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Today Trump and EPA chief Andrew Wheeler signed off on a new rule which would make it easier for coal plants “to release into the atmosphere more mercury and other pollutants linked to developmental disorders and respiratory illnesses.”
This is awful news, but it gets worse. 1/
This is awful news, but it gets worse. 1/
The rule Trump and Wheeler are attacking was issued under Obama in 2011 after 20 years of work. It took into account the value for the country of preventing illnesses and premature deaths for thousands, a vast benefit to public health (and to taxpayers) 2/ green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/e-p…
That didn’t sit well with Robert Murray, one of the wealthiest coal barons in the country. Murray reportedly gave a million dollars to Trump’s Super PAC, and hundreds of thousands more to his inaugural committee. 3/ thedailybeast.com/a-coal-giant-g…
When Trump won, this same coal baron who had given him huge piles of cash sent him a wish list of policy changes to help increase his own profits and to help boost the flagging coal industry. The rule issued by Trump and Wheeler today was on the list. 4/ nytimes.com/2018/01/09/cli…
It gets even more corrupt.
The rule requested by Trump’s billionaire coal baron donor Robert Murray to help boost personal profits at the expense of public health was signed by EPA chief Andrew Wheeler... who was himself a lobbyist *for Murray* 5/ www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nytime…
The rule requested by Trump’s billionaire coal baron donor Robert Murray to help boost personal profits at the expense of public health was signed by EPA chief Andrew Wheeler... who was himself a lobbyist *for Murray* 5/ www-nytimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nytime…
The rule Wheeler signed doesn’t just weaken standards on mercury and other killer pollutants.
It says that the EPA must factor in public health benefits less - and therefore value industry profits more - when creating future rules like this one. nytimes.com/2018/12/28/cli… 6/
It says that the EPA must factor in public health benefits less - and therefore value industry profits more - when creating future rules like this one. nytimes.com/2018/12/28/cli… 6/
It’s hard to imagine a more blatantly corrupt abuse of public office than what Trump and Wheeler are doing here. They are explicitly helping rich donors and sacrificing Americans’ health to do it.
We can’t let them get away with it. It’s long past time for serious oversight. 7/7
We can’t let them get away with it. It’s long past time for serious oversight. 7/7
