Environmental Protection Agency

Earth Day Creation (1970) And Richard Nixon Passing (1994) On 25th Celebration of Earth Day!

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On April 22, 1970, President Richard Nixon declared the first Earth Day, an initiative begun by Wisconsin Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson and others, but picked up by Nixon, one of his brighter moments, along with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency by executive order later in the year 1970.

This is the 52nd Earth Day, and now President Joe Biden is promoting a massive effort against Global Warming and Climate Change, but sadly, most Republicans in Congress are coming out against it, making the fight against the threats to the planet ever more difficult.

Ironically, Nixon died on this day in 1994, the 25th Earth Day, and 24 years after its inception.

Science And Medicine Organizations And Agencies Declare War On Donald Trump

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The New England Journal Of Medicine, The Scientific American, Nature Magazine, and Science Magazine (American Association for the Advancement of Science)—all major scientific journals—have declared war on President Donald Trump, as he has repudiated and ignored science and the environment, not just in the COVID 19 Pandemic, but also by his known ignorance and rejection of science and medicine.

Nobel Laureates, and the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine have also denounced the refusal of the federal government to listen to scientists and doctors.

And there is clear cut high levels of dissatisfaction in other government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Geological Survey.

25 Years Since Richard Nixon Death On Earth Day

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It is now a quarter century since President Richard Nixon died, ironically on Earth Day, April 22, 1994.

Nixon has been rightly criticized and attacked for the Watergate Scandal and related illegal actions, which led to his impeachment by the House Judiciary Committee, before his resignation when the Supreme Court ordered he hand over the Watergate tapes to the Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski.

But historians regard Nixon as the second best Environmental President of modern times, just behind Theodore Roosevelt, and ahead of Jimmy Carter, as he went along with the Democratic Congress in promoting the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, and could have prevented it by a presidential veto.

Many might say that other Presidents belong that high up in the rankings, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and John F. Kennedy, and Obama’s involvement is still being evaluated as to where he should rank in the listings.

One thing for sure, other than TR and Nixon, no Republican President ranks high, except in the damage done, as for instance, particularly with Ronald Reagan, Warren G. Harding, and more than either of them, Donald Trump.

“Pampered, Spoiled Brat” Ready To Commit Symbolic “Reichstag Fire” Action Of Declaring National Emergency That Does Not Exist To Seize Power: Beginning Of End Of Trump Presidency

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Donald Trump is about to abuse power in a way that no one can doubt the danger and the threat that he represents.

A non-existent national emergency at the US-Mexico border is about to be used as the excuse for committing a “Reichstag Fire” action by a man who inherited $200 million from his father, and is as Joe Scarborough said this morning, a “pampered, spoiled brat” who acts like a toddler in office, and is clearly mentally deranged and demented, and is a threat to the United States population and the Constitution.

Complicit in this abuse are Republicans in Congress, including Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Steve King, and all of the House Freedom Caucus members, as well as Fox News Channel and its talk show hosts, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Judge Jeanine Pirro, and Michelle Malkin, and talk radio hosts, including Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, and rabble rousers such as Ann Coulter.

It is clear that Donald Trump is out to destroy the federal government and its agencies, after setting out to destroy the news media, law enforcement and intelligence and national security agencies, and undermining the judiciary with unqualified, incompetent and corrupt appointees to the federal courts. He will not be satisfied until he has finished the job of helping Vladimir Putin destroy America’s relationship with its allies, and undermine America’s domestic policy, and sow racial, religious, and ethnic hatred, and promote anti women and anti gay policies, in the name of white male supremacy.

At a time when federal workers are struggling to survive without paychecks; when people in Puerto Rico and in California are in need of national emergency support for natural disasters in the name of hurricanes and forest fires; when we have dire need for promotion of infrastructure spending, health care, education, and so many other needs, Donald Trump is declaring war on American democracy.

Donald Trump must be stopped from his abuse of power, and it is assured that the courts will rule against him, and the Congress will expose his human rights crimes against immigrants and children, and his nasty, mean spirited lack of empathy for human suffering.

The man is a cancer on the American system of government, and the crime of collusion with Russia will be further exposed when Michael Cohen testifies before Congress in February.

Meanwhile, if Donald Trump declares the equivalent of martial law to protect himself, mass demonstrations and demands for his removal from office must begin, as we face the greatest constitutional crisis since the Civil War, much worse than the Watergate Crisis under Richard Nixon.

May responsible conservative writers and commentators have joined liberals in denouncing the authoritarian bent of Donald Trump, much closer to Fascism than many realize.

We are likely to see crises arise, in such agencies as air traffic control, Transportation Security Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service, the Federal Courts, the Internal Revenue Service, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and many other agencies. All are part of the protective nature of our federal agencies which are now crippled, as we have a longer government shutdown than ever before in American history.

The office of the American Presidency has reached a stage of being an Imperial Presidency run amuck, much worse than Richard Nixon represented, and Donald Trump must be stopped in his abuse of power for the survival of constitutional government, and sooner, rather than later.

Major Roles To Be Played By Democratic Committee Chairs In 116th Congress

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The 116th Congress will see Democrats taking over the committee chairmanships in the House of Representatives.

Adam Schiff of California will be the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, and will require many Trump Administration figures, including his children and son in law, to testify.

Elijah Cummings of Maryland will head the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Jerrold Nadler of New York will head the House Judiciary Committee, which might move to have impeachment hearings against Donald Trump.

Eliot Engel of New York will lead the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and deal with the problems of unstable foreign policy of Donald Trump.

Maxine Waters will lead the House Financial Services Committee, and is sure to demand lots of testimony and documents from the Trump Administration.

Nita Lowey of New York will be the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, clearly crucial in dealing with spending programs.

Raul Grijalva of Arizona will be the Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and will be engaged in combat with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department over Donald Trump’s refusal to combat global warming.

These seven committee Chairs are going to face a constant assault by the right wing extremists, Fox News Channel, and Donald Trump himself, along with others who are Chairs of other committees in the House of Representatives.

One point of particular concern is that four of these seven committee Chairs named above are Jewish (Schiff, Nadler, Engel, Lowey), two (Cummings and Waters) are African American, and Grijalva is Hispanic, which makes it likely that white supremacists, encouraged by Donald Trump rhetoric, are likely to pose a growing threat to these committee Chairs, and makes it likely they will need security services to protect them, a horrendous reality.

But the move to investigate and hold Donald Trump and his administration responsible is urgent, even with the growing threat.

What Is Needed In November: Blue Wave (Democrats), Pink Wave (Women), Orange Wave (Men And Gun Safety), Green Wave (Environment)

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With the midterm elections less than four weeks away, it is clear that what is needed is not one “wave”, but four “waves”.

A “Blue Wave” is needed, the gaining of, hopefully, control of both houses of Congress, and the majority of state governorships and state legislative majorities.

But a “Pink Wave’ is needed by a mass uprising by women of all backgrounds, races, sections of the nation, to make clear that misogyny and abuse of women by conservatives and Republicans will no longer be tolerated.

There is also a need for an “Orange Wave”, promoted by Fred Guttenberg, the father of Parkland victim Jaime Guttenberg, on the need for a serious movement toward gun control and regulation, as we are losing tens of thousands of victims, many of them in schools and universities, and also many through suicide. This must include serious promotion of mental health initiatives, so that we do not have the constant massacres of innocent human beings, because of the lack of concern by the gun industry, which is only interested in profits.

And finally, a “Green Wave” is needed by those who care about climate change and the environment, determined to fight to prevent the destruction of the environment by coal companies, oil companies, natural gas companies, and corporations in general, who all think only of the profit motive now, and not the long range effect of what their companies are doing. And the struggle against the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior leadership must be fought with vehemence, as the future of America and the entire globe are at stake.

Donald Trump’s Greatest Crime: Destruction Of Federal Government Agencies, Long Term Damage

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Possibly the greatest crime Donald Trump has perpetrated in his 15 months of being President is his destruction of federal agencies.

This is particularly true of the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Interior Department, the Education Department, the Housing and Urban Development Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but really all departments in the federal bureaucracy have been affected.

Trump has trashed the FBI and the Justice Department, and Jeff Sessions has been the worst Attorney General in modern history. Trump has worked to destroy the credibility of the Department of Justice, not only in the investigation of his scandals, but also the reversal of so many civil rights policies.

The State Department has so many vacancies in the Foreign Service, and so many able diplomats in the Diplomatic Corps have resigned.

The Interior Department under Ryan Zinke has been a disgrace on the matter of protection and perpetuation of national parks and national monuments.

The Education Department under Betsy DeVos has worked to undermine public education at all levels, and undermined protection of minorities and women under education laws.

The Housing and Urban Development Department under Ben Carson is ignoring the major problems of public housing, and not protecting the rights of tenants.

The Department of Health and Human Services has tried to destroy ObamaCare, but has failed at that, while putting obstacles in the way of those who wish to engage in the program.

The Environmental Protection Agency under Scott Pruitt is a total tragedy, rife with scandal and disgraceful actions against the environment.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be on its death bed under Mick Mulvaney, an extremely corrupt person, who is also the head of the Office of Management and Budget.

We are in the midst of a great tragedy that will not be undone for decades and one feels helpless as one sees the federal government deteriorating!

The 49th Earth Day: The Attack By Scott Pruitt And Ryan Zinke In Full Swing

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Today, April 22, is the 49th Earth Day, first declared by Richard Nixon in 1970, although earlier promoted by Wisconsin Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, considered the true “founder” of the modern environmental movement.

We have come a long way in the movement to preserve our environment, with many heroes in that movement,

We can look back to Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, John Muir and many others at the beginning of the 20th century.

We can look forward to such people as Ralph Nader, Jimmy Carter, Cecil Andrus, Al Gore, Bruce Babbitt, and a multitude of others who deserve praise.

But we also have the enemies of the environmental movement, from the time of Ronald Reagan onward, and including many Republican senators over the years.

And now, we have the Donald Trump Presidency, and the evil being done every day by Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and by Ryan Zinke, the Secretary of the Interior, who are trying to destroy all efforts at protecting us from climate change, global warming, and the damage to wildlife and to our national park and national monument system.

The fight for the environment must be fought against all enemies, as it is the future of the planet at stake!

Donald Trump’s Treasonous War On Nature And The Environment

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Donald Trump is guilty of so many crimes, but his war on nature and the environment is a true act of treason!

The Trump Administration has decided to allow trophy hunting of elephants in Africa, and has no concern about the rapidly dwindling wild animals in Africa, including rhinos, lions, tigers, and many other species.

The Trump Administration has declared war against clean air and clean water, and promotes drilling. mining, and also cutting down of forests.

The Trump Administration has declared war against our national parks and monuments.

Every aspect of nature is under attack, and the effect of undermining the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior is to destroy all of the wonderful laws and actions of Presidents of both parties for more than a century.

Lawsuits have begun by many conservation and environmental organizations in courts, slowing up the damage, but right now, it seems like a losing battle.

Warring on nature and the environment is an act of treason which should, on its own, be enough to remove Donald Trump from the Presidency rapidly!

Theodore Roosevelt To Barack Obama, And The Antiquities Act Of 1906, Now Under Threat From Donald Trump

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Theodore Roosevelt, the greatest environmental and conservation President, promoted the passage of the Antiquities Act of 1906, and since then, 16 Presidents have designated a grand total of 157 National Monuments and National Parks.

Four Republican Presidents added no national monuments or national parks—Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, although Nixon is seen as a great environmental President with his Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel, and the signing into law of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, and the first declared Earth Day on April 22, 1970.

Under Theodore Roosevelt, a total of 18 monuments or parks were added, including Devils Tower National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Muir Woods National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, and Olympic National Park.

William Howard Taft added 10 national monuments and national parks, including Navajo National Monument and Zion National Park.

Woodrow Wilson added 13 national monuments and national parks, including Dinosaur National Monument, Acadia National Park, and Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.

Warren G. Harding added 8 national monuments and national parks, including Great Basin National Park, Aztec Ruins National Monument, and Bryce Canyon National Park.

Calvin Coolidge added 13 national monuments and national parks, including Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Statue Of Liberty National Monument, Fort Pulaski National Monument, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Herbert Hoover added 9 national monuments and national parks, including Arches National Park, Portion Of White River National Forest, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Grand Canyon National Park (extension), White Sands National Monument, and Death Valley National Park.

Franklin D. Roosevelt added 13 national monuments and national parks, including Dry Tortugas National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Zion National Park (extension), and Grant Teton National Park.

Harry Truman added just 1 national monument and national park, Effigy Mounds National Monument.

Dwight D. Eisenhower added just 2 national monuments and national parks, Thomas Edison National Historical Park, and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

John F. Kennedy added just 2 national monuments and national parks, including Russell Cave National Monument, and Buck Island Reef National Monument.

Lyndon B. Johnson added just 2 national monuments and national parks, an extension again of Grand Canyon National Park, and Portion of Tongrass National Forest.

Jimmy Carter added 15 national monuments and national parks in just one term as President, a reason why Carter is seen as one of the top three conservation oriented Presidents, alongside TR and Nixon. Among those monuments and forests Carter added were Denali National Park in Alaska, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, and Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

Bill Clinton added the grant total of 19 national monuments and national parks, including Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, California Coastal National Monument, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Portion of Sequoia National Forest, President Lincoln and Soldier’s Home National Monument, Sonoran Desert National Monument, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, and Governors Island National Monument.

George W. Bush added 6 national monuments and national parks, including African Burial Ground National Monument, World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, and Pacific Remote Islands National Monument.

Finally, Barack Obama added the grand total of 29 national monuments and national parks, far more than runners up Bill Clinton, Theodore Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These included Fort Monroe National Monument, Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, San Juan Islands National Monument, Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, Stonewall National Monument, Bears Ears National Monument, Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, Freedom Riders National Monument, and Reconstruction Era National Monument.