Please invest in Our Daily Planet today, by making a one time or monthly contribution.
We do not charge our readers a subscription fee for our content. We want to continue to grow our readership, particularly among millennials and public servants. Voluntary contributions from readers will help us employ interns and freelance journalists, expand our content, and reach a larger audience.
If you make a contribution of $150 or more, you will become an official “Friend of the Planet” and receive a Friend of the Planet T-shirt or water bottle.
Our Daily Planet is a daily morning email (M-F) to keep you informed of the stories shaping our environment. If these issues matter to you, we’d like to be the best ten minutes of your morning.
Why this Matters: So much for the “law and order” President. President Trump and the Attorney General may want to prosecute protesters, but big corporations that violate pollution laws and risk the public’s health — not so much. Without the credible threat of law enforcement, businesses can violate the laws and never worry about the consequences to people or the environment.
How Low Can They Go?
Professor Uhlmann studied the cases brought between 2005 and 2018, and found that the two-year period starting in 2017 had “the worst pollution prosecution numbers in the 14 years” they examined. The trend in prosecutions had been declining in the second term of the Obama administration, but once the Trump Administration, according to Uhlmann, “the bottom dropped out.” For example, in 2018, there were only nine defendants prosecuted for Clean Water Act violations across the country. The total number of prosecutions under all environmental statutes fell from 191 in 2011 to 75 in 2018.
Quality versus Quantity?
Both the E.P.A. and the Justice Department disputed this report. Jeffrey Bossert Clark, who heads the environment and natural resources division of the Justice Department, told the New York Times through a spokeswoman that the article “confuses quantity for quality.” He suggested that though the number of water pollution cases has declined, the number of pesticide cases has shot up by “several hundred percent,” because of prosecutions of illegal smuggling and false COVID-19 treatments. A spokeswoman for the E.P.A. also disputed the report’s claims, telling the New York Times that the agency “has reinvigorated its criminal enforcement program” and “reversed the downward trend,” and that the number of cases in 2019 and 2020 (years that were not covered in the report) has increased dramatically. However, Professor Uhlmann responded that only 10 defendants were prosecuted for pesticide violations in 2017 and 2018, not nearly enough to reverse the downward trend in Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act cases.
H/T To Prof. Uhlmann’s research assistants who worked hard to help with the Report, and to Prof. Uhlmann for making sure we knew!
The Colorado River is drying up, millions are at risk of losing their water supply, and Indigenous communities are fighting to keep their water rights. The Western megadrought is taking its toll on American communities, but how did we get here? In his new film, River’s End: California’s Latest Water War, Jacob Morrison delves […]
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and HP just announced that they’re taking their friendship to the next level. The odd couple is teaming up and expanding their partnership to restore, protect, and improve the management of almost one million acres of forest. HP is pledging $80 million to forest conservation and restoration, and not stopping there […]
Researchers from the National University of Singapore used data from more than 1,000 twin siblings to evaluate their opinions about environmental policy. They found identical twins were more likely to have similar views on green policy than non-identical twins, suggesting that support for climate action may have a genetic component. Felix Tropf, a professor in […]
Subscribe to the email that top lawmakers, renowned scientists, and thousands of concerned citizens turn to each morning for the latest environmental news and analysis.
Want the lastest climate news summarized for you each morning?
Our Daily Planet is your daily dose of the stories shaping our world and the ways that you can take action. From the climate crisis to the protection of biodiversity, if these issues matter to you then please subscribe & stay informed!
Your privacy is Important! We promise never to use your email address to send you spam or advertisements.