Plan B Forum

Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, Climate Change Denialist, to Lead E.P.A.

WASHINGTON D.C.-- Today, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he plans to appoint Scott Pruitt as Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In response, Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“Having Scott Pruitt in charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is like putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires. He is a climate science denier who, as Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma, regularly conspired with the fossil fuel industry to attack EPA protections.
“Nothing less than our children’s health is at stake. Scott Pruitt, whose own bio describes him as ‘a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda’ cannot be trusted to head the EPA, an agency charged with protecting all Americans from threats to their water, air, and health. We strongly urge Senators, who are elected to represent and protect the American people, to stand up for families across the nation and oppose this nomination.”

liberty wrote:They better not; trump was voted for to make things better, not worse. If Trump doesn’t follow through on at least his most important promises he will be the most hated man in the country.

A coming purge? The Energy Department runs the nation's 17 national research laboratories, which examine a range of issues relating to energy and the environment. This week, Trump’s Energy Department transition team sent the agency a memo asking for:

1. The names of people who have worked on climate change and their professional society memberships.

2. A list of all department employees and contractors who attended the annual global climate talks hosted by the United Nations within the last five years.

3. A list of all department employees or contractors who have attended any meetings on the social cost of carbon (a measurement that federal agencies use to weigh the costs and benefits of new energy and environment regulations).

4. All publications written by employees at the department's 17 national laboratories for the past three years.

"This feels like the first draft of an eventual political enemies list," said a Department of Energy employee, who asked not to be identified because he feared a reprisal by the Trump transition team.

Trump has already picked Scott Pruitt – who says climate change isn’t caused by humans -- to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Trump has said climate change is a hoax perpetrated by China to damage U.S. manufacturing. He said he would rip up last year's landmark global climate deal struck in Paris that was signed by Democratic President Barack Obama.

Are we about to witness a purge of government researchers who have found that the climate is changing due to human activity?

What do you think?