EnviroPolitics Blog

EPA suspends 144 employees who criticized Trump in letter

The letter had accused the Trump administration of politicizing, dismantling, and sidelining the agency

A colonnaded, stone-clad office building stands beneath a blue sky, framed by tree leaves. — The E.P.A. headquarters in Washington. Credit…Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

By Maxine Joselow, New York Times

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday placed 144 employees on administrative leave and opened an investigation into their decision to sign a letter accusing the Trump administration of politicizing the agency.

Current and former E.P.A. employees, lawyers, and advocates expressed alarm at the development, saying the agency appeared to be ignoring the employees’ First Amendment rights.

The agency said its actions were warranted because the employees had signed the letter using their official titles and because the letter had denigrated the agency’s leadership. “The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,” the EPA press secretary, Brigit Hirsch, wrote in an email.

The 144 employees received emails on Thursday saying they had been placed on leave for the next two weeks “pending an administrative investigation,” according to a copy of the email reviewed by The New York Times. “You are required to provide a current email address and phone number so that we can contact you as part of our investigation,” the email said, adding that the staff members would continue to collect paychecks while on leave.

Read the full story here

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Organic Waste Management Summit 2025 – October 15, 2025

Organic Waste Management Summit 2025 – October 15, 2025 Read More »

NJ Bill ensurers public boat access to state-owned lakes, reservoirs

News From The NJ Senate Democrats

TRENTON – Aiming to ensure that the public has boating access to state-owned bodies of water where boating is permitted, the Senate advanced legislation sponsored by Senators Nilsa Cruz-Perez and Shirley Turner to require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to provide for public boat access to state-owned and county-owned lakes and reservoirs within two years of the enactment of the bill.

“Private marinas have increasingly been limiting public access to their boat ramps, making many publicly-owned lakes and reservoirs inaccessible unless a resident is a member of those marinas,” said Senator Cruz-Perez (D-Camden/Gloucester). “Without public access, these public bodies of water are essentially privately-owned, enjoyable only by property owners and those who can afford to pay for private access. This bill will ensure that if a lake or reservoir is state or county-owned and allows boating, the public is guaranteed equal access to those waters and its recreational opportunities.”

The bill, S3887, cites the second-largest lake in New Jersey, Greenwood Lake, as one of the main examples of the problem. It is state-owned and maintained with public dollars, annually being restocked with thousands of fish to ensure recreational enjoyment. Despite its status as a significant freshwater fishing location and its maintenance with public funds, there is no guaranteed public access to the lake.

The legislation would remedy the issue highlighted by Greenwood Lake by requiring the DEP to provide for public boat access by constructing or causing to be constructed boat ramps for public access, as well as by entering into long-term contracts with the owners of private marinas subject to a public bidding process.

“Publicly-owned lands and waters ought to be available for the enjoyment of the public, but recent trends have made many of these waters unavailable for use by members of the public,” said Senator Turner (D-Mercer/Hunterdon). “When tax dollars are being used to maintain these lakes and reservoirs, it only makes sense to ensure that public funding comes with a guarantee of public access.”

The Senate passed the bill in a 39-0 vote.

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In The Race to Power the Future, China Is Pulling Away

Robots at a Zeekr electric vehicle factory in China.
Qilai Shen for The New York Times

By David Gelles in New York; Somini Sengupta in Brasília and in Tirunelveli, India; Keith Bradsher in Beijing; and Brad Plumer in Washington.

In China, more wind turbines and solar panels were installed last year than in the rest of the world combined. And China’s clean energy boom is going global. Chinese companies are building electric vehicle and battery factories in Brazil, Thailand, Morocco, Hungary and beyond.

At the same time, in the United States, President Trump is pressing Japan and South Korea to invest “trillions of dollars” in a project to ship natural gas to Asia. General Motors just killed plans to make electric motors at a factory near Buffalo, N.Y., and instead will put $888 million into building V-8 gasoline engines there. And this week, Congress rewrote American energy policy to strongly favor fossil fuels over cleaner alternatives like solar, wind and EVs.

The race is on to define the future of energy.

Even as the dangers of global warming hang ominously over the planet, two of the most powerful countries in the world, the United States and China, are pursuing divergent energy strategies defined mainly by economic and national security concerns, as opposed to the climate crisis. Entire industries are at stake, along with the economic and geopolitical alliances that shape the modern world.

The Trump administration wants to keep the world hooked on fossil fuels like oil and gas, which have powered cars and factories, warmed homes and fueled empires for more than a century. The United States is the world’s largest producer of oil and the largest exporter of natural gas, offering the potential for what Mr. Trump has called an era of American “energy dominance” that eliminates dependence on foreign countries, particularly rival powers like China.

China is racing in an altogether different direction. It’s banking on a world that runs on cheap electricity from the sun and wind, and that relies on China for affordable, high-tech solar panels and turbines. China, unlike the United States, doesn’t have much easily accessible oil or gas of its own relative to its huge population. So it is eager to eliminate dependence on imported fossil fuels and instead power more of its economy with renewables.

The dangers for China of relying on politically unstable regions for energy were underscored recently when Israel attacked Iran, which sells practically all its oil exports to China.

While China still burns more coal than the rest of the world and emits more climate pollution than the United States and Europe combined, its pivot to cleaner alternatives is happening at breakneck speed. Not only does China already dominate global manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, E.V.s and many other clean energy industries, but with each passing month, it is widening its technological lead.

Read the full story here

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Pa’s Rep. Fitzpatrick is lone Pa. GOP vote against Trump’s ‘big bill’

Fitzpatrick, a moderate from Bucks County, was one of two Republicans in the House to vote against the measure.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) speaks during the opening session of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Legislative Conference at the Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf, Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Washington. Rod Lamkey, Jr. / AP Photo

By Julia Terruso, Philadelphia Inquirer

House Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic spending and tax policy package Thursday — without the help of one member: U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick, a moderate who represents Bucks County, joined one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.) and all Democrats in voting against the bill on final passage. He had also opposed a procedural vote late Wednesday, signaling his opposition to the legislation. The bill, which passed the House 218-214, now heads to Trump’s desk for signing.

In a statement, Fitzpatrick said the Senate’s amendments to Medicaid prompted his change of heart. He had voted for the House version of the bill in May, which passed by just one vote.

“The original House language was written in a way that protected our community; the Senate amendments fell short of our standard,” he said in a statement. “I believe in, and will always fight for, policies that are thoughtful, compassionate, and good for our community.”

Fitzpatrick’s vote against the bill surprised many Republican colleagues, as he hadn’t publicly expressed doubt or concern with it, and wasn’t actively being lobbied by GOP leadership.

Pennsylvania’s nine other Republican members of Congress voted against the bill, which is expected to become a major target of attack in the 2026 midterm elections.

The bill re-ups Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, increases defense, energy production, and border security spending, and reduces federal spending on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP. It is projected by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to increase the deficit by $3.3 trillion.

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In the nation’s Cradle of Independence, this holiday weekend stinks

Philly residents moving forward with July 4th barbeques despite no trash service

By Shawnette Wilson, FOX 29

WEST PHILADELPHIA – You might have seen it or smelled it. Trash is piling up across the city and as the holiday weekend rapidly approaches, residents are saying they are still planning to celebrate in the birthplace of America, no matter what.

What we know:

July Fourth celebrations in Philly will happen even as residents struggle with trash pickup during a strike of municipal workers.

What they’re saying:

“If anyone is trying to use this strike or work stoppage as a reason to not visit the city of Philadelphia and be with us on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the 4th of July, they’ve given you an excuse. But we are going to have an amazing time,” said Mayor Cherelle Parker during a news conference Wednesday. She said the show will go on even with the interruption of some city services.

And some residents are saying the same thing about their own celebrations.

“Probably cook and grill a little bit. That is not going to change anything,” said Toni Aikens who says the pause in trash pickup will not stop her from moving the grill from her porch to the street Friday.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer

As the DC 33 worker strike grinds on, residents are being asked to bring their garbage to one of 60 drop-off sites the city had set up across the city. There are also six sanitation convenience centers, which will be open daily from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.

The city says residents can bring up to eight bags of trash on their given collection day to a drop-off site, which will be open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.

As for overflowing dumpsters and bags of trash littering sidewalks, Crystal Jacobs Shipman, the commissioner of the Department of Sanitation, said vendors were attempting to replace full containers with empty ones multiple times per day, but are running into issues causing delays.

Mayor, DC 33 leadership failed to reach deal and talks are not expected to resume today

In the nation’s Cradle of Independence, this holiday weekend stinks Read More »