“An orca whale breaches in view of Mount Baker, some 60 miles distant,
in the Salish Sea in the San Juan Islands.” Trump Admin. endangers orcas.
Photo credit: Elaine Thompson, AP


– Editor’s note:
I am not interested in cultivating a political debate here about President Trump, only reporting instead on how his policies will affect our lives in Puget Sound. With all of the other news drowning out these stories below, the administration’s multiple proposals last week amount to a staggering assault on the environment, which will ultimately be felt here in the Pacific Northwest.

Remember that “Fake News” is the term used for a story one does not like being publicized, similar to the term “cult,” used for a group that someone does not like and/or understand. The stories below are all fact-based, however treat them as “Fake News” if you wish, and to your heart be true.


– “Trump to Seek Repeal of California’s Smog-Fighting Power”
* Proposed revision to auto emission standards coming out soon
* Will propose end of state’s waiver from federal standards

“The Trump administration will seek to revoke California’s authority to regulate automobile greenhouse gas emissions — including its mandate for electric-car sales — in a proposed revision of Obama-era standards, according to three people familiar with the plan,” by Ryan Beene, Jennifer A Dlouhy, John Lippert, and Ari Natter, Bloomberg News.
Read more


– “Trump administration officials dismissed benefits of national monuments”
“In a quest to shrink national monuments last year, senior Interior Department officials dismissed evidence that these public sites boosted tourism and spurred archaeological discoveries, according to documents the department released this month and retracted a day later.

“The thousands of pages of email correspondence chart how Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his aides instead tailored their survey of protected sites to emphasize the value of logging, ranching and energy development that would be unlocked if they were not designated national monuments,” by Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post.
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– “Lawmakers, Lobbyists and the Administration Join Forces to Overhaul the Endangered Species Act”
“The Endangered Species Act, which for 45 years has safeguarded fragile wildlife while blocking ranching, logging and oil drilling on protected habitats, is coming under attack from lawmakers, the White House and industry on a scale not seen in decades, driven partly by fears that the Republicans will lose ground in November’s midterm elections.

“In the past two weeks, more than two dozen pieces of legislation, policy initiatives and amendments designed to weaken the law have been either introduced or voted on in Congress or proposed by the Trump administration,” By Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman, The New York Times.
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– “Trump Administration Neuters Nuclear Safety Board”
“Under a new order from the Energy Department, a nuclear safety board will have to fight for information about and access to nuclear laboratories. In the past, the board has brought serious problems at those labs to light.

“The Trump administration has quietly taken steps that may inhibit independent oversight of its most high-risk nuclear facilities, including some buildings at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a Department of Energy document shows.

“An order published on the department’s website in mid-May outlines new limits on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board,” by Rebecca Moss, Santa Fe New Mexican.
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– All of these previous stories added to this from a year ago –
“Trump Administration Tosses Rule to Protect Endangered Whales and Sea Turtles”
“The Trump administration on Monday threw out a new rule intended to limit the numbers of endangered whales and sea turtles getting caught in fishing nets off the West Coast, saying existing protections were already working,” quoting the AP.
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