Sign Petition to Protect Clean Car Standards

Under the last administration, the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Political Action Committee made significant progress fighting pollution and climate change. One big step was stronger fuel efficiency rules for cars and light trucks. After all, some 20% of all carbon emissions come from cars and trucks -- about 24 pounds of CO2 for every gallon of gas!

But under Donald Trump, the EPA and Department of Transportation are set to put us in reverse. Their plan? A total rollback of Obama-era fuel efficiency and emissions standards. It makes no sense. Fighting global climate change and pollution starts at home and starts with us. We can save people money at the pump and create jobs, but only if we fight to keep the fuel efficiency standards.

CLICK THIS LINK TO MAKE AN OFFICIAL PUBLIC COMMENT ADMINISTRATOR PRUITT and SECRETARY CHAO:

"Put our long-term health ahead of industry profits and special interests. Stop trying to roll back clean car standards!"

- Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Political Action Committee

EPA inspector general: Investigate Scott Pruitt for hiding toxic water contamination

The petition to Environmental Protection Agency Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins, Jr. reads: "Investigate Scott Pruitt's systematic actions to withhold information from the public about water contamination by not releasing research and banning journalists." Add your name:

Get rid of that one!  Last week, the EPA forcibly removed an Associated Press reporter from a national summit on water contamination. The EPA had selectively banned several journalists from the event, holding a CNN reporter and others at a security checkpoint.1 When the AP reporter asked to speak to someone from the EPA's public affairs office, security guards grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her out of the building.2 The week before, news broke that EPA chief Scott Pruitt had quietly buried an EPA study on a nationwide water contamination crisis.3 The study found that a class of chemicals contaminating water supplies across a large region endangers human health when present at far lower levels than the EPA has previously called safe.4 Pruitt's efforts to keep the public in the dark about serious health risks are unethical, authoritarian and dangerous. The AP's executive editor called the selective banning of journalists “a direct threat to the public’s right to know about what is happening inside their government.”5 We must respond to that threat. Tell the EPA inspector general: Investigate Scott Pruitt for hiding research and banning journalists. Click here to sign the petition. This is not normal – but it is frighteningly easy to see how we got here. Trump's contempt for journalists and his shameless disregard for democratic norms have made his top officials feel free to conduct what should be public business without the pesky eyes of the public watching them. When the government hides environmental risks, our communities are less safe. And when public officials get to pick and choose which journalists are allowed to cover them, our democracy is less safe too. The only way to check the Trump regime's authoritarian advances is to resist them at every turn. The independent EPA inspector general has the authority to investigate Pruitt's actions. If we are loud enough in our demands, we can persuade the inspector general to investigate and build political pressure for Pruitt to be more transparent or to heed the growing calls for him to resign. Tell the EPA inspector general: Investigate Scott Pruitt for hiding research and banning journalists. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/investigate-pruitt?t=7&akid=28703%2E3130208%2ELO8OWr - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Add your name: References: Joanna Walters and agencies, Journalists barred from EPA summit on harmful water contaminants," The Guardian, May 22, 2018. Ibid. Annie Snider, White House, EPA headed off chemical pollution study," POLITICO, May 14, 2018. Ibid. Associated Press, "Pruitt bars AP, CNN from EPA summit on contaminants, guards push reporter out of building," NBC News, May 22, 2018.

PUBLIC COMMENT TIME: Stop Pruitt from limiting the use of science at the EPA.

Under Scott Pruitt’s proposed rule, the EPA would rely on limited information and develop weaker protections.

Everyone depends on the science used by the Environmental Protection Agency. Because of it, we breathe healthier air, eat less-toxic food and drink safer water.

But now the Trump administration has proposed another rule that would upend the use of science at the EPA and could gut air pollution standards, limits on pesticides in food, protections from lead and more.

We need you to tell EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt not to restrict the science the agency considers when it adopts standards that are supposed to protect our families and communities.

Administrator Pruitt and his cronies want to rewrite the rules so the EPA can ignore peer-reviewed health studies that rely on confidential information, such as study participants’ identifying characteristics and personal medical histories, and medical providers’ reports on how chemicals in our air, water or food harm these individuals.

If Pruitt gets his way, polluting industries could use confidential data to intimidate people. In North Carolina, the powerful Pork Council tried to bully researchers into providing data that could reveal the identities of people who participated in a study of the health effects of living near industrial hog operations. Releasing that information would have destroyed the trust vital to public health research. But Pruitt wants to force researchers to choose between breaking promises made to study participants and conducting research that supports public health.

To make matters worse, the proposal would give Pruitt full control to decide what scientific findings the EPA can rely on and what well-supported findings the agency will ignore.

Tell Scott Pruitt to stop the EPA attack on science and our public health.

Pruitt knows that his proposal would make a mockery of the EPA’s duty to protect public health, so he’s trying to ram it through. He gave the public just 30 days to comment—and time’s up on May 30. Pruitt knows that purposely ignoring crucial science cannot stand up to public scrutiny.

Make your voice heard. Tell Scott Pruitt to stop ignoring the science and let him know why public health protections matter TO YOU.  (Please, consider personalizing the comment below to keep Pruitt from throwing it out as form letter.)

-Tyler Smith, Staff Scientist at EARTH JUSTICE


Read more: 

E.P.A. Announces a New Rule. One Likely Effect: Less Science in Policymaking

If the EPA doesn't believe in science, what is it good for?

Submit your revised version of PUBLIC COMMENT (below) 

Like all Americans, I depend on the science the Environmental Protection Agency uses to protect my health and the health of my family and community. Science supports limits on air pollution, pesticides in food and more.

Your proposed rule, which would place unprecedented limits on the use of science at the EPA, would prevent the agency from using the best science. The EPA should not create a false conflict between violating the privacy of the people who participate in research studies and protecting the public’s health.

Furthermore, you have provided just 30 days for the public to comment on the rule. This is highly inappropriate for a radical proposal that would upend the agency’s use of science.

I urge you to abandon the proposal. Our country deserves to have air that is clean for all, water that is safe for all, and food that is free of toxic chemicals.

No more excuses: Time for Scott Pruitt to go!

Scott Pruitt has no business leading the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it’s time for him to resign or be fired. The shocking ethics violations now making headlines are just the latest in a long string of unacceptable behavior from this fossil-fuel funded climate denier.

We've known for a long time that Scott Pruitt needs to go, but now we may actually be able to get rid of him. It’s hard to keep up with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s mounting scandals. Now, four top aides of Pruitt’s have resigned, and many wonder when Pruitt will follow their lead.

Scott Pruitt is facing over a dozen ethics investigations and the drumbeat of voices calling on him to leave his post is growing by the day — including at least 190 members of Congress who have now publicly called for Pruitt to resign or be fired and hundreds of thousands of petition signers across the nation.

We must keep the pressure on: Add your voice to the growing calls for EPA administrator Scott Pruitt to resign or be fired — immediately.

Pruitt could very soon be added to the growing list of ousted Trump administration officials, but that will only happen if we keep making noise and don't let up.

We know that Pruitt got a sweetheart condo rental deal from an energy lobbyist, sidelined anyone who questioned his actions, and wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on luxury travel, round-the-clock security, and unapproved raises for his favorite staff members. Yet, even with the scandals mounting, President Trump said Pruitt is doing "a great job."

That's because Pruitt is carrying out Trump's disastrous fossil fueled climate denier agenda. Pruitt has been working overtime to pad the pockets of fossil fuel executives: slashing regulations, rigging the system for polluters, rolling back climate protections, undermining science, and promoting the toxic agenda of the fossil fuel industry.

Add your voice: Scott Pruitt’s extreme anti-science, anti-environment, climate-denier agenda is a danger to the American people — and his dirty dealings and unethical conduct are unacceptable. It's time for him to go.

-  ClimateTruth.org Action team

#stopPruitt, #noPruitt 

MORE INFORMATION:

"EPA Hid Scott Pruitt’s Dinner With Climate Denier Accused Of Child Sex Abuse," Huffington Post, 05-11-2018
“Trump's support for embattled Pruitt could be wavering,” CNN, 05-09-2018
“White House Aides are Urging President Trump to Fire Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A Chief,” The New York Times, 05-07-2018
"Pruitt loses his fourth EPA aide this week — and more might be on the way," Politico, 05-04-2018
“Oil and Coal Executives Clamored for Time With Pruitt, Records Show,” Bloomberg, 05-04-2018
“Scott Pruitt’s actions at the EPA have triggered nearly a dozen investigations,” Vox, 05-04-2018

Your senators can hold Pruitt accountable

Big news: President Trump's EPA chief Scott Pruitt will be back in the hot seat next week on Capitol Hill — this time testifying before the Senate.

Pruitt will face questions from members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, which oversees Pruitt's spending, about his lavish expenses, fossil fuel industry hires, and massive proposed cuts to his own agency's budget.

Call your senators today: Urge them to tell their colleagues on the subcommittee to hold Pruitt’s feet to the fire and make him justify his excessive spending at next week’s hearing. 

And be sure to emphasize that Pruitt is unfit to lead the EPA — and he needs to be fired.

Think about it: What would you want to ask Pruitt? Tell your senator now.

Here are some ideas for questions to get you started:

1. Since the EPA's mission is to protect our health and our environment, why has Pruitt taken significantly more meetings with fossil fuel industry executives than environmental or public health groups?
2. Why did Scott Pruitt spend thousands of taxpayer dollars on lavish expenses like first-class flights, a $43,000 phone booth, a security detail during a personal trip to Disneyland, and $120,000 on a two-day trip to Rome that only included four hours of meetings?
3. Why does Pruitt refuse to address climate change, when the vast majority of scientists agree that it's the biggest environmental threat we've ever faced?

Pruitt's deep ties to the oil and gas industry ... his shameless use of taxpayer money ... his suppression of climate science ... it all means one thing: we — and our planet — simply can't afford Pruitt's incompetent leadership.

This subcommittee hearing is a rare opportunity for your senators to demand real answers from Pruitt and send a clear message to the White House: Pruitt has to go!

Call your senators now and urge them to stand up to Pruitt — for our environment, our climate, and our families' health.

Every day Scott Pruitt remains in office, our planet sustains damage that may never be undone. Let's show the Senate we've had enough.

- Rhea Suh, President, NRDC & NRDC Action Fund

#stopPruitt  #noPruitt 

Tell the EPA: Don't weaken fuel economy standards that save consumers money & reduce pollution

In 2012, the U.S. adopted new fuel economy standards to save consumers money and reduce pollution. Fuel economy standards are working and consumers are better off as a result. Vehicles continue to hit record highs in fuel efficiency and every vehicle class is improving. A Consumer Reports study showed that, when fully phased in, these standards will save drivers $3,200 per car and $4,800 per truck over the lifetime of the vehicle.

Unfortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) are taking the first step towards lowering these standards, which would leave consumers on the hook for thousands of dollars more in gas costs.

The vast majority of Americans — 84 percent — believe increasing fuel efficiency for our cars and trucks is important. We need to speak out now to show the EPA and DOT that the people they serve want to keep, not weaken, fuel economy standards. Please add your name today.

Add your name now if you agree. Together, we’ll show the EPA and DOT that the people they serve want to keep, not weaken, fuel economy standards.

Take action now »

- Shannon Baker-Branstetter, Consumer Reports

Tell Scott Pruitt's EPA: Stop war on science

The petition to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and the EPA reads: "EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's proposal to eliminate valuable data from the EPA's decision-making process will threaten public health and ultimately cost lives. Follow the guidance of the scientific community and do not adopt this disingenuous and harmful plan." Add your name:

Scott Pruitt wants to delete decades of landmark scientific research from the EPA's decision-making process. Trump's industry-friendly EPA administrator has proposed a dramatic change to the way the EPA handles scientific data. If he is successful, he will intentionally blind the agency to the well-documented links between pollution and public health. Pruitt's escalating war on science has a clear goal: ending the regulations that protect us from smog, pesticides, climate change and other dangerous threats to our health and the environment. Pruitt and the rest of the Trump regime are willing to risk human lives to make their friends a little richer. To fight back, we must stand up for science. Tell Scott Pruitt's EPA: Stop your war on science. Drop the plan to eliminate valuable research from the EPA's decision making. Click here to sign the petition. Pruitt's plan is sneaky. In the name of "transparency," he is proposing that when the EPA crafts regulations, it should ignore research studies that do not have publicly available data.1 The catch is that research on public health often includes confidential personal or medical histories, so researchers cannot ethically release this data to the public. If Pruitt's proposal had been enacted in the past, the federal government would have been unable to consider groundbreaking studies that exposed the health risks of leaded gasoline and fine-particle air pollution.2 If the government had ignored that science, many more Americans would have died prematurely. Scientists, not industry shills like Pruitt, should be the ones deciding which studies are valid. Qualified scientists can already obtain access to anonymized data from the EPA, so EPA studies have already been investigated, peer-reviewed and scrutinized.3 Instead of throwing out hallmark research, much of it funded by taxpayers through the EPA, Pruitt should be following the guidance of real scientific experts. Tell Scott Pruitt's EPA: Stop your war on science. Drop the plan to eliminate valuable research from the EPA's decision making. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/pruitt-data/?t=7&akid=28492%2E3130208%2Eccxtel -Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action References: Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, "Pruitt unveils controversial 'transparency' rule limiting what research EPA can use," The Washington Post, April 24, 2018. Trevor Nace, "EPA Chief Scott Pruitt: Delete Decades Of Science In The Name Of 'Transparency,'" Forbes, April 24, 2018.

For the sake of the planet, tell Scott Pruitt to RESIGN NOW

The petition to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reads: "American taxpayers will no longer condone your corrupt administration, bankroll your expensive trips or tolerate the dismantling of our environmental protections to help your industry cronies. Resign now." Add your name:

Scott Pruitt has to go. Every day, another news story breaks about Pruitt's corrupt dealings as Trump's anti-environmental EPA administrator. He is ruling the EPA as his own personal fiefdom – taking first-class flights, using government resources for personal gain and giving away favors to his friends. Meanwhile, as Pruitt's ethical violations are making headlines, he is continuing to quietly scrap every rule that stops polluters from destroying our health and environment. Tell Scott Pruitt to resign. Click here to sign the petition. In hardly more than a year on the job, Pruitt has already made a name for himself by: Taking shady favors from lobbyists. Pruitt rented his Washington condo from an energy lobbyist's wife for an outrageously low price, then approved a pipeline project for the lobbyist's client.1 Wasting taxpayer funds on luxury travel. Taxpayers have spent more than $163,000 on Pruitt's first-class flights, charter flights and a ride on a military jet. The EPA even looked into getting him his own private jet.2 Giving giant, unapproved raises to favorite staffers. Pruitt used an obscure law to get around the fact that the White House rejected pay increases for two staff members he brought from Oklahoma. He gave them raises of 33 and 52 percent.3 Using EPA staff for personal errands. Pruitt assigned an EPA staffer to help him find housing during work hours and on the taxpayer's dime.4 Dismantling environmental protections to help out his industry friends. Newly released emails document Pruitt's long history of coziness with industry polluters.5 The biggest scandal of all is Pruitt's willingness to sell out our climate's future and our clean air and water to funnel money back to his corporate cronies. As one news story put it, the "'Most Blatantly Corrupt Trump Official' award is so close Scott Pruitt can taste it."6 New revelations about his ethical violations continue to break as he tears apart the agency he is supposed to lead. Even some congressional Republicans have started calling for Pruitt to step down.7 Enough is enough. Scott Pruitt has to go. Tell Scott Pruitt to resign. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/resign-pruitt?t=7&akid=28000%2E3130208%2EeE5Hq4 - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Eric Lipton, "Pruitt had a $50-a-day condo linked to lobbyists. Their client’s project got approved." The New York Times, April 2, 2018. Margaret Hartmann, "EPA Mulled Leasing a Private Jet, and Other Scandalous Scott Pruitt Revelations," New York Magazine, April 4, 2018. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, "Top Pruitt aide at EPA also shopped for housing on his behalf," Washington Post, April 2, 2018. Ibid. Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson, "Thousands of emails detail EPA head’s close ties to fossil fuel industry," The Washington Post, Feb. 22, 2018. Bess Levin, "Most Blatantly Corrupt Trump Official' award is so close Scott Pruitt can taste it," Vanity Fair, March 30, 2018. Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis and Josh Dawsey, "EPA’s Scott Pruitt faces intensifying scrutiny, criticism of his ethics decisions," The Washington Post, April 3, 2018.

Submit a public comment: TELL THE EPA - RESTRICT THE USE OF GLYPHOSATE

Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are now accepting public comments on their proposed reapproval of the pesticide, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. If the EPA reapproves glyphosate, it will enable chemical companies to sell this toxic pesticide for another 15 years. Now’s your chance to tell EPA to restrict the use of this hazardous weedkiller!

Best known as the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, glyphosate is the chemical cornerstone of GMO-based agriculture. In fact, over the past two decades, Monsanto’s ubiquitous Roundup-resistant GMOs have made glyphosate the most-used pesticide in the history of the world. And that’s bad news for all of us.

Public Health

• The world’s leading cancer authorities have classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen¹. Farmers who use glyphosate are particularly at risk of getting the immune system cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• We are all encountering more glyphosate thanks to GMOs.  EPA estimates that our exposure to glyphosate residue in foods has quadrupled over the past 25 years, with 1-2 year olds far more highly exposed than adults.

Endangered Species

• Glyphosate poses an existential threat to monarch butterflies and their epic migration by wiping out their host plant, milkweed, from farm fields throughout the Midwest².
• Roundup is incredibly toxic to frogs, and is likely contributing to the worldwide decline in amphibians³.
• Glyphosate and its breakdown product are regularly found in surface waters, air, rainfall and soils throughout the U.S.

Agriculture

• Sprayed in large quantities on Roundup-resistant GMOs, glyphosate has become a leading culprit in drift-related injury to traditional crops not resistant to Roundup.
• Glyphosate released from the roots of GMOs can harm beneficial soil bacteria and promote the growth of soil fungi that cause plant disease.
• Overuse of glyphosate has also triggered an epidemic of glyphosate-resistant weeds, one of the greatest challenges for U.S. agriculture since the boil weevil.  The industry’s response to these “superweeds” is to introduce “next generation” GMO crops that can be sprayed with additional pesticides to kill the glyphosate-resistant weeds, causing unprecedented damage to neighbors’ crops and wild plants⁴, a lose-lose proposition for farmers and the environment.

Despite these significant health, environmental, and agricultural consequences, EPA is poised to reapprove glyphosate for the next 15 years!Tell Scott Pruitt and the EPA how important it is to NOT approve glyphosate without serious restrictions needed to address its many threats!

-The Center for Food Safety

_________________

References:

1. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/glyphosate-faq_64013.pdf  

2. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/monarchs-in-peril-one-pager--copy_82788.pdf  

3. https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1434/ML14345A564.pdf

4. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/blog/5063/how-monsanto-is-devastating-thousands-of-farms-across-20-states#showJoin

Scott Pruitt, we have been following your real "accomplishments." Time to RESIGN!

Really!!! Scott Pruitt hung up this list of accomplishments 

The petition to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reads: "American taxpayers will no longer condone your corrupt administration, bankroll your expensive trips or tolerate the dismantling of our environmental protections to help your industry cronies. Resign now." Add your name:

Scott Pruitt has to go. Every day, another news story breaks about Pruitt's corrupt dealings as Trump's anti-environmental EPA administrator. He is ruling the EPA as his own personal fiefdom – taking first-class flights, using government resources for personal gain and giving away favors to his friends. Meanwhile, as Pruitt's ethical violations are making headlines, he is continuing to quietly scrap every rule that stops polluters from destroying our health and environment. Tell Scott Pruitt to resign. Click here to sign the petition. In hardly more than a year on the job, Pruitt has already made a name for himself by: Taking shady favors from lobbyists. Pruitt rented his Washington condo from an energy lobbyist's wife for an outrageously low price, then approved a pipeline project for the lobbyist's client.1 Wasting taxpayer funds on luxury travel. Taxpayers have spent more than $163,000 on Pruitt's first-class flights, charter flights and a ride on a military jet. The EPA even looked into getting him his own private jet.2 Giving giant, unapproved raises to favorite staffers. Pruitt used an obscure law to get around the fact that the White House rejected pay increases for two staff members he brought from Oklahoma. He gave them raises of 33 and 52 percent.3 Using EPA staff for personal errands. Pruitt assigned an EPA staffer to help him find housing during work hours and on the taxpayer's dime.4 Dismantling environmental protections to help out his industry friends. Newly released emails document Pruitt's long history of coziness with industry polluters.5 The biggest scandal of all is Pruitt's willingness to sell out our climate's future and our clean air and water to funnel money back to his corporate cronies. As one news story put it, the "'Most Blatantly Corrupt Trump Official' award is so close Scott Pruitt can taste it."6 New revelations about his ethical violations continue to break as he tears apart the agency he is supposed to lead. Even some congressional Republicans have started calling for Pruitt to step down.7 Enough is enough. Scott Pruitt has to go. Tell Scott Pruitt to resign. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/resign-pruitt?t=7&akid=28029%2E3130208%2ENNfGuT - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Eric Lipton, "Pruitt had a $50-a-day condo linked to lobbyists. Their client’s project got approved." The New York Times, April 2, 2018. Margaret Hartmann, "EPA Mulled Leasing a Private Jet, and Other Scandalous Scott Pruitt Revelations," New York Magazine, April 4, 2018. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis, "Top Pruitt aide at EPA also shopped for housing on his behalf," Washington Post, April 2, 2018. Ibid. Brady Dennis and Steven Mufson, "Thousands of emails detail EPA head’s close ties to fossil fuel industry," The Washington Post, Feb. 22, 2018. Bess Levin, "Most Blatantly Corrupt Trump Official' award is so close Scott Pruitt can taste it," Vanity Fair, March 30, 2018. Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis and Josh Dawsey, "EPA’s Scott Pruitt faces intensifying scrutiny, criticism of his ethics decisions," The Washington Post, April 3, 2018. Note from Jana at Desktop Activist Tucson I have posted SO MANY calls to action fighting the devastation that Scott Pruitt is aggressively enacting on our land, water and air. Not to mention our health! His actions to delay implementing (and dismantle) the Clean Power Plan hurt my personal efforts to stop the permit for TEP's 10 RICE gas-fired generators.  It's odd to me that it takes this condo scandal to prove this man is corrupt so we can finally get rid of him. He should be prosecuted with the full strength of the law for his crimes against humanity! More information on Pruitt's "accomplishments" 3 environmental regulations Scott Pruitt has been dismantling amid his scandals Scott Pruitt is slowly strangling the EPA The Ten Worst Things Scott Pruitt’s EPA Has Already Done

Submit a public comment: Stop the Water Polluter Loophole

Scott Pruitt wants to put our drinking water at risk -- again. He wants to create a giant loophole that will let polluters get away with dumping pollution into groundwater that eventually flows into lakes, rivers, and bays.

I wish I was making this up.

Right now we can hold polluters accountable when chemicals or other pollutants they dump in groundwater flow into surface waters through the Clean Water Act. Across the country, fossil fuel companies, petroleum pipeline companies, and coal-burning utilities have been facing liability in courts for polluting water with gasoline, diesel, and heavy metals—and losing case after case. This is the way it should be -- you pollute our water, we hold you accountable.

But these companies don't like this -- so they are asking Scott Pruitt to help them. And, unsurprisingly, he is. He wants to weaken clean water protections by changing EPA's longstanding position that pollution discharged into groundwater that flows into surface water requires a water pollution permit. EPA and states have required permits for this type of pollution for decades.

Tell him not to rollback any more safeguards for clean water.

CLICK HERE to submit a public comment today and tell EPA to immediately withdraw its ridiculous scheme and instead work to protect communities from harmful water pollution. 

*Remember to personalize it a bit - so they don't have the excuse to throw your comment out as a form letter. 

It doesn’t make sense for the Clean Water Act to cover pollution dumped from a pipe into a river, but not pollution that flows through groundwater into that same river. Not only is it illegal for polluters to dump chemicals or other pollutants into groundwater that is connected to a river or stream without a permit, EPA has no authority to create a polluter loophole that does not exist in the language of the Clean Water Act. Congress included no such exemption because in order to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters,” all connected waters must be protected from harmful pollution.

Creating a new polluter loophole undermines EPA’s mission to protect public health and the environment and would leave a huge gap in water protections, leaving our most valuable resource without protection.

Tell EPA to reject this plan to give polluters a free pass to destroy our water. Take action today!

- Jennifer Peters, National Water Programs Director

More information on Scott Pruitt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DSJv72NXyA

The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has begun the process of repealing the Clean Power Plan, which places first-ever limits on the huge quantities of carbon pollution emitted by our country’s electric power plants. Reining in these emissions is crucial to making progress against the worsening climate crisis.

Pruitt’s action is unacceptable. We need this vital, commonsense safeguard that will greatly reduce the United States’ largest source of carbon emissions. Tell the EPA to enforce the Clean Power Plan and defend our communities’ right to clean energy and a healthy future.

Pruitt’s announcement cements his guiding environmental principle: Prop up the dying fossil fuel industry at any cost. This industry poisons the air and water of our most vulnerable communities while we watch the immediate impacts of climate change in real time. Our ocean is turning into a pressure cooker for hurricanes such as Harvey, Irma and Maria, which collectively have killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands.

We don’t have time to sit this fight out until the political winds shift in our favor. We need to tackle our climate crisis now.

Demand that the Clean Power Plan remain in place—and tell the EPA to double down on our commitment to a clean energy future.

- Earth Justice 

On a more personal note: This delay has hurt Tucson. Some members of our community (myself included) tried to oppose TEP's petition to install 10 RICE gas-fired engines using the Pima County code. But we ran into a wall because there was nothing in their code about carbon dioxide - due to Scott Pruitt's efforts in the EPA.  We need strong regulations that allow citizens to fight for clean air and the health of our communities.  It seems the only way to make the fossil fuel industry do what's right for our health and the planet is to regulate them. The only recourse we have is the Clean Power Plan. 

ASK THE EPA NOT TO REPEAL THE CLEAN POWER PLAN.

Rein in Roundup and Save Monarch Butterflies

A new analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed what we've known for years: that the most widely used pesticide in the world is making it harder for monarch butterflies to survive. Glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup weed killer — is killing off milkweed, monarch caterpillars' only food.

Tell the EPA to rein in this toxic pesticide. It's the only way to save these backyard beauties that have declined by 80 percent in the past 20 years.

With more than 300 million pounds of glyphosate used each year on U.S. crops, the consequences are devastating. And the harms don't stop with monarchs. The World Health Organization and the state of California have identified the pesticide as a probable human carcinogen.

The EPA is currently deciding whether to maintain the status quo or put in place protections for human and environmental health.

Using the form on this page, tell EPA to restrict out-of-control glyphosate use. (personalize for more impact)

Send the following message to the Environmental Protection Agency:

I am writing to urge you and the EPA to protect human and environmental health from glyphosate. The last time the agency registered this herbicide was in 1993. Since then its use has skyrocketed with the widespread adoption of Roundup Ready crops. Glyphosate is now a common contaminant in rivers, lakes, soil, food and our own bodies.

EPA's rejection of the findings of the World Health Organization's cancer research team, as well as California's EPA, is absolutely unacceptable in light of the findings of EPA's own scientific advisory panel. The panel found that the EPA did not follow its own cancer guidelines when concluding that glyphosate is not a carcinogen.

Safeguards must also be put in place to protect milkweed from glyphosate. This important resource is necessary for the survival of monarch butterflies, and it has been systematically destroyed throughout much of the farmland in the Midwest. 

Please – do everything in your power to ensure that glyphosate will no longer be used in a way that harms monarchs or our environment.

Tell Ford: Stop working with Trump to undo clean car standards

The petition to Ford reads: "Honor your commitment to reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. Stop working with the Trump administration to delay, weaken or block the clean car standards." Add your name:

Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt can claim another partner in their war against curbing climate change: Ford Motor Company. While Ford advertises its commitment to building fuel efficient and electric vehicles, the company is simultaneously working hand-in-hand with the Trump regime to weaken the "clean car standards," Obama-era rules meant to increase fuel efficiency, reduce pollution and help curb climate change.1 Ford is putting profits ahead of protecting public health and the environment by working to undermine the very rules it once hailed and now continues to publicly promote. We must urge Ford to honor its commitment to the clean car standards and stop working with the Trump regime to weaken these critical safeguards. Tell Ford: Stop working with Trump to roll back clean car standards. Click here to sign the petition. Ford's hypocrisy and opportunism is astounding. As recently as last summer, Ford released a slick video in which Chairman Bill Ford greenwashed the company’s commitment to sustainability. The Chairman told his consumers and the outside world that "climate change is real and a critical threat" and that the company would "work with leaders around the world in support of ambitious global greenhouse gas reduction targets."2 Yet, at the same time, the company's powerful lobbyists at the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturing have been meeting with the Trump administration and even testifying in front of the Republican-controlled Congress to roll back regulations. A company that touts its commitment to addressing climate change has no business meeting with the Trump regime.3 The clean car standards are good for consumers, public health and the environment. If the U.S. government fully implements these critical protections by 2025, they will reduce oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, save consumers $1 trillion at the pump and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 billion metric tons — the equivalent of 150 coal-fired plants or 1.3 million cars.4 It's no wonder the clean car standards are extremely popular. In fact, 95 percent of Americans want auto manufacturers to improve fuel economy for cars, and nearly 80 percent believe the government must continue increasing fuel efficient standards.5 Our environmental and consumer protection allies are ramping up the pressure on Ford to drop its collaboration with the Trump regime.6 We must ensure Ford honors its promise to reducing emissions and stop working to undo years of to progress to protect our environment and climate. Tell Ford: Stop working with Trump to roll back clean car standards. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/ford_clean_car?t=7&akid=27400%2E3130208%2ENsnauH - Josh Nelson, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Environment America, "Earth to Ford: Get Back on Track With Clean Cars," EcoWatch, Jan. 25, 2018. Sustainable Brands, "New Ford Sustainability Report Reveals Progress on Water Stewardship Goals," Aug. 31, 2017. Public Citizen, "Ford Receives 2018 Hypocrisy Award for Promoting Innovation and Sustainability While Colluding With Trump to Undo Climate Safeguards," Jan. 9, 2018. Sierra Club, "Go ‘Forward Not Backward’: Environmental and Consumer Groups Launch Campaign Calling on Ford, Volkswagen and Other Automakers to Drop Efforts to Roll Back Clean Car Standards," Oct. 25, 2017. National Resources Defense Council, "'Floor It:' NRDC Poll Shows Broad Bipartisan Backing for Clean Cars and Clean Transportation," Aug. 4, 2016. Leon Kaye, "Ford Called Out for Undermining Fuel Standards While Promoting Sustainability," Triple Pundit, Jan. 11, 2018.