Preview Newsletter
ACC PM 30/10/17
-
(ACC mentioned) Trump Terrible 10: Manafort Indictment Edition
Oct 30, 2017 | The Huffington Post
By David Halperin
Since mid-2017, Republic Report’s “Trump Terrible 10” has ranked the week’s 10 most disgraceful figures in the Trump administration. -
Udall On Vote For Dourson To Lead EPA’s Toxics Bureau
Oct 30, 2017 | Los Alamos Daily Post
By Carol A. Clark
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, co-author of the landmark Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, released this statement following the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s recent party-line vote to advance Dr. Michael Dourson’s nomination to serve as assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. -
Peta UK Calls for Suspension of REACH Nanomaterials Consultation
Oct 30, 2017 | Chemical Watch
NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) UK is calling for the immediate suspension of the European Commission's consultation on a draft Regulation amending REACH annexes for the registration of nanomaterials. -
Switzerland Faces Pressure Over Mercury Exports
Oct 30, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A group of 50 NGOs has written to the Swiss government urging it to implement a full ban on the export of mercury. -
(ACC Mentioned) The Spookiest Halloween Costume of 2017: The Fossil Fuel Company Executive
Oct 30, 2017 | Union of Concerned Scientists
By Gretchen Goldman
In addition to the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on science, companies are now enjoying greater access to decisionmakers than they’ve ever had. And no industry has capitalized on inappropriate access to decisionmakers more than the fossil fuel industry. -
(ACC Mentioned) Chemical, Plastics Manufacturer Plans New $2B Gulf Coast Plant
Oct 30, 2017 | Construction Dive
By Kim Slowey
Chemical and plastics manufacturer LyondellBasell said it is planning to build a $2 billion plant somewhere along the Gulf Coast, but that it will not finalize its decision on where the exact site will be for up to a year, according to the Houston Chronicle. -
Plastic Dreams Start to Become Real in Appalachia
Oct 30, 2017 | Plastics News
By Frank Esposito
The potential that Appalachian shale gas fields hold for the North American plastics market is moving closer to reality. -
Gas Tax Could Come Back for Vote, Even After Budget Passes
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee
Pennsylvania lawmakers avoided a showdown over a natural gas tax and related environmental issues when they finalized a state budget last week. -
IG Finds Agency Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's weaknesses in cybersecurity leaves the agency at risk of attacks that it might not be able to detect, according to a new report from a federal watchdog. -
Railroad Sues Over Millions of Rail Ties It Calls Defective
Oct 30, 2017 | AP (In The New York Times)
One of the nation's largest railroads must replace millions of defective wooden railroad ties on its tracks because they're degrading faster than expected, the company said in a federal lawsuit. -
Irving Oil Fined Over Deadly 2013 Rail Accident
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Enrgywire
A Canadian court has ordered Irving Oil Ltd. to pay 4 million Canadian dollars ($3.12 million) in penalties stemming from the 2013 derailment of a crude-carrying rail car in Quebec that killed 47 people. -
Carbon Dioxide Levels Grow at Record Pace: Meteorologists
Oct 30, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere surged last year at the highest pace in hundreds of thousands of years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Monday. -
Pruitt's Contentious Science Policy Coming Soon — Sources
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Zack Coleman
U.S. EPA as early as today will announce its new policy prohibiting scientists who receive agency funding from serving on independent science panels that advise the agency, sources told E&E News. -
Rule Rollbacks Already Making a Difference — Pruitt
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Arianna Skibell
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said there is growing optimism within the businesses community as the Trump administration works to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations.
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Transportation and Infrastructure News
Environment News
-
(ACC mentioned) Trump Terrible 10: Manafort Indictment Edition
Oct 30, 2017 | The Huffington Post
By David Halperin
Since mid-2017, Republic Report’s “Trump Terrible 10” has ranked the week’s 10 most disgraceful figures in the Trump administration.
Republic Report, which focuses on how money corrupts democracy, has met its abusive dream mate with the kleptocratic administration of President Donald J. Trump. Trump and his lieutenants personify how money and greed, mixed with disrespect for constitutional values, know-nothing ignorance, serious bigotry, and an endless capacity for lying, can really, really corrupt democracy.
This morning, Trump 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort entered the FBI field office in Washington DC, reportedly having been ordered to surrender in connection with a criminal indictment by not-yet-fired special counsel Robert Mueller. The dominos may start falling. But the disgracefulness is likely to go on for a long, long while.
Permanent spoiler alert: We can’t imagine anyone other than Donald Trump ever occupying the top spot in the rankings. But we won’t get tired of him winning. Believe me.
10. Sebastian Gorka, former Deputy Assistant to the President. Last week’s ranking: ―
Dumped from the White House staff this summer for being too bigoted and incompetent even by Trump administration standards, Gorka addressed phony charges that Hillary Clinton corruptly sold uranium to a Russian firm by suggesting on Fox News’s “Hannity” that Clinton should be executed for treason: “If this had happened in the 1950s, there would be people up on treason charges right now. The Rosenbergs, okay? This is equivalent to what the Rosenbergs did, and those people got the chair. Think about it.” We did think about it, and welcome back to the disgracefulness countdown, idiot.
9. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary. Last week’s ranking: 8
Following up on her atrocious assertion last week that it was “highly inappropriate” for a reporter to question a demonstrably false and defamatory attack on a Member of Congress by the White House chief of staff because he’s a four star Marine general, Sanders, asked this week by a reporter if the “official White House position” is that all of the some sixteen women who have accused Donald Trump of sexual harassment or assault are “lying,” replied, “Yeah, we’ve been clear on that from the beginning, and the president’s spoken on it,” and then rapidly turned to take another question.
Sanders also tweeted this completely false charge: “The evidence Clinton campaign, DNC & Russia colluded to influence the election is indisputable.” I can’t imagine a more disgracefully phony statement by a White House press secretary. OK, I probably can.
8. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. Last week’s ranking: ―
It turns out that when Betsy DeVos hasn’t been trashing protections for veterans, single moms, and other students against Trump Universityesque scam for-profit colleges; or suggesting that those students are the scam artists; or weakening protections for victims of campus sexual assault; or making a large percentage of her K-12 school visits to religious and charter schools, rather than to the traditional schools that educate the bulk of American children, the Secretary of Education has taken a lot of extended weekends at her various resort homes. I would wish DeVos never came in to her office at all, but no doubt the former for-profit college executives whom she’s hired to staff the department would go ahead and execute her disgraceful agenda anyway.
7. Roger Stone, presidential crony. Last week’s ranking: ―
Last seen on this list resurrecting the disgusting “PIzzagate” attack on Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, Stone, with the first Mueller indictment imminent, got himself banned from Twitter with an Insane tirade of ugly, obscene, bigoted attacks directed at Don Lemon, Jake Tapper, Ana Navarro, Carl Bernstein, Charles Blow, Bill Kristol, and others. Mocking Mueller’s investigation, and CNN’s reporting on it, Stone also tweeted, “Breaking: Mueller indicts @PaulManafort’s driver for double parking,” and ”“Breaking: Mueller indicts @PaulManafort’s maid for tearing labels of sofa cushions.” He also emailed reporters that Mueller should be “prosecuted for his crimes.”
6. Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior. Last week’s ranking: ―
See my article last week entitled “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Is A Disgrace”: scam PACs; suspicious $300 million Puerto Rico contract for Whitefish neighbor; charter planes; personal flag; abuse of staff. On Friday, after meeting with Zinke, Trump approved the Secretary’s recommendation to shrink, by millions of acres, two national monuments in Utah, including the first national monument created to honor Native American culture ― a move that Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, called, without any prodding from us, “a disgrace.” Zinke’s is one of the most blatantly ugly performances by a cabinet member ever.
5. John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff. Last week’s ranking: 9
General Kelly has offered no apology to Gold Star widow Myeshia Johnson or to her family friend Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) for his ugly and blatantly false attacks on them during the week that Sgt. La David Johnson was laid to rest. Kelly’s angry, unaccountable approach stands in sharp contrast to the honest leadership of Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
4. Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. Last week’s ranking: 2
Pruitt continued his efforts to hand over U.S. environmental policy to the fossil fuel and chemical industries, blocking EPA scientists from speaking at a conference addressing climate change, while continuing to increase spending on his travel, paranoid office soundproofing, and 24-hour security detail. Meanwhile, in a disgraceful rejection of accountability, the former American Chemistry Council official who is now Pruitt’s EPA spokesperson refused to answer a New York Times reporter’s legitimate, detailed questions about changes to the agency’s policy on toxic chemical issues and called the paper’s journalism “elitist clickbait.”
3. The Koch brothers, the Mercers, ExxonMobil, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Equifax, payday lenders, for-profit colleges, and all the other wealthy, swampy special interest beneficiaries of the corrupt, destructive Trump presidency, and their lackeys Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. Last week’s ranking: ―
Some of the working people who believed Trump’s lies will figure this out.
2. Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman. Last week’s ranking: ―
We’re likely to see shortly what criminal charges Robert Mueller has brought against Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates. But we know Manafort has left a trail of shady dealings with pro-Russian oligarchs, lobbying for foreign powers, and buying a lot of real estate with his celebrity-crazed son-in-law. Suggestion for federal magistrate: Lock him up.
1. Donald J. Trump, President of the United States. Last week’s ranking: duh
On Wednesday, the President of the United States told reporters, “I went to an Ivy League college. I was a nice student. I did very well. I’m a very intelligent person.” In fact, it seems you were not such a nice student. But more to the point, why do you feel compelled to say things like this? You were elected president, and you’re a fucking moron. That’s accomplishment enough.
OK, just for starters, Donald Trump chose an alleged money launderer, who took millions in secret payments from pro-Russian oligarchs, to be his campaign chairman.
As new evidence emerged indicating that Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya did indeed present Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Manafort with material from the Russia government purporting to contain dirt on Hillary, as the email to Don Jr. had promised, Trump declared on Twitter, “It is now commonly agreed, after many months of COSTLY looking, that there was NO collusion between Russia and Trump. Was collusion with HC!” “Commonly agreed”?
Trump proceeded to peddle the phony Hillary uranium story to reporters and on Twitter, and he personally pressed to lift a gag order on an informant regarding Russia’s uranium effort ― a breach of the standard practice that the White House stay out of Justice Department criminal investigations.
Trump doesn’t seem to want to impose sanctions on Vladimir Putin, the leader he never colluded with. After our president dragged his feet over the summer on signing the Russia sanctions law, the Administration failed to meet the law’s October 1 deadline to actually impose the sanctions, and took steps last week only after congressional pressure.
Among this week’s domestic disgraces: After saying how awful the opioid crisis was during the campaign, and promising to declare a National Emergency, Trump instead declared a Public Health Emergency, which means he didn’t add any new funding to the fight, but he called it a “National Public Health Emergency” to try to fool everyone. Only people familiar with Sid HoffFrenchman will be impressed.
Asked about the sixteen women who allege that Trump sexually abused or assaulted them, Trump convincingly told reporters, “it’s totally fake news. It’s just fake. It’s fake. It’s made-up stuff, and it’s disgraceful, what happens, but that happens in the world of politics.” It is disgraceful.
As his Trump Organization proceeded with new real estate projects in India, raising yet more conflict of interest concerns, the president played fast and loose with the modest nest eggs of regular Americans. He tweeted, regarding the GOP tax plan, “There will be NO change to your 401(k),” but when a reporter confronted him with evidence that House leaders were considering just such cuts, Trump said, “Maybe it is and maybe we’ll use it as negotiating.” So the GOP leadership will threaten wavering members that they’ll cut 401k benefits, but everyone already knows that Trump will never accept such a cut anyway? Trump seems not to understand the, um, art of the deal.
But the man does understand the art of being awful. Our president tossed muted insults to the journalist parents accompanying their Halloween costumed kids to the Oval Office. “I cannot believe the media produced such beautiful children,” Trump said. When one little girl gushed over Hershey’s Kisses, Trump sized her up and said, “And you have no weight problems. That’s the good news, right?”
So Trump covered weight, but he didn’t neglect height. He again referred to his antagonist Tennessee senator as “Liddle’ Bob Corker,” with that weird apostrophe. Trump really needs to get asked next time he faces reporters, “Mr. President, Can you tell the children of America why you think it’s appropriate to make fun of a person’s height?”
To ensure his congressional scorn was bipartisan, Trump honored the sacrifice of Sgt. Johnson by calling his family friend “Wacky Congresswoman Wilson... the gift that keeps on giving for the Republican Party....” He also continued his effort to contradict and discredit Myeshia Johnson, tweeting, “I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, and spoke his name from beginning, without hesitation!” Why should we believe Trump, when General Kelly explained to the world why Trump said what Ms. Johnson claims he said? Trump told reporters he had “one of the great memories of all time.” Of all time. He added, “I was extremely nice to her.”
From his multiple tweets, Trump obviously thought it was super cool that he was in charge of the JFK assassination files ― one of the few times he’s actually seemed interested in his work. Sure, it combined his love of conspiracy theories with his love of reality show reveals. But then Trump bowed to a last-minute CIA request and kept concealed, on national security grounds, a bunch of 55 year old documents pending another six months of review. When I worked on the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I helped write the 1992 law mandating the release of all remaining JFK files by 2017, absent extraordinary concerns. The CIA had 25 years to get ready, yet Trump granted another homework extension. Sad!
Trump is again number one — the most disgraceful figure in the Trump administration. Trump is not merely a disgrace; he’s a total and complete disgrace.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-terrible-10-manafort-indictment-edition_us_59f71abde4b06acda25f4b7b
-
Udall On Vote For Dourson To Lead EPA’s Toxics Bureau
Oct 30, 2017 | Los Alamos Daily Post
By Carol A. Clark
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, co-author of the landmark Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, released this statement following the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s recent party-line vote to advance Dr. Michael Dourson’s nomination to serve as assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
“Today’s party-line vote in the EPW Committee is dangerous for public health and safety. Michael Dourson has made a career of creating junk science for industry, and his work has been used to justify egregiously weak chemical safety standards that put people’s lives at risk. The EPA’s toxics office is supposed to be a watchdog, but Dourson, in exchange for big paydays, has spent years helping industry cover up the damage caused by dangerous substances – from second-hand smoke to PFOA, the chemical in Teflon tied to cancer. This is the epitome of leaving the fox in charge of the henhouse, and I will be fighting hard in the coming days to urge the full Senate to reject his nomination.
“Last year, Republicans and Democrats reached a rare bipartisan agreement and passed the landmark Lautenberg Act to fix our nation’s badly broken chemical safety law and enable the EPA to protect our families from dangerous chemicals. Confirming Dourson will jeopardize all the progress we have made on chemical safety, undermine public confidence in the law, and potentially harm the public's health -- for decades to come. A toxicologist for hire has no business in this position, and the Senate shouldn’t put him there.”
Udall has opposed efforts by the Trump administration to weaken the new chemical safety law’s protections against new and existing chemicals, including asbestos and flame retardants. Earlier this month, Udall led a press conference with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), advocates, experts, and chemical exposure victims to oppose Dourson’s nomination. Today, Udall published an op-ed in The Hill urging the Senate to reject Dourson. The full text of Udall's op-ed is below.
Chemical industry hired gun would be a big step backward for chemical safety
By Tom Udall
Last year, Republicans and Democrats reached a rare bipartisan agreement on a major environmental law and passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. The Lautenberg Act – for the first time – provides the Environmental Protection Agency with the authority to protect our kids from dangerous chemicals.
A year later, that new law is in a critically important phase as the EPA works to implement provisions that Congress wrote to promote safety. Environmental advocates and industry agreed that passage was a critical step to restore confidence in the safety of products in our homes and workplaces. And that can only happen if the EPA is allowed to do its work free from political interference. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will take a crucial vote today on whether to advance President Trump’s nominee to head the EPA’s office responsible for implementing the new law. If Michael Dourson is confirmed, the EPA’s current and future progress on chemical safety will be at risk.
The American people have a vested interest in the EPA’s unbiased process. We come in contact with tens of thousands of chemicals—they prevent stains on our carpets, reduce static in our laptop, prevent the spread of fire, and keep our shirts wrinkle free. Yet, while we know that some can cause serious health impacts, the EPA didn’t have the authority to restrict their use until the Lautenberg law was passed.
For example, certain “flame retardant” chemicals can still be found in nearly every American home, despite evidence that they affect children’s brain development. The Lautenberg Act explicitly requires the EPA to review every new and existing chemical on the market. Late last year, the agency assembled its list of the first 10 existing chemicals to review for safety. It includes the industrial solvents TCE and 1-bromopropane, and 1,4-dioxane, a carcinogen found in cosmetics and drinking water.
And that’s why the nomination of Dourson, a chemical industry hired gun, is so concerning. Dourson, whose nomination is pending before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has spent his career helping industry cover up the damage caused by dangerous substances – from second-hand smoke to PFOA, the chemical in Teflon tied to cancer.
As has been reported by several news outlets, Dourson’s firm, TERA, has had a clear business strategy: Industry would ask TERA to review a chemical, and Dourson would reliably suggest a looser standard than government scientists, even when the chemical is linked to serious health impacts. For example, Dourson recommended a safety standard for PFOA that was 2,000 times weaker than that recommended by the EPA. His work helped weaken the standard acceptable in West Virginia – even after a severe spill contaminated groundwater near a DuPont plant outside Parkersburg.
The list of chemicals that Dourson has found safer than relevant government agencies goes on and on. And if he were confirmed for his position, he would take the helm of the EPA’s toxics bureau with serious conflicts of interest. The chemicals Dourson has worked to greenwash include three on the bureau’s top 10 list: TCE, 1-bromopropane, and 1,4-dioxane. Anyone who believes Dourson could simply avoid conflicts should consider his responses during his Senate confirmation hearing. When asked if he agreed with the EPA’s safety analyses of petcoke, which diverged greatly from his own, Dourson refused to answer three times until he finally responded, “I’m not ready to answer that question.”
The American people already have reason to worry about his impact at EPA. Although he has not been confirmed, Dourson is currently working as an “adviser” to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Of course, Dourson is free to make a living however he chooses outside of government. But a toxicologist for hire has no place overseeing what the American people expect is a neutral process by which chemicals are evaluated for safety. By confirming Dourson to head the toxics bureau, Congress would – just a year after passing chemical safety reform – take a huge step toward undermining public confidence in the new law.
Dourson has made a career as a hired gun. But we don’t have to hire him, and we shouldn’t. The Senate should reject Dourson.
Udall was the Democratic co-author of the bipartisan Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.
http://www.ladailypost.com/content/udall-vote-dourson-lead-epa%E2%80%99s-toxics-bureau
-
Peta UK Calls for Suspension of REACH Nanomaterials Consultation
Oct 30, 2017 | Chemical Watch
NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) UK is calling for the immediate suspension of the European Commission's consultation on a draft Regulation amending REACH annexes for the registration of nanomaterials.
Peta UK says the Commission has failed to publish an impact assessment on animal testing. By "ignoring" Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the Commission has "failed to execute its duties", Peta nanotechnology specialist Dr Jodie Melbourne says.
The Article states that the EU and member states shall "pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals" when formulating and implementing policy.
Dr Melbourne says the proposed amendments call for more tests on animals, reduce opportunities to waive such tests, and jeopardise the REACH objective of promoting alternative methods for assessing the hazard potential of substances. "No adequate assessment of the animal-welfare impacts has been made," she adds.
"It is essential that the Commission ensures that tests on animals be conducted only as a last resort, as required by law," she says.
The consultation is due to close on 6 November.
https://chemicalwatch.com/60582/peta-uk-calls-for-suspension-of-reach-nanomaterials-consultation
-
Switzerland Faces Pressure Over Mercury Exports
Oct 30, 2017 | Chemical Watch
A group of 50 NGOs has written to the Swiss government urging it to implement a full ban on the export of mercury.
In a 23 October letter, they say Switzerland remains "the weak link" in Europe when it comes to allowing mercury flows to the rest of the world.
The country is not part of the EU, or the European Economic Area (EEA), but it has arrangements with the trade bloc. Despite a 2011 EU export ban, Swiss mercury trade has continued "unabated", NGOs say. Between 2011 and 2015, Switzerland exported an average of 108 tonnes a year, and 29 tonnes in 2016.
The UN's Minamata Convention on Mercury, which requires signatories to implement measures that control man-made mercury pollution, entered into force on 16 August. Switzerland ratified the Convention last year.
In their letter, the NGOs say commercial interests "reportedly appear to have convinced the Swiss government to consider only a partial ban and to allow mercury exports to continue for some uses allowed by the Convention – including for manufacturing dental amalgam".
A public consultation was launched in Switzerland with proposed amendments to four ordinances, including an export ban on dental amalgam and other products. The objective, the letter says, is "to ensure that recycled mercury in Switzerland is removed from the global market and stored using an environmentally sound method". The Federal Council's decision on these amendments is expected soon.
On 28 September, Switzerland's interest in exporting mercury for authorised uses in accordance with the Convention was confirmed during the Conference of Parties.
Next year, the EU will also ban dental amalgam use by pregnant women and children under 15.
NGO signatories to the letter include:
· the European Environmental Bureau (EEB);
· the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL);
· the International POPs Elimination Network (Ipen);
· Greenpeace International; and
· the World Alliance for Mercury-free Dentistry.
https://chemicalwatch.com/60587/switzerland-faces-pressure-over-mercury-exports
-
(ACC Mentioned) The Spookiest Halloween Costume of 2017: The Fossil Fuel Company Executive
Oct 30, 2017 | Union of Concerned Scientists
By Gretchen Goldman
Halloween is here, and we have a lot to be spooked about when it comes to the future role of science in this country. In addition to the Trump administration’s ongoing assault on science, companies are now enjoying greater access to decisionmakers than they’ve ever had. And no industry has capitalized on inappropriate access to decisionmakers more than the fossil fuel industry. Indeed, with very little accountability, the industry has deceived the public and policymakers, and enjoyed friendly policies from decisionmakers with clear conflicts of interest.
To recap, this isn’t only a Trump-era phenomenon. Fossil fuel companies have known for decades that their products contribute to global warming, while they’ve led and funded disinformation campaigns to squash sensible climate policies. Nowadays, though, the tactics are often more elaborate than simple climate denial. These days, some fossil fuel companies are acknowledging climate change—and even their role in it—on the surface, while carrying on business as usual behind closed doors.
For instance, while ExxonMobil publicly urged the US to stay in the Paris Climate Agreement, it also continues to fund the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC),which called Paris a “bad deal”, and other anti-climate lobbying groups. And the company has yet to release a plan to align its business with the Paris Agreement goal to keep global warming under 2C, despite demands from its own shareholders and the public. It’s the same old tactics we’ve always seen, only this time with a mask over it.
The Disinformation Playbook is the Fossil Fuel Industry Playbook
To help unpack the many ways that companies undermine the use of science in decisionmaking on climate policy and beyond, this week the Union of Concerned Scientists released the Disinformation Playbook. The playbook showcases five plays that industry runs, and the fossil fuel industry in particular has been complicit in all of them:
· The Fake – Conduct counterfeit science and try to pass it off as legitimate research
· The Blitz – Harass scientists who share results inconvenient to industry
· The Diversion – Manufacture uncertainty about science where little exists
· The Screen – Buy credibility by building alliances with academic institutions or scientific societies
· The Fix – Manipulate government officials or processes to inappropriately influence policy
A Deceptive Halloween: The Fossil Fuel Industry Executive
To help you scare all your friends this Halloween, we put together everything you’ll need for the spookiest costume of the season: fossil fuel industry executive!
1. Briefcase full of money
This prop is to pay trade groups, front groups, and political candidates to do your bidding against climate science and policy. Such arrangements are very convenient for you as you can dissociate your company’s brand from all the anti-climate lobbying you are doing.
To show just how effective this strategy can be, let’s look at company versus trade group positions on climate action. While some major fossil fuel companies publicly support policy actions to curb carbon emissions, they also fund trade groups to fight climate mitigation efforts at every turn. ALEC proclaimed, “The Paris Climate Agreement is a bad deal for America.” The National Association of Manufacturers criticized the Clean Power Plan, citing its “failure to incorporate potential benefits associated with increased temperatures,” and the group joined the federal lawsuit opposing the plan. The American Petroleum Institute has continued to emphasize climate uncertainties, part of its long history of communicating climate science disinformation to deliberately cast doubt on the public’s understanding of climate science.
Shareholders too have noticed this lack of transparency between fossil fuel companies and their ties to other groups. In 2017 Exxon and Chevron shareholders voted in large numbers to demand that these companies disclose their direct and indirect lobbying activities and expenses. Currently companies can operate almost in the dark when it comes to their lobbying and support for third-party groups — spooky!
2. Smug disregard for the wellbeing of the planet and its people
Fossil fuel companies have made it clear, especially in recent times, just how little they care about protecting people from the threats of climate change. In fact, they often don’t even appear to be protecting themselves from climate impacts or preparing for future changes in climate.
For starters, oil companies often fail to disclose details about the climate-related risks they face. The recent impacts of Hurricane Harvey show us what is at risk when it comes to oil and gas infrastructure and extreme storms and flooding. Several facilities around Houston sustained serious damage that adversely affected surrounding communities and first responders. At an Exxon refinery in Beaumont, Harvey damaged a sulfur thermal oxidizer, releasing 1,312.84 pounds of sulfur dioxide—far exceeding the company’s permit allowance. The company’s response? “No impact to the community has been reported.”
Also of concern: none of the major fossil fuel compan ies have a real plan to operate under a two degrees C scenario, the goal set by the Paris Agreement (which they publicly supported); they are clearly not planning for real greenhouse gas reductions or the safety of life on our planet. Worse, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Total SA even funded a report attacking the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure recommendations, which offered ways companies could better prepare and disclose on climate.
3. Scheduler to keep track of your meetings with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt:
If you’ve followed the activities of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt at all, you’ll know that fossil fuel interests have ample opportunity to meet with a new EPA head sympathetic to their needs. Pruitt’s schedule shows that his daily planner is jam-packed with industry group meetings. With his new sound-proof box, the administrator is also free to have confidential phone calls with all his industry friends. Currently, the EPA is also being stacked with other staff with direct ties to the fossil fuel industry. EPA spokesperson Liz Bowman (who recently told off the New York Times rather than provide information to the media like a public servant is charged to do) came from American Chemistry Council, an industry trade association that also brought scientist Nancy Beck to the EPA to rewrite chemical safety rules to be more industry friendly. Michael Dourson is another industry puppet who’s been nominated for a top spot at EPA and has worked extensively sowing doubt for the petrochemical industries. This slate of characters is now in charge of an agency they spent years trying to dismantle. I’m afraid now they are free to act like unsupervised children in front of a “please take one” bowl of candy. They are slowly taking the agency down from the inside, and ensuring that fossil fuel companies aren’t hit with any pesky climate-friendly regulations.But let’s not stay spooked
While much of this is our unfortunate reality, there is much we can and must do to fight back against the deception and inappropriate influence that the fossil fuel industry has over our decisionmakers. We must remember that public servants and elected officials work for us, the public, not the fossil fuel industry. We must demand accountability, transparency, and policies that protect people not profits. But in the meantime, have a happy Halloween, however you choose to be spooked.
http://blog.ucsusa.org/gretchen-goldman/the-spookiest-halloween-costume-of-2017-the-fossil-fuel-company-executive
-
(ACC Mentioned) Chemical, Plastics Manufacturer Plans New $2B Gulf Coast Plant
Oct 30, 2017 | Construction Dive
By Kim Slowey
Dive Brief: Chemical and plastics manufacturer LyondellBasell said it is planning to build a $2 billion plant somewhere along the Gulf Coast, but that it will not finalize its decision on where the exact site will be for up to a year, according to the Houston Chronicle. The new facility, which will serve North America and South America, will use propane to manufacture chemicals and polypropylene for plastic and fabric applications. Company CEO Bob Patel told the Chronicle that the major U.S. end market for the polypropylene produced in the plant will be the automobile industry, which uses the plastic for various body and interior components in order to make cars lighter. In addition to this latest project, the company has a $2.4 billion facility in Houston and a tertiary butyl alcohol refinery in Pasadena, TX, planned to start construction. The Texas Gulf Coast, according to the American Chemistry Council, makes up about 38% of the petrochemical plants completed since 2010 and planned through 2023, all of which has been made possible by relatively inexpensive natural gas from U.S. shale production. Dive Insight:
These massive projects have often been behind the volatility of construction starts figures, reported monthly by outlets like ConstructConnect and Dodge Data & Analytics. In fact, according to Dodge, September saw the commencement of the $6 billion Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA, which was one of three big projects that drove construction starts up 14% from August to a seasonally adjusted rate of nearly $815 billion and provided a 37% surge in the nonresidential sector last month.
The ethane plant is projected to generate 6,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent positions over the next 10 years. Shell Chemical Appalachia announced it would build the plant in June of 2016, and it was also revealed that the state gave the company a 25-year, $1.65 billion tax credit to build the new facility in Pennsylvania. To adequately staff the project, local unions, at least 17 of which will be constructing the plant, said they've been ramping up apprenticeships and other worker training programs.
Back in May, The Dow Chemical Company announced it had upped its 10-year U.S. growth strategy to $12 billion. And last week, according to KATC, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced $2 billion in Dow chemical manufacturing investments, adding to the $1 billion the company, according to Edwards, already injects into the Louisiana economy.
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/chemical-plastics-manufacturer-plans-new-2b-gulf-coast-plant/508419/
-
Plastic Dreams Start to Become Real in Appalachia
Oct 30, 2017 | Plastics News
By Frank Esposito
The potential that Appalachian shale gas fields hold for the North American plastics market is moving closer to reality.
Shell Chemical has begun work on a massive petrochemicals site, including polyethylene resin, in Monaca, Pa., near Pittsburgh. A second petrochemicals site in southeastern Ohio also may be developed.
"We're sitting on an enormous amount of feedstock to promote a renaissance in manufacturing," Denise Brinley said at Global Plastics Summit 2017, held Oct. 11-13 in Chicago. Brinley is a senior energy advisor with the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development in Harrisburg, Pa.
Shell's 1,200-acre brownfield site, formerly used for zinc processing, ultimately will have annual production capacity for 3.5 billion pounds of high density and linear low density PE, as well as 3.3 billion pounds of ethylene feedstock. It will source ethane from the massive Marcellus natural gas field and is expected to come online in late 2021 or early 2022.
"We're looking at this as a regional investment between Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia," Brinley said. "The states are working together, not competing with each other.
"Our states have a rich manufacturing heritage," she added. "We landed [the Shell project] because we have the workforce to support it."
The Pittsburgh area is within 700 miles of 70 percent of North America's HDPE and LLDPE processors, according to Brinley. "It's a good place to be situated if you want access to feedstock at low prices and access to customers in the market," she said.
IHS Markit, which co-hosted GPS, completed a study in early 2017 that showed that the Pittsburgh-area plant would have a 30 percent cost advantage by not having to transport ethane over great distances.
The area also offers a large amount of molded product production and support from a vast array of companies in the region, according to Jason Williams, senior lecturer in plastics engineering technology with Penn State's Behrend campus in Erie, Pa. Penn State-Behrend also hopes to place engineering students among the 600 full-time jobs that will be created by the Shell complex, he added.
A joint venture between PTT Global Chemical of Thailand and Marubeni Corp. of Japan is expected to make a final decision on a petrochemical project in Dilles Bottom, Ohio, by the end of the year. That project, which was first announced in early 2015, would include an ethane cracker and would produce ethylene feedstocks and resins, most likely polyethylene.
An ethane storage facility is likely to be built in West Virginia as well, according to Brinley. She said the region has the shale gas capacity to support four more ethylene crackers: three in the Marcellus and one in the Utica shale region.
The Pennsylvania/Ohio/West Virginia area "won't look like the Gulf [coast], but it can support additional investments," she said.
http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20171030/NEWS/171039991/plastic-dreams-start-to-become-real-in-appalachia
-
Gas Tax Could Come Back for Vote, Even After Budget Passes
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Energywire
By Mike Lee
Pennsylvania lawmakers avoided a showdown over a natural gas tax and related environmental issues when they finalized a state budget last week.
But those topics could still come up over the next few months, even though the state found other ways to raise the money it needs to fund its operations.
The gas tax passed the state Senate in July but was steadfastly opposed by leaders in the House (Energywire, July 28).
Ultimately, the two chambers settled on a different approach — a combination of loans and other taxes.
And yet a version of the tax passed a House committee last week and could still get a vote in the lower chamber.
Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat who has pushed for the gas tax since being elected in 2014, pressed legislators to vote on the gas tax Thursday afternoon even after the budget was put to bed. He hasn't said whether he'll sign the compromise the two houses passed.
"The fairest and simplest solution to the current budget challenge is a severance tax on natural gas production," Wolf said in a statement. "The House could still do the right thing and vote on a severance tax."
The Legislature and Wolf essentially painted themselves into a corner earlier this year when they agreed to increase state spending to about $32 billion for the fiscal year that started July 1. That's about $2 billion more than the state's current revenue, and it took nearly four months for the Legislature to pass a tax plan to cover the gap.
Wolf has argued that Pennsylvania is the only major oil- or gas-producing state that doesn't have a direct tax on production. Instead, the Legislature imposed an annual fee on each producing well, with most of the revenue dedicated to offsetting road damage and other impacts on local communities.
H.B. 1401 would impose a 3.2 percent tax on gas production.
If it does come up, the severance tax discussion will likely include a debate about a raft of side issues. The Senate version of the tax included language that would force the state Department of Environmental Protection to speed up permits for new gas wells and limit some new regulations on the industry.
Meanwhile, the House version of the bill includes language that would make it easier for property owners to recover royalties from drillers.
Environmental groups have threatened to sue over the permitting restrictions, and the gas industry has blocked any changes to Pennsylvania's royalty system (Energywire, Aug. 9; Energywire, Feb. 21).
There are more than 300 other proposed amendments to the tax bill, House Majority Leader Dave Reed said Thursday in a news conference that was broadcast over the web.
"We're not going to prevent a vote — it's going to come up when it's going to come up," Reed said.
"I anticipate you're going to see a vote on that issue and a number of other issues that folks want to have votes on."
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/10/30/stories/1060064955
-
IG Finds Agency Vulnerable to Cyberattacks
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Kevin Bogardus
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's weaknesses in cybersecurity leaves the agency at risk of attacks that it might not be able to detect, according to a new report from a federal watchdog.
The U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General, which has oversight over CSB, released a report on the agency's information security program today that finds several issues that could lead to unauthorized individuals gaining access to computer networks as well as poor preparation on how to deal with a cyberattack.
CSB does not have "fully defined" plans in place for personal identity verification cards, which can provide access to the agency's computer networks. In addition, the agency does not have "fully defined" processes on how to respond to cybersecurity attacks.
"Weaknesses in the Identity and Access Management and Incident Response metric domains leave the CSB vulnerable to attacks occurring and not being detected in a timely manner," said the report, which was signed by EPA IG Arthur Elkins.
Last month, auditors with the IG briefed CSB officials on the report's findings. CSB agreed with the IG's conclusions, according to the report.
The inspector general also released a similar report today examining EPA's cybersecurity.
The watchdog found EPA did a better job at its information security program, although greater attention by management is needed "to achieve a higher level of maturity." The IG briefed EPA officials but made no recommendations.
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/10/30/stories/1060065065
-
Railroad Sues Over Millions of Rail Ties It Calls Defective
Oct 30, 2017 | AP (In The New York Times)
One of the nation's largest railroads must replace millions of defective wooden railroad ties on its tracks because they're degrading faster than expected, the company said in a federal lawsuit.
Norfolk Southern Railway blames an Alabama company that produced its railroad ties of failing to use proper protective coating on more than 4.7 million of them, the railroad said in its lawsuit filed this month in U.S. District Court in Alabama.
Instead of using materials that preserve the wood, officials with Boatright Railroad Products Inc. ordered workers to "make them black by whatever means necessary" so they appeared to be properly treated but were not, Norfolk Southern maintains in the lawsuit.
"So long as the railroad ties had the same physical appearance as a tie that had been properly treated, it did not matter to defendants if the substance used to 'make it black' was actually a wood preservative at all."
Motor oil, anti-freeze, paint and other substances which would not effectively preserve the wood were used on the ties instead of creosote — the chemical which should have been used, the company alleges.
Boatright also provided misleading samples to a consultant for the railroad who was checking on the quality of its work, the lawsuit alleges. The Alabama firm's employees were instructed to take the consultant out hunting at the same time he was to be inspecting railroad ties being treated at the facility, the lawsuit states.
A lawyer who represented Boatright in previous legal matters didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Properly treated rail ties are "crucial" to the railroad's operations, as untreated ones can "degrade and deteriorate prematurely, thereby jeopardizing the safety and integrity of Norfolk Southern's rail network and the interstate rail network as a whole," the company's complaint states.
The state of the nation's railroad tracks has come under scrutiny in recent months amid concerns about derailments of lengthy trains hauling oil or ethanol in the Midwest and the South. The National Academies of Sciences recently called for more thorough inspections of freight railroad tracks. More frequent inspections are needed to prevent potentially catastrophic derailments of trains hauling oil and ethanol in which ruptured tank cars can produce giant fireballs, the scientific organization said in a report this month.
Virginia-based Norfolk Southern operates freight trains in more than 20 states in the southern and eastern United States. Several Amtrak routes also use Norfolk Southern's tracks for passenger trains.
From 2009 to 2014, Boatright provided Norfolk Southern with nearly 5 million railroad ties, and virtually all of them were installed in the railroad's network, the lawsuit said. About 4.5 million of them are described as cross ties; and 193,000 are switch ties. Also included in the total are about 72,000 inferior bridge ties, according to the suit.
The lawsuit does not specify how they are being replaced or when that might happen. A company representative had no immediate comment.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/10/30/us/ap-us-defective-railroad-ties.html?_r=0
-
Irving Oil Fined Over Deadly 2013 Rail Accident
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Enrgywire
A Canadian court has ordered Irving Oil Ltd. to pay 4 million Canadian dollars ($3.12 million) in penalties stemming from the 2013 derailment of a crude-carrying rail car in Quebec that killed 47 people.
An investigation by Canadian regulators found that Irving had failed to classify the crude oil as a dangerous good or to train workers on proper transportation of it as such. The company pleaded guilty to 34 charges but said upon sentencing that "the misclassification of crude oil did not cause or contribute" to the accident. It also said it had since improved training and carried out a comprehensive review of dangerous-good transportation.
The decision from a judge in the New Brunswick province ordered the company to pay over CA$400,000 in fines and almost CA$3.6 million for safety-standard research programs.
"Today, we close another chapter in this tragic event," Canadian Transportation Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement (Canadian Press/Globe and Mail, Oct. 26). — DI
https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2017/10/30/stories/1060064943
-
Carbon Dioxide Levels Grow at Record Pace: Meteorologists
Oct 30, 2017 | The Hill - E2 Wire
By Timothy Cama
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere surged last year at the highest pace in hundreds of thousands of years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Monday.
Carbon dioxide, the emission of which has been growing rapidly over recent decades due to human activity like fossil fuel use, accounted for 403.3 parts per million in the atmosphere, averaged around the world for the entire year, in 2016, according to the WMO.
WMO made its conclusion based both in recordings in recent years and fossils and other artifacts.
The United Nations group is warning that the greenhouse gas level is dangerous and unsustainable and used the announcement to call for actions to reduce emissions.
“Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, we will be heading for dangerous temperature increases by the end of this century, well above the target set by the Paris climate change agreement,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “Future generations will inherit a much more inhospitable planet," he said.
The last time the Earth had this much carbon dioxide in its atmosphere was between 3 million and 5 million years ago, the WMO said. Surface temperatures were then between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius warmer and sea levels were 10 to 20 meters higher than present day.
Last year had previously been confirmed as the hottest year on record, breaking the record set in 2015.
President Trump in June announced he would pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement. It was reached in 2015 by nearly 200 countries with pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/357795-carbon-dioxide-levels-grow-at-record-pace
-
Pruitt's Contentious Science Policy Coming Soon — Sources
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Climatewire
By Zack Coleman
U.S. EPA as early as today will announce its new policy prohibiting scientists who receive agency funding from serving on independent science panels that advise the agency, sources told E&E News.
Allies of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt received an invite to a 2 p.m. event tomorrow at agency headquarters, one of the sources told E&E News. The source said Pruitt could officially announce the directive today, mirroring the sequence of events surrounding another announcement EPA made earlier this month.
Pruitt has characterized the forthcoming directive as a way to limit conflicts of interest among scientists whose work at least in part depends on EPA funding. That stance tracks with conservatives who say scientists with EPA grants and contracts are biased toward advocating a pro-regulatory tilt to justify the agency's existence and actions.
Environmental groups and science advocacy organizations charge that Pruitt — who questions mainstream climate science and whose EPA is rolling back climate change and other environmental regulations that he says are too burdensome — is trying to undermine input from experts in an attempt to buoy industry.
They say Pruitt's initiative would prevent knowledgeable subject matter experts from counseling the agency through its two dozen federal advisory committees, which cover everything from air quality to pesticides.
Some noted that Pruitt's plan wouldn't block scientists who receive funding from industries EPA regulates from sitting on the panels (Greenwire, Oct. 18).
Pruitt met with President Trump on Thursday in the Oval Office, though it's unclear whether the science panel policy was discussed. Pruitt allegedly was planning to launch the effort last week, but it was shelved.
EPA and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2017/10/30/stories/1060065017
-
Rule Rollbacks Already Making a Difference — Pruitt
Oct 30, 2017 | E&E Greenwire
By Arianna Skibell
U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said there is growing optimism within the businesses community as the Trump administration works to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations.
"The actions that are being taken as part of President Trump's leadership really is sending a message across the country that executive branch agencies are going to actually enforce the law and not make the law," Pruitt said in a radio interview.
Pruitt said under President Obama, agencies adopted rules and regulations that constituted federal overreach. Dialing back those regulations will allow businesses to know what is expected of them and invest accordingly, he said.
Pruitt cited, among others, the Clean Water Rule, which he said went after "puddles and dried creek beds." Environmentalists and Obama officials have disputed such characterizations.
"The past administration declared war on coal, fossil fuels. Despite the fact that those energy sources are tremendously important to us as a country to generate electricity, to keep costs low, to provide stability to our citizens," said Pruitt on New York City-area station WNYM-AM.
"In the past administration, they created tremendous uncertainty by adopting rules and regulations that were an overreach," he said. "Declaring war on any sector of our economy just doesn't make sense at all. But that's exactly what happened with the past administration."
Pruitt also said Trump made the right decision by withdrawing from the international Paris climate agreement because it was not an "American first" deal.
"The Paris accord was not good for this country. It was not an 'America First' approach," Pruitt said in an interview last weekend with John Catsimatidis on AM 970's "The Answer."
The administrator said the United States has made great strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while countries like China and India have lagged behind.
He said, "Why would we as a country go to that type of meeting with the kind of progress we've made and be apologetic?" Pruitt critics have accused him of overplaying U.S. progress compared with other nations.
He said, "That is a bad business deal for this country, and the president showed tremendous fortitude and courage and said 'no' to that type of deal for this country."
https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2017/10/30/stories/1060065049
Industry and Association News
LCSA News
Chemical Management News
Energy News
Chemical Security News
Transportation and Infrastructure News
Environment News
Add recipients
Suggested