Office of Science Policy, Office of Research and Development 

Frances Schultz, former Assistant Director for Tribal, Pacific Islands and US/Mexico Border Programs, Land Division 

David Schulz, former Power Industry National Oracle 

Suzanne Schwartz, former Deputy Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, Office of Water 

Judi Schwarz, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Environmental Cleanup 

Matt Schweisberg, former Chief, Wetland Protection Section 

Paul Schwengels, former Senior Program Analyst, Climate Change Division, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiation 

Karen Schwinn, former Associate Director, Water Division 

Sara Segal, former Federal Facilities Coordinator 

Stephen Seidel, former Director, Stratospheric Protection Division, Office of Air and Radiation 

Sally Harmon Semple, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Compliance, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Harry Seraydarian, former Assistant Regional Administrator 

Don Serina, former Director, Information Services 

Stuart Sessions, former Acting Director, Regulatory Policy Division, Office of Policy Analysis 

Kathy Setian, former Superfund Project Manager 

Steve Shapiro, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention 

Mike Shields, former Federal Center Manager, FFEO, OECA 

Audrey Shileikis, former Watershed Program Coordinator 

Kitty Sibold, former Program Analyst, Climate Change Division, Office of Air and Radiation 

James Sickles, former Remedial Project Manager, Superfund Division 

L. Keith Silva, former Pretreatment Coordinator 

Sandra Silva, former Environmental Engineer, National Environmental Environmental Policy Act Office 

John Silvasi, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Air and Radiation 

Margaret Silver, former Branch Manager, Office of Regional Counsel 

Steven Silverman, former Attorney, Office of General Counsel 

Thomas Sitz, former Senior Enforcement Attorney 

Herbert Skovronek, former Technical Advisor to Director, Edison Industrial Environmental Research Lab 

Randy Smith, former Director, Office of Water 

Carol Smith, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Compliance, Enforcement and Environmental Justice 

Paula Smith, former Director, Office of Communication and Public Involvement 

Alfred Smith, former Regional Judicial Officer 

Michael Smith, former Branch Chief, Office of Regional Counsel 

Gregory Snyder, former Associate Director, Federal Facilities Enforcement Office, Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance 

Joseph Somers, former Science Adviser, Office of Transportation and Air Quality 

James Southerland, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

Thomas Speicher, former Regional Counsel 

Charles Spooner, former Environmental Scientist, Assessment and Watershed Protection Division, Office of Water 

William Spratlin, former Director, Water, Wetlands, and Pesticide Division 

Robert Springer, former Director, Office of Solid Waste 

Jonah Staller, former Associate Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Elaine Stanley, former Director, Office of Information Access and Analysis 

Richard Stapleton, former Senior Advisor, Communications 

Edward Stearns, former Environmental Scientist 

James Stearns, former Enforcement Attorney 

Rosemary Stein, former Human Resources Specialist 

William Stevens, former Senior Advisor - Power Technologies, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiation 

Lori Stewart, former Chief of Staff, Office of Air and Radiation 

Judy Stober, former International Specialist 

Bernard Stoll, former Program Manager, Engineer Assistant Branch, OIG 

Paul Stolpman, former Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs, Office of Air and Radiation 

Judy Stone, former Program Analyst, Office of Waste and Chemicals Management 

Dana Stotsky, former Senior Enforcement Attorney, Legal Enforcement Program 

Michael Strieby, former Environmental Scientist, Ecosystem Protection and Remediation 

Heather Struck, former Staff Attorney, Office of Water Enforcement 

Elsie Sunderland, former Senior Staff, Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling, Office of the Science Advisor 

Irving Susel, former Branch Chief, Office of Policy 

Daniel Suter, former Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Emergency Response 

Charles Sutfin, former Director, Office of Water, Assessment and Watershed Protection Division 

Larry Svoboda, former Director, NEPA\309 Program 

Jan Taradash, former Attorney, Office of Regional Counsel 

Wanda Taunton, former Deputy Assistant Regional Administrator for Ecosystems Protection & Remediation 

June Taylor, former Public & Intergovernmental Relations 

M. A. S. Taylor-Glaze, former Secretary 

Dean the Dream Teasdale, former Regional Labor and Employee Relations Officer 

Alexandra Teitz, former Attorney-Advisor, Office of General Counsel 

Jeff Telander, former Environmental Engineer 

Larry Teller, former Senior Communication Adviser 

Joni Teter, former Senior Enforcement Attorney, Legal Enforcement Program 

Bonnie Thie, former Chief of Staff, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, Office of Water 

Dick Thiel, former Chief, Drinking Water Branch, Water Division 

Deborah Thomas, former Chief of Compliance Assistance Branch, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Vivian Thomson, former Supervisory Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Policy Analysis and Review, Office of the Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation 

Bill Thurston, former Chief, Drinking Water Office 

Joseph Tieger, former Senior Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) 

John Tielsch, former Associate Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Gary Timm, former Senior Technical Advisor, Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, OSCP 

Ellen Tohn, former Analyst, Office of Policy Analysis 

Heather Toney, former Regional Administrator 

Steven Torok, former Senior Representative, Operations Office 

Anne Treash, former Office of Water 

Richard Troast, Ph.D., former Senior Scientist, OSWER 

Stephen Tuber, former Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Prevention and Regulatory Assistance 

Lynne G. Tudor, PhD, former Economist, Office of Water 

Linda Tuxen, former Environmental Protection Specialist, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development 

Marylouise Uhlig, former Associate Assistant Administrator for Management-OCSPP 

Ann Vanino, former Chief, Policy Section, Office of Special Pesticide Review 

Gaylene Vasaturo, former Associate Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel 

Kathleen Veit, former Associate Director, Office of Air, Waste, and Toxics 

Jo-Ann Velez, former Financial Systems Specialist, Office of Policy and Management Division, Financial Management Office 

Maria Vickers, former Deputy Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

James Vickery, former Special Assistant to Director, National Environmental Exposure Lab, EPA Representative, Air Quality Research Subcommittee, U.S. Council on Environment and Natural Research 

Debra Villari, former Associate Director, Information Access Division, OEI 

Donn Viviani, former Director, Climate Policy Division, Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation, OA 

Dale Vodehnal, former Chief, Water Quality Branch 

Garrett Voerman, former Unit Manager, Aquatic Resources Protection Section 

Craig Vogt, former Deputy Director, Oceans and Coastal Protection Division, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watershed, Office of Water 

Thomas Voltaggio, former Deputy Regional Administrator 

Chandler von Schrader, former Program Analyst - OAR/CPPD/ESRB (Manager of Existing Homes - ENERGY STAR) 

Janice Wagner, former Branch Chief, Clean Air Markets Division, Office of Air and Radiation 

Martin Wagner, former Chief, Energy Policy Branch 

Michael Walsh, former Director, Office of Mobile Source Air Pollution Control 

William Walsh, former Civil Investigator, Superfund Program 

David Wann, former Office of Pollution Prevention 

John Ward, former PREP Coordinator/Region-State Coordinator 

Cheryl Wasserman, former Associate Director for Policy Analysis 

Edward Watters, former Chief, Employee Services Branch, Resources Management Division 

Bob Wayland, former Director, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, & Watersheds, Office of Water 

Susan Wayland, former Deputy Assistant Administrator, OPPTS 

Bruce Weddle, former Deputy Director, Office of Compliance, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

Lydia Wegman, former Division Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Office of Air and Radiation 

Stephen Weil, former Chief, Land Disposal Restrictions Branch, Office of Solid Waste 

Larry Weiner, former Computer Systems Analyst, Office of Water 

William Weis, former Superfund Investigations and Enforcement 

Dov Weitman, former Chief, Nonpoint Source Control Branch 

Dale Wells, former Technical Advisor 

Peter Westlin, former Senior Environmental Engineer, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Office of Air and Radiation 

Charlotte White, former Environmental Scientist, Office of Research and Development 

Kathleen White, former Designated Federal Officer at EPA's Science Advisory Board 

William Wick, former Branch Chief, Office of Regional Counsel Hazardous Waste 

James Wieber, former Program Analyst 

Deanna Wieman, former Deputy Director, Cross Media Division 

Betty Wiese, former Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Compliance and Enforcement 

Robin Williams, former Superfund Budget Coordinator, HSCD 

Janet Williams, former Senior Assistant Regional Counsel 

Roger Williams, former Regional Administrator 

Robert Willis, former Research Physicist 

Weston Wilson, former Environmental Engineer 

William Wilson, former Senior Physical Science Advisor, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development William Douglas Wilson, former Pollution Prevention Coordinator Sharon Wilson, former Environmental Engineer, Office of Water John Wilson, former Co-lead, Climate Ready Estuaries, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds Catherine Winer, former Attorney, Water Law Office, Office of General Counsel Eugene P. Wingert, former Remedial Project Manager/Environmental Engineer Neil Wise, former Director, Office of Hazardous Waste Enforcement Branch William T. Wisniewski, former Regional Administrator Robert Wolcott, former Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy Martha A. Wolf, former Continuity of Operations Coordinator Anna Wolgast, former Judge, Environmental Appeals Board Amber Wong, former Manager, Office of Water Chantale Wong, former Special Assistant to Administrator Lily Wong, former Environmental Scientist, Air Division Judith Wong, former Assistant Regional Administrator, Technical & Management Services Philip Wong, former Program Manager Wallace Woo, former Brown Fields Coordinator Robin Woods, former Press Officer, Office of the Administrator William Wuerthele, former Water Quality Standards Coordinator Suzanne Wuerthele, Ph.D., former Regional Toxicologist Susan Wyatt, former Group Leader, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards Peter Wyckoff, former Deputy Associate General Counsel, Air Division, Office of General Counsel George Wyeth, former Attorney, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Deborah Yamamoto, former Unit Manager, Office of Environmental Cleanup Roger Yates, former Environmental Engineer, Water Division Thomas Yocom, former National Wetlands Expert Marion Yoder, former Assistant Regional Counsel, Office of Regional Counsel Laura Yoshii, former Deputy Regional Administrator Nancy Yoshikawa, former Environmental Scientist, Office of Water 

Patricia Young, former Program Manager, Pacific Islands Programs 

Marvin Young, former Senior Environmental Scientist, Drinking Water Office 

James Younger, former Director of Civil Rights and Urban Affairs 

Dan Yurman, former Program Manager, Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response 

Bruce Zander, former National TMDL Expert 

Howard Zar, former Senior Environmental Scientist 

Merrylin Zaw-Mon, former Director, Transportation and Regional Programs 

Al Zemsky, former Senior External Advisor, Air Division 

David Ziegele, former Director, Office of Planning, Analysis and Accountability, Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

Julie Zimmerman, former Engineer, National Center for Environmental Research, Office of Research and Development 

Don Zinger, Ph.D., former Chief of Staff, Office of Air and Radiation 

Mark Zuckerman, former Scientist 

 

Trump’s Anti-Climate-Protection Executive Order 

President Trump’s so-called “Energy Independence Executive Order’’1 is designed to undo most federal rules and policies for limiting climate change and defending against its impacts. This suggests that he continues to hold the unscientific view that climate change is a “hoax,”2 in addition to regarding climate change programs as “a waste of money.”3 

1 Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Growth, March 28, 2017. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/28/presidential-executive-order-promoting-energy-independence-and-economi-1 

2 The Washington Post, “China Tells Trump climate change is not a Chinese hoax,” Jasper Scherer, November 17, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/17/china-tells-trump-climate-change-is-not-a-chinese-hoax/?utm_term=.2be8d4db4f38 

3 Asked about proposed cuts to climate change-related programs, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said, “I think the President was fairly straightforward. We're not spending money on that anymore. We consider that to be a waste of your money to go out and do that.” CNN, “Trump Budget Chief on Climate Change …,” Dan Merica and Rene Marsh, March 16, 2017. http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/politics/donald-trump-budget-cut-epa/index.html 

The order would establish a policy of promoting energy development and call for a review of regulations and policies that potentially burden development or use of domestically produced energy resources, with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy resources. Several EPA and Interior Department rules environmental safeguards are singled out for review to determine if it is appropriate to suspend, rescind or revise them. Removing needed environmental safeguards on fossil energy would tip the playing field against renewable energy resources that do less damage to the climate and clean air, water and land. 

The order deliberately seeks to hide the seriousness of climate change impacts in studies that are done to inform government decision-makers and the public. And the order is propped up with arguments about jobs and energy markets that fly in the face of fact. 

Rolling Back Emission Controls. The order requires EPA to review -- and if appropriate, to suspend, revise or rescind -- the Clean Power Plan and related rules to reduce climate-changing emissions from power plants, the largest source of these emissions in the U.S. EPA is to do the same for 2016 emission standards for the oil and natural gas sector. On a separate track, the Administration has revoked an EPA finding confirming the feasibility of already finalized 2017-2025 motor vehicle standards for climate-changing emissions, and ordered the agency to reconsider. The executive order’s policy and Administration officials’ statements indicate that these reviews are likely to produce rules more favorable for industry, and less protective of the public. 

Damaging Climate Change Readiness. Inexplicably, the order pulls back a 2013 executive order intended to strengthen the nation’s defenses against the effects of climate change. That order directed federal agencies to prepare for climate change impacts and to help states and cities 

formulate and implement measures to prepare for and protect against the effects of climate change. 

Hiding the Truth from the Public and Decision Makers. The Trump order contains several provisions that would hide the full effects of climate change from citizens and from government decision makers. 

The order revokes the government’s existing estimates of the dollar value of damage from a ton of climate-changing emissions; these estimates are used in benefit-cost analyses of potential government policies. The order returns the government to a 2003 approach that will shrink damage estimates, creating a bias against actions to limit climate-changing emissions and actions to prepare the nation for climate change. This change will hide from citizens and government decision makers the full costs of those emissions to society. 

The order rescinds guidance to help federal agencies analyze a proposed federal action’s effect on climate change, and the effect of climate change on environmental impacts of a federal action, under the National Environmental Policy Act. The guidance was intended to help agencies do a thorough analysis of climate impacts of federal actions. Without it, these analyses are likely to be less informative and less thorough, limiting the information available to government decision makers and to the public. 

As noted above, the order calls for review of rules, policies and practices that it says impede domestic energy production. In the past, similar language has been code for limiting the ability of citizens to have access to information about industrial development in their communities and to have a voice in decisions about that development. 

Removing Environmental Safeguards for Oil and Gas Development. In addition, the order calls for reviewing and potentially rescinding Interior Department rules that require the oil and gas industry to use best practices in hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands, to minimize impacts of exercising oil and gas rights on national parks and wildlife refuges, and to reduce wasteful flaring of natural gas on federal lands. The likely results would include higher climate-changing emissions and more harm to air and water quality. 

Using Specious Arguments to Justify the Order. The Trump Administration argues that the new executive order is needed to promote energy independence. Yet virtually all the energy used to generate electricity today is produced in the United States. Moreover, the Energy Information Administration has projected that with the Clean Power Pan in effect, under most of the scenarios analyzed, the U.S. between 2020 and 2030 would become a net energy exporter as natural gas exports grow and domestic use of liquid petroleum falls. This would continue to be the case at least until 2040.4 

4 US Energy Information Administration, Today in Energy, January 5, 2017. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=29433 A

 

The Trump Administration also argues that the new executive order is needed to promote energy production and economic growth. U.S. Energy Information Administration figures indicate that beginning in 2008, U.S. energy production has been higher each year than in any year before that date.5 

5 See Monthly Energy Review, March 2017, p.3. https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/mer.pdf 

6 The Hill, “Coal executive: Trump ‘can’t bring mining jobs back’,” by Devin Henry, March 27, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/325891-coal-executive-trump-cant-bring-mining-jobs-back; The New York Times, “Planned Rollback of Climate Rules Unlikely to Achieve All Trump’s Goals,” by Coral Davenport, March 27, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/climate/planned-rollback-of-climate-rules-unlikely-to-achieve-all-trumps-goals.html; Bloomberg News, “Trump’s Executive Order Won’t Save Coal Mining Jobs,” by Jennifer A. Diouhy and Ari Natter, March 27, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-27/trump-s-order-won-t-resurrect-jobs-of-miners-key-to-his-campaign. 

7 Ibid. 

8 Interagency QER Task Force, Transforming the Nation’s Electricity Sector: The Second Installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review, January 2017, p. 5-1. https://www.energy.gov/epsa/downloads/quadrennial-energy-review-second-installment 

 

Nor does it create jobs. President Trump told coal miners at the signing ceremony that the executive order would bring back coal-mining jobs, but multiple coal and utility industry representatives and analysts said the opposite.6 At best, the order might slow the decades-old decline in coal-mining employment as coal production has become mechanized and competing fuels have become competitive. But due to those factors, it may have no appreciable effect on coal-mining jobs.7 

 

While the U.S. is experiencing job losses in the coal-related activities, the employment in the oil and gas sectors is growing. Oil and gas added a net 80,000 jobs between 2004 and 2014. There is even stronger job growth in the renewable energy sector. The Department of Energy (DOE) reports that the solar industry created 115,000 jobs in 2016 alone, and there were an additional 102,000 workers employed at U.S. wind farms. In addition, DOE reports that there are over 2 million people are working in industries either fully or partially related to energy efficiency.8 Surely if the Administration wanted to create energy jobs it would focus on bolstering the programs that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. But it has not done that. 

 

Trump Administration Proposing to Stop Funding 

Most EPA Climate Programs and Cut Science Research 

President Trump’s FY2018 Budget Blueprint calls for eliminating most Environmental Protection 

Agency climate change programs – including many emission reduction programs and its climate change research program -- even as the earth continues to warm and climate change impacts grow worse. 

The Blueprint would discontinue funding for implementing rules such as the Clean Power Plan to cut climate-changing emissions from power plants, and would eliminate 14 voluntary climate partnership programs that help industries, consumers, and states reduce emissions. Climate protection program activities that required $70 million and 224 personnel in FY2016, including the 14 programs, would be reduced to zero, according to a March 21 EPA memo.1 

1 EPA memorandum, “FY 2018 President’s Budget: Major Policy and Final Resource Decisions,” by David A. Bloom, Acting Chief Financial Officer, March 21, 2017, p. B-2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/epas-spending-cut-plan/2188/?tid=a_inl 

2 E&E News/Climatewire, “Clean Power Plan: World watches as U.S. climate saga heads for court showdown,” by Emily Holden, September 26, 2016. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060043400 

3 The Environmental Protection Network, Analysis of Trump Administration Proposals for FY2018 Budget for the Environmental Protection Agency, March 22, 2017. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-47Xatsg07SQk5rMGhkSHQtc0U/view?usp=sharing 

These proposals show a willful disregard for the conclusions of authoritative scientific bodies such as the National Research Council, which have concluded that human activities are causing climate changes that pose significant risks and are already have far-reaching effects. See climate science summary. 

EPA’s regulatory and voluntary programs are responsible for much of the greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions the U.S. government has worked to achieve to date. Those programs have also been key to persuading other countries to agree to reduce their own GHG pollution.2 Loss of EPA’s climate programs without equally effective replacements soon would harm the world we inhabit and leave for future generations. 

The misguided elimination of many climate change programs is a component of a Trump Administration budget that would slash EPA’s non-infrastructure funding by 43 percent – the most ever in a single year.3 EPA’s workforce would be cut by more than one-fifth. The Budget Blueprint released in March sketches the broad outlines of the full budget proposal expected in May. 

Climate and other research cuts. The Blueprint would eliminate funding for EPA climate change research, part of the government-wide U.S. Global Change Research Program. EPA’s research recently has focused on assessing human and ecosystem exposures and effects associated with air pollutants and climate change, and on preparing for and responding to changes in climate and air quality. Among other things, eliminating EPA’s climate research would undermine EPA’s ability to provide tools and information needed by individuals, communities and government agencies to take action to prepare for and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and make public health decisions on air quality. 

Climate and clean energy research at other agencies would face substantial cuts as well. The Blueprint would: 

Eliminate four NASA earth science missions important to climate research that use instruments to study clouds, small airborne particles, the flow of carbon dioxide and other elements of the atmosphere and oceans;4,5 

 

4 The New York Times, “Scientists Fear Climate Data Gap as Trump Aims at Satellites,” by Henry Fountain, April 10, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/climate/trump-nasa-satellites-global-warming-data.html 

5 Office of Management and Budget, “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again,” March 2017, p. 43. (In subsequent footnotes, this document cited as “Trump Budget Blueprint.”) https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/2018_blueprint.pdf. 

6 Ibid, p. 14. See also The Washington Post, “Proposed budget for Commerce would cut funds for NOAA,” by Chris Mooney, March 16, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/proposed-budget-for-commerce-would-cut-funds-for-noaa/2017/03/15/6c93d864-09ad-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1_story.html?utm_term=.2fa662fce5dd 

7 D. James Baker, former NOAA Administrator, personal communication, April 19, 2017. 

8 See footnote 5. 

9 Vox, “Trump’s budget would hammer climate programs at EPA, NASA, NOAA, and Energy, by Brad Plumer, March 16, 2017. http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/16/14943826/trump-budget-proposal-climate-change 

10 Trump Budget Blueprint, p. 20. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/2018_blueprint.pdf 

11 See footnote 9. 

Reduce funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Polar Follow On satellite program,6 a move that could increase risks of weather and climate data gaps, according to a former NOAA chief.7 

 

Eliminate $250 million in targeted NOAA programs including Sea Grants,8 which supports research to help coastal communities deal with climate change and other challenges;9 

Cut $2 billion from Department of Energy which reportedly would cut back DOE partnerships with the private sector to help deploy new energy technologies (as well as eliminate the Weatherization Assistance Program and State Energy Program). 10,11 DOE research programs specifically slated for elimination include the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which funds early research into long-shot energy technologies 

too risky for the private sector, and loan guarantee programs such as the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, which provided early funding to TESLA.12 

 

12 See footnote 9. 

13 Trump Budget Blueprint, p. 42. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/2018_blueprint.pdf 

14 March 21 EPA budget memorandum, p. 20. For full cite and hyperlink, see footnote 1. 

15 U.S. EPA. See https://www.energystar.gov/about/newsroom/the-energy-source/achievements 

16 https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/facility-owners-and-managers/existing-buildings/use-portfolio-manager/learn-how-portfolio-manager 

17 https://www.epa.gov/greenpower 

18 https://www.epa.gov/chp/what-chp 

 

Climate research is not the only EPA research targeted for deep cuts. Overall, the Blueprint would cut funding for EPA’s Office of Research and Development by 48%.13 According to the evolving budget proposal described in the March 21 EPA memo, staff positions would be cut by 47% for research on air, climate and energy; 34% for research on safe and sustainable water resources; 43% for research on sustainable and health communities, and 22% for chemical safety and sustainability. Cuts in non-pay funding, which includes for example grant money for external research, would range from 41% to 88% depending on the research area.14 

 

Voluntary Climate Change Partnership Programs. The 14 climate partnership programs slated for elimination help industries, consumers, and states to cut climate-changing pollution and other air pollution. In many cases, they also save businesses or consumers money by increasing efficiency and cutting energy bills. Energy Star, for example, since 1992 has prevented more than two billion tons of GHG emissions and saved $362 million in utility bills.15 Previous Republican and Democratic administrations have supported voluntary climate partnership programs. 

According to a March 21 EPA memo, the 14 voluntary climate partnership programs slated for elimination are: 

Energy Star, which identifies and promotes energy efficient products to reduce GHG pollution and other air pollution. The widely recognized Energy Star label is now on major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and new homes, buildings and plants. Energy Star also provides tools like Portfolio Manager, an interactive tool that enables companies to track and assess energy and water use across their portfolio of buildings.16 

Green Power Partnership, which encourages organizations to use renewable electricity to reduce GHG and other pollution associated with conventional electricity use.17 

Combined Heat & Power Partnership, which encourages facilities that generate electricity on-site to capture heat that is otherwise wasted and use it to provide steam or hot water for space heating, cooling, domestic hot water and industrial processes.18 

Natural Gas STAR, in which partner companies voluntarily reduce methane emissions, improve air quality, increase operational efficiency, and capture and monetize this 

valuable energy resource while also driving innovation and building a record of best practices.19 Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. AgSTAR, which promotes the use of biogas recovery systems to reduce methane emissions from livestock waste.20  Landfill Methane Outreach Program, which works cooperatively with industry and waste officials to reduce or avoid methane emissions from landfills through recovering and using biogas generated from organic municipal solid waste.21 Coalbed Methane Outreach Program, which works with the coal mining industry in the U.S. and other major coal-producing countries to reduce methane emissions. 22 Voluntary Aluminum Industrial Partnership, a collaborative EPA-industry effort to improve aluminum production efficiency while reducing emissions of perfluorocarbons (PFC), which are potent greenhouse gases.23 SF6 Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems, a collaborative EPA-industry effort to reduce emissions of sulfur hexafluoride, a highly potent greenhouse gas used in electric transmission and distribution equipment.24 Responsible Appliance Disposal Program, which works with utilities, retailers, manufacturers, states, affiliates, and others to dispose of old refrigerated appliances using the best environmental practices available.25 GreenChill Partnership, which works with food retailers to reduce HFC emissions and decrease their impact on stratospheric ozone and climate change.26  State and Local Climate Energy Program, which offers expertise and information resources on about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and climate change policies and programs to interested state, local, and tribal governments.27 Center for Corporate Climate Leadership, a resource center for all organizations looking to expand their work in the area of greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement and management, with a national climate leadership award program/ SmartWay, which helps companies assess and streamline shipping operations so they can use less fuel and generate less pollution. Experts project that by 2050, global freight transport emissions of CO2 will surpass emissions from passenger vehicles19 https://www.epa.gov/natural-gas-star-program/about-epas-oil-and-gas-methane-partnerships 20 https://www.epa.gov/agstar 21 https://www.epa.gov/lmop 22 https://www.epa.gov/cmop https://www.epa.gov/f-gas-partnership-programs/aluminum-industry  https://www.epa.gov/f-gas-partnership-programs/electric-power-systems-partnership https://www.epa.gov/rad https://www.epa.gov/greenchill  https://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate  https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership https://www.epa.gov/smartway/learn-about-smartway Regulatory Programs. The Trump Blueprint would remove funding for implementing Clean Power Plan standards expected to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from existing power plants by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030. Power plants release 31% of total U.S. GHG pollution.30 30 U.S. EPA. See https://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-existing-power-plant 31 EPA, Regulatory Impact Analysis: Final Rulemaking for 2017-2025 Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards, August 2012. https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/P100EZI1.PDF?Dockey=P100EZI1.PDF 32 Trump Budget Blueprint, p. 33. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/2018_blueprint.pdf 33 See footnote 8.34 Green Climate Fund web site. http://www.greenclimate.fund/documents/20182/24868/Status_of_Pledges.pdf/eef538d3-2987-4659-8c7c-5566ed6afd19 Specific budget proposal information for these existing programs and for ongoing rulemakings reduce climate changing emissions is generally not yet available, but the budget documents repeatedly refer to de-emphasizing climate work and focusing on what the Trump Administration regards as “core programs.” Trump has directed EPA to review, and consider revising or rescinding, rules to cut methane emissions from new or modified oil and gas facilities, and to reconsider standards to cut climate-changing emissions from 2017-2025 cars and light trucks. Those standards are expected to avoid 2 billion tons of climate-changing emissions reductions and result in approximately 4 billion barrels of oil savings over the lifetime of vehicles sold in model years 2017 through 2025.31 The March 21 memo indicates that the Trump budget would cut staffing by 43 positions for issuance of emissions control rules for stationary pollution sources. “Climate work” is identified as one focus of the reductions. International work. The Budget Blueprint would eliminate funding for EPA’s international climate programs, but does not name those programs. It is essential that other countries control their GHG pollution for significant progress to be made on mitigating increasing GHG levels and climate change impacts. The international climate work done by EPA and other agencies has helped move high-emitting countries like China, India, Brazil and others to take action to reduce emissions.The Budget Blueprint for the State Department and related programs would cease U.S. payments to the Green Climate Fund, created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and its two precursor Climate Investment Funds.32 As part of the Paris climate deal in 2015, the United States pledged to provide $3 billion to poorer countries to help them adapt to climate change and develop clean energy, but only $1 billion has been provided.33,34 April 27, 2017  Key Findings from Authoritative Scientific Reports On Climate Change Scientific Findings For decades, evidence has mounted that human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, is responsible for much of the warming and related climate changes being observed around the world.i The operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Research Council, published a broad assessment of the scientific literature in 2010 which stated: “Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for -- and in many cases is already affecting -- a broad range of human and natural systems.” ii (emphasis added) Statements by Trump Administration officials questioning the significance of the human contribution are at odds with this and other authoritative and peer-reviewed assessments of the scientific literature such as those by the government-wide U.S. Global Change Research Program and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and scientific assessments by many foreign governments.iii These assessments are based on thousands of scientific studies that were subjected to peer review by other scientist to make sure the research methods were sound and that conclusions were be supported by the evidence. Recent assessments have provided further support for the conclusions summarized above.iv It is important not to delay reducing carbon pollution and other greenhouse gas emissions because, once emitted, these emissions persist in the atmosphere for decades, hundreds of years, or even longer, depending on the chemical compound. As the National Research Council has explained, “The sooner that serious efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions proceed, the lower the risks posed by climate change, and the less pressure there will be to make larger, more rapid, and potentially more expensive reductions later.”v The effects of emissions of carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases threaten the lives, health and well-being of Americans and people worldwide. These long-lived gases are building up in the atmosphere and causing far-reaching changes to our planet, according to the National Research Council and other scientific authorities:  Heat waves and record high temperatures have increased across most regions of the world. Further warming will continue to increase risks of heat-related illnesses and deaths, especially among the poor and elderly.vi,vii  Patterns of precipitation are already changing regionally and over time are expected to make dry areas dryer and wet areas wetter. These increasing trends will bring more droughts, increase fire risks, and intensify severe storms,viii extreme weather and flooding -- events that can cause deaths, and injuries, as well as billions of dollars of damage to property and the nation’s infrastructure (e.g., electric power grid, roads and transportation systems, water distribution systems, buildings, etc.)ix  Other climate change public health concerns raised in the scientific literature include anticipated increases in ground-level ozone pollutionx, the potential for enhanced spread of some waterborne and pest-related diseasesxi, and evidence for increased production or dispersion of airborne allergensxii.  Rising sea levels are documented and are expected over time to cause coastal flooding that affects population centers in the U.S. and around the globe.xiii  Numerous species in the ocean and on land over time will be threatened with extinction.xiv  Threats to the food chain are becoming evident and will continue to be more pronounced. Warmer waters can lead to a decline in oxygen causing dead zones threatening important U.S. fisheries. Increased CO2 in the oceans is causing them to become increasingly acidic, threatening many species including important food commodities. On land the changing climate over time is expected to damage staple crops, and global food security may be threatened.xv  The Department of Defense states, “Global climate change will aggravate problems such as poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership and weak political institutions that threaten stability in a number of countries.”xvi  Those most vulnerable to climate related health effects -- such as children, the elderly, the poor, and future generations -- face disproportionate risks. Studies also find that climate change poses particular threats to the health, well-being, and ways of life of indigenous peoples in the United States.xvii  Several assessments state that we may be approaching critical, poorly understood thresholds that may lead to rapid and potentially permanent changes not predicted by climate models that could cause abrupt and serious impacts for society and ecosystems.xviii Actions to reduce climate-changing emissions will have multiple benefits. For example, reducing CO2 emissions from power plants will also reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These pollutants contribute to formation of fine particle pollution and ozone pollution, which have a range of health effects including respiratory and cardiovascular illness and premature death.xix Studies have documented a wealth of opportunities to achieve GHG emission reductions that are cost-effective and provide economic stimulus to businesses helping to build a cleaner economy.xx April 27, 2017 i National Research Council of the National Academies, Climate change: Evidence, Impact and Choices, https://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/more-resources-on-climate-change/climate-change-lines-of-evidence-booklet/ ii National Research Council (2010), Advancing the Science of Climate Change, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., Continuing Denial Despite the authoritative studies summarized here, President Trump claimed in 2012 that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”xxi In 2014, he wrote, “This very expensive bulls--- has got to stop,” and in another Twitter message referred to “global warming hoaxsters.”xxii The President’s EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, has stated that he “would not agree” that human activity is “a primary contributor to the global warming that we see. We don’t know that yet.”xxiii Notably, neither President Trump nor Administrator Pruitt has provided a scientific basis for his claim, and Pruitt apparently understands that the claims cannot be substantiated. In testimony before Congress, Pruitt said he would not try to reverse EPA’s 2009 finding that greenhouse gas pollution endangers public health and welfare because a reversal would almost certainly be overturned by the courts.xxiv While courts give EPA (and other expert agencies) deference in assessing scientific issues, they still insist that EPA consider the relevant scientific evidence and reach conclusions that are reasonable and rational considering that evidence. As detailed in the studies noted above, the evidence that humans are the primary driver of climate change is extensive and compelling. The evidence was developed using the scientific method that we all learned as children in school – testing ideas of how natural systems work by collecting and objectively assessing information gathered through careful observation, measurement and experiment. The scientific method used in climate research also propels advances in medicine, technology and other important areas that benefit our lives. So why the skepticism about climate science? For some, it may be the prospect of what combating climate change may mean for their businesses’ bottom line, though combating climate change also offers many business opportunities. For others, it may be the belief that the relatively few scientists who are climate change skeptics are like Galileo, courageously dissenting from the prevailing scientific consensus. Yet comparing skeptics to Galileo proves nothing. In Galileo’s day, the prevailing view that the sun revolved around the earth was largely based on religion; Galileo’s contribution was to use the scientific method to show, based on his astronomical observations, that the earth revolves around the sun. Galileo is considered the father of the scientific method that climate and other scientists employ today. Climate science assessments by NRC and other scientific bodies consider a very broad range of peer-reviewed studies in the scientific literature and weigh the evidence in determining their conclusions. iii The NRC noted that its conclusion (above in quotes) is based on findings that are consistent with several other major assessments of the state of scientific knowledge on climate change. National Research Council (2010), Advancing the Science of Climate Change, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., p. 286. iv EPA has observed that these more recent assessments -- from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and the National Research Council (NRC) -- include: IPCC’s 2012 Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) and the 2013–2014 Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), the USGCRP’s 2014 National Climate Assessment, Climate Change Impacts in the United States (NCA3), and the NRC’s 2010 Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean, 2011 Report on Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts over Decades to Millennia, 2011 National Security Implications for U.S. Naval Forces, 2011 Understanding Earth’s Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future, 2012 Sea Level Rise for the Coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington: Past, Present, and Future, 2012 Climate and Social Stress: Implications for Security Analysis, and 2013 Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change. v National Research Council (2011) America’s Climate Choices: Report in Brief, Committee on America’s Climate Choices, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Division on Earth and Life Studies, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., p. 2. vi See footnote 1 1 The Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2017. http://secure.marketwatch.com/story/tens-of-thousands-march-for-science-in-more-than-500-rallies-around-the-world-2017-04-24?link=MW_story_latest_news 2 National Research Council (2010), “Advancing the Science of Climate Change,” National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., p.3. The NRC is the operating arm of the National Academies of Science. 3 See, for example, U.S. Global Change Research Program, Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, May 2014; and IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report, Geneva, Switzerland. ii Karl, T.R., J.M. Melillo, and T.C. Peterson (eds.) (2009), Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, United States Global Change Research Program, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA. https://www.rosemonteis.us/documents/016726 viii See footnote 1. ix U.S. Global Change Research Program, Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, May 2014. http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report x CCSP (2008), Analyses of the effects of global change on human health and welfare and human systems. A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. Gamble, J.L. (ed.), K.L. Ebi, F.G. Sussman, T.J. Wilbanks, (Authors), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA. xi Confalonieri, U., B. Menne, R. Akhtar, K.L. Ebi, M. Hauengue, R.S. Kovats, B. Revich and A. Woodward (2007). Human health. In: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Parry, M.L., O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof., P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, (eds.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. xii Ibid. xiii See footnote 1.xiv See footnote 1. xv See footnote 1. xvi National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate, July 2015, http://archive.defense.gov/pubs/150724-congressional-report-on-national-implications-of-climate-change.pdf?source=govdelivery xvii U.S. EPA, Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Clean Power Plan Final Rule, August 2015 (updated October 23, 2015). Available at: https://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-final-rule-regulatory-impact-analysis xviii National Research Council, Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change, 2013. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18373/abruptimpacts-of-climate-change-anticipating-surprises xix See footnote 8 xx Envist, P., T. Naucler, and J. Rosander, “A Cost Curve for Greenhouse Gas Reduction,” McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey & Co., February 2007. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/a-cost-curve-for-greenhouse-gas-reduction xxi New York Times, “Trump Has Called Climate Change a Chinese Hoax. Beijing Says It is Anything But.”, Edward Wong, November 18, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/world/asia/china-trump-climate-change.html xxii The Washington Post, “China Tells Trump climate change is not a Chinese hoax,” Jasper Scherer, November 17, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/17/china-tells-trump-climate-change-is-not-a-chinese-hoax/?utm_term=.2be8d4db4f38 xxiii CNBC article by Tom DiChristopher reporting interview of Scott Pruitt on CNBC’s Squawkbox, March 9, 2017, “EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/09/epa-chief-scott-pruitt.html xxiv The New York Times, “Scott Pruitt Faces Anger From Right Over E.P.A. Finding He Won’t Fight,” by Coral Davenport, April 12, 2017. https://nyti.ms/2oYojTN  xvi National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate, July 2015, http://archive.defense.gov/pubs/150724-congressional-report-on-national-implications-of-climate-change.pdf?source=govdelivery xvii U.S. EPA, Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Clean Power Plan Final Rule, August 2015 (updated October 23, 2015). Available at: https://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-final-rule-regulatory-impact-analysis xviii National Research Council, Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change, 2013. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18373/abrupt-impacts-of-climate-change-anticipating-surprises xix See footnote 8 xx Envist, P., T. Naucler, and J. Rosander, “A Cost Curve for Greenhouse Gas Reduction,” McKinsey Quarterly, McKinsey & Co., February 2007. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/a-cost-curve-for-greenhouse-gas-reduction xxi New York Times, “Trump Has Called Climate Change a Chinese Hoax. Beijing Says It is Anything But.”, Edward Wong, November 18, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/world/asia/china-trump-climate-change.html xxii The Washington Post, “China Tells Trump climate change is not a Chinese hoax,” Jasper Scherer, November 17, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/11/17/china-tells-trump-climate-change-is-not-a-chinese-hoax/?utm_term=.2be8d4db4f38 xxiii CNBC article by Tom DiChristopher reporting interview of Scott Pruitt on CNBC’s Squawkbox, March 9, 2017, “EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming.” http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/09/epa-chief-scott-pruitt.html xxiv The New York Times, “Scott Pruitt Faces Anger From Right Over E.P.A. Finding He Won’t Fight,” by Coral Davenport, April 12, 2017. https://nyti.ms/2oYojTN