…ALL members of the committee are #Trump appointees, including #Interior Secretary #DougBurgum & #EPA Administrator #LeeZeldin.

The God Squad last met in 1992 to consider whether Oregon timber sales threatened the northern spotted owl, where exemptions were granted only after lengthy hearings. [this single meeting lasted all of 15 minutes]

#law #EnvironmentalLaw #science #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #wildlife #MarineLife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #climate #ClimateCrisis #PublicHealth

…The center said the decision will also hurt the populations of #SeaTurtles, #WhoopingCranes & other #endangered #wildlife. The advocacy group challenged the Tuesday meeting in court, but a judge ruled last week that the meeting could go forward.

Environmental advocates blasted the committee’s unanimous approval of the exemption.

#Trump #law #EnvironmentalLaw #science #conservation #habitats #ecosystems #whales #MarineLife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #climate #ClimateCrisis #PublicHealth

The #Biden admin had sought to restrict #oil & #gas activity in the gulf by seeking to declare nearly 30k square miles as critical #habitat for the #RicesWhale species, at the urging of marine scientists. The 2023 proposal was never finalized.

The exemption will nevertheless have outsize impact on #EndangeredSpecies because #oil companies will not need to make efforts to limit their impacts on them.

#Trump #law #EnvironmentalLaw #conservation #wildlife #MarineLife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange

The #EndangeredSpeciesAct has NEVER been used to STOP #oil #drilling in the gulf, so doing away with protections will NOT meaningfully impact the amount of oil produced there, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy group.

“I don’t think anyone honestly thinks that there’s a legitimate #NationalSecurity issue here,” Hartl said.

#Trump #law #EnvironmentalLaw #wildlife #MarineLife #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #PublicHealth

The agency’s proposed rule would loosen limits on #EthyleneOxide #emissions from around 90 commercial sterilization facilities across the country. Roughly 2.3 million people live within two miles of these facilities in what are often #LowIncome neighborhoods or #CommunitiesOfColor, according to an analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental group.

#Trump #EPA #law #EnvironmentalLaw #GeographicInequality #regulations #health #PublicHealth #safety

The move revived a long-running debate about the paradoxical effects of #EthyleneOxide on #PublicHealth. While it plays a crucial role in sterilizing lifesaving medical devices like pacemakers & syringes, long-term exposure can cause #leukemia & other types of #cancer among people who #work in or #live near medical sterilization facilities.

#Trump #EPA #law #EnvironmentalLaw #regulations #health #safety

#States have not been deterred. #Hawaii filed its lawsuit almost immediately after the #DOJ suit. And #Michigan recently filed a federal #antitrust lawsuit against 4 #oil companies & the American Petroleum Institute [#API], the oil industry’s main trade group.
The petition before #SCOTUS in the #Boulder case hinges on the question of whether #federal law “precludes #state-law claims seeking relief for injuries allegedly caused” by #GreenhouseGas #emissions.

#law #EnvironmentalLaw #ClimateChange