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The Trump administration has frozen grants and contracts by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to ProPublica, and blocked employees from providing updates on this change via social media. This could have big effects on the agency's budget and severely undercut its efforts.
In an email obtained by ProPublica, one EPA contractor writes that: "The new EPA administration has asked that all contract and grant awards be temporarily suspended, effective immediately. Until we receive further clarification, this includes task orders and work assignments."
Also, employees have been banned from providing updates to reporters or on social media. The internal memo specifies that no press releases will go out to external audiences, there will be "no blog messages" and media requests will be carefully screened. (Interestingly, the Department of Energy, a fellow federal agency, recently released new guidelines that specifically protects contractors and ensures that they can state their personal opinions.)
Source: The Verge
takyon: Here are some related stories happening at the same time:
USDA scrambles to ease concerns after researchers were ordered to stop publishing news releases, other documents
USDA disavows gag-order emailed to scientific research unit
Commerce nominee Ross promises to protect "peer-reviewed research" at NOAA
CDC postpones climate conference ahead of Trump takeover
Badlands National Park goes rogue with climate-change tweets
(Score: 3, Interesting) by jmorris on Wednesday January 25 2017, @06:39AM
Basically Trump has shutdown the EPA pending getting his nominee confirmed and getting control of the place. Should stop the machinery over there from running wild and give the Dems a pause when considering plans to stall the process.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @10:13AM
Or it could just possibly be that he is a big proponent of fossil fuels because he is heavily invested in them ... and his puppeteer Putin relies on higher prices of fossil fuels to run his country (and line his pockets). Based on the complete lack of transparency on Trump's part it's entirely possible he is invested in Russian oil & natural gas companies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @05:56PM
I have a friend who thinks the way you do, and she has an MBA. Sadly people don't understand basic economics.
More fossil fuel production means lower prices. Simple economics. Also lower dependence on foreign oil, which is not what Russia or other oil exporters want to hear.
All the crap they force us to learn in K-12 and not 1 minute of economics. Economics should be required in all schools starting in 8th grade. THAT would change the world for the better.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @06:43PM
The more that is used by utility companies to create power the higher the demand for fossil fuels. Sure there will be more production - to a degree - but I don't think the it will cover the increased usage. Every producer wants the US (and every other market) to use more.
Of course by disagreeing with you I will be labeled misguided and uneducated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @07:23PM
Compare it the big criticism of the pharma industry - they don't want to develop cures because there is no money in that, they want maintenance drugs that you have to buy every day for the rest of your life.
Same thing with fossil fuels. They would rather we stay addicted to oil, even at $30/barrel than we kick the habit and go all renewable because they earn nothing on a barrel of oil that is not sold.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Wednesday January 25 2017, @06:02PM
I know that's the Democratic Party line right now, but there's exactly zero evidence that has been made available that supports the idea that Trump is some kind of Manchurian Candidate. In particular, the evidence the Democrats are citing in support of that notion doesn't add up:
- The hack of John Podesta's emails was a phishing scam sent out of a Tor exit node that could have been pulled off by anybody with some basic technical knowledge.
- The release of the DNC emails could have been by a DNC insider passing some USB sticks to Craig Murray, who then could pass them to Julian Assange. The FBI nor any other US government agency has been allowed to look at the DNC's computers to find out more about what happened.
- The propaganda machine the DNC is all hysterical about is simply Russia's state-funded media, and other outlets that pick up the Russian media's stories. Russian-funded stories, like all news stories, may or may not be true.
- The blackmail material Russia supposedly has on Trump has already been released, and had no substantial effects.
- The financial ties may or may not exist, but nobody's been able to demonstrate what they are.
I vote more often for Democrats than other political parties, but that line of attack smells like BS. Let's just attack Trump for the stuff he actually does.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Wednesday January 25 2017, @02:52PM
The new nominee also intends to gut the EPA, so I don't see how this is anything other than Trump doing exactly what he was planning to do all along regardless of what the Democrats have to say about it. No sophisticated political maneuvering here, just "If you won't let me hire the person I want to to gut the EPA, I'm just going to do it myself. Heads I win, tails you lose."
Also, what exactly do you mean by "running wild"? Exactly what is the EPA doing that is totally outrageous or shouldn't be happening? What percentage of its budget goes to those activities?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Funny) by FatPhil on Wednesday January 25 2017, @03:25PM
Can't you see? The clue's even in the bloody name! They're agents protecting the environment. And there are few things wilder than the environment. I saw it once, it was all dirty. It's disgusting, I don't even want to talk about it.
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