EPA's Disastrous Agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week that it will reassess an Obama-era chemical safety rule, delaying its implementation until at least 2019. As is, the rule would require companies to take more steps to prepare for accidents and would expand the EPA's investigative and auditing powers. The delay comes at the request of industry, unsurprisingly. In 2015, the Gold King Mine in Colorado leaked millions of gallons of toxic metals and acids. This week, the EPA's Office of the Inspector General concluded that EPA, which did not have standards at the time for collapsed mine portals, was not at fault. More shockingly, the report made no recommendations for how the agency could improve. EPA officials have repeatedly stated that their priorities are to promote "clean air and water." EPA is proposing a two-year delay of an Obama-era rule aiming to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations. Many oil and gas companies ar...

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The United States of Resistance is a weekly industry newsletter sharing the top news from across the resistance. Please share with others! Sign up | Archived Newsletters Resistance Spotlight: Flippable Flippable believes Resistance starts in the states. We couldn't agree more. Which is why we love this new video they released on gerrymandering. In the chaos of the Trump era, it can be easy to overlook the root cause of our political problems: the GOP's takeover of state governments. This has allowed the GOP to redistrict the map in their favor, suppress voters, and take away our rights. We must involve ourselves in every level of elections - municipal, state, and national. Be sure to check...

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Republican senators are trying to pass the American Health Care Act—aka Trumpcare 2.0—before July 4th without a hearing.This bill will deny an estimated 23 million Americans healthcare, cut $834 million in Medicaid spending, give tax breaks to the wealthy, and increase healthcare costs for low income earners. We can call, we can write—but the most powerful message is showing up.10 Senators in 9 states have been identified. They are as follows:Senator Murkowski (Alaska): (202)-224-6665, Twitter @lisamurkowskiSenator Sullivan (Alaska): (202) 224-3004, Twitter @SenDanSullivanSenator Flake (Arizona): (202) 224-4521, Twitter @JeffFlakeSenator Gardner (Colorado): (202) 224-5941, Twitter @SenCoryGardnerSenator Cassidy (Louisiana): (202) 224-5824Senator Collins (Maine): (202) 224-2523, Twitter @SenatorCollinsSenator Heller (Nevada): (202) 224-6244Senator Portman (Ohio): (202) 224-3353, Twitter: @senrobportmanSenator Toomey (Pennsylvania): (202) 224-4254, Twitter @SenToomeySenator Moore Capi...

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Defense of Paris. Since Trump decided to withdraw without honor from the Paris Climate Agreement, over 1,400 governors, mayors, businesses, attorneys general, investors, and colleges and universities joined an open letter to the international community, declaring their support for the agreement. In a tandem effort, Michael Bloomberg submitted a letter to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) saying he will "work with U.S. subnational and non-state actors over the coming months" to quantify these aggregate actions, which constitute "America's Pledge" to the world in fulfilling our responsibility to lead the world in reducing emissions. In addition, a bipartisan group of 12 states and Puerto Rico have joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, which is committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement within their borders by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 — the original U.S. commitment.Fact from fiction. U.S. Enviro...

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Trump continues to leave science posts unfilledWhether by default or design, the Trump administration's attitude toward science and technology vacillates between indifference and outright hostility. As a case in point, a recent Washington Post analysis finds that as of June 6, President Trump has announced nominees for only seven of the 46 high-level science and technology posts that require Senate confirmation, ensuring that the vast majority of key positions will remain vacant for the foreseeable future. The President lacks ready access to scientific advice, as the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) remains understaffed and without a director, and the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) remains empty. This lack of S&T advice has real-world consequences, such as Trump's recently announced decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord, dramatic proposed cuts to scientific programs, and a host of other worrying developments.US...

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The United States of Resistance is a weekly industry newsletter sharing the top news from across the resistance. Please share with others! Sign up | Archived Newsletters The Shining City on the Hill We would be remiss not to start this week's email with one of Former FBI Director James Comey's quotes. His testimony today was monumental, revealing, and historical. At the end of the day, he continued to come back to the fact that Russian interference in our election - the very backbone of our democracy - is not a partisan issue. We couldn't agree more. James Comey: "The reason this is such a big deal is we have this big messy wonderful country where we fight with each other all the time...

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Fact Checking the Infrastructure ProposalPresident Donald Trump, in his budget proposal, included a 2018 Infrastructure Initiative Fact Sheet. The plan is geared towards metropolitan regions and explicitly covers sparsely populated regions in the country, providing them with special treatment.Trump's Plan Claims: The flexibility to use federal dollars to pay for essentially local infrastructure projects has created an unhealthy dynamic in which state and local governments delay projects in the hope of receiving federal funds. The Reality: According to the EPA, 95% of water infrastructure projects are funded by state and local government entities. While the federal government lacks capital, state and local governments who prioritize job creation of cutting taxes and offering corporate subsidies are filling the void. Trump's Plan Claims: During the construction of the Interstate System, the federal government played a key role – collecting and distributing federal tax revenue to fund ...

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What is the Paris Agreement?The Paris Climate Agreement is a landmark agreement signed in 2015 by 195 countries to combat global climate change. Its central aim is to strengthen the global response to climate change by keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under the Agreement, countries voluntarily put forward their self-defined emission reduction goals through "nationally determined contributions" and to regularly report their emissions and implementation efforts. The United States pledged to cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 and was already halfway towards its goal, having cut emissions by 14 percent. The United States joined Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries not participating in the Agreement. Nicaragua did not sign because it did not think the Agreement did enough to combat climate change; Syria was in the midst of a civil war.President Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the ...

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Trump to Withdraw US From Paris Climate AccordOn Thursday, June 1, President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord, the world's first comprehensive climate agreement. The pact is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the ability of nations to adapt to climate change. As of today, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, and 148 have ratified it. President Trump dubiously claimed that the accord was economically unfair to American workers and would hurt competitiveness, as he grossly misrepresented the US's commitment to the Paris agreement and relied on arguments that were misleading, inaccurate, and untruthful. Trump purported to pull out of the international deal in order to focus on creating manufacturing jobs in America, but, due to growth in the renewable energy sector, his move may actually cost the US jobs.Paris Withdrawal Decisi...

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The United States of Resistance is a weekly industry newsletter sharing the top news from across the resistance. Please share with others! Sign up | Archived Newsletters We are the Resistance. And We are Not Going Anywhere. Yesterday, the current administration made a devastating decision to remove the United States from the Paris Climate agreement. In a move that will have far reaching environmental...

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