Commentary

Executive Director

Tim is PEER’s Executive Director, leveraging more than 30 years of experience working on environmental issues with governments, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community groups. Prior to joining PEER, he was a senior attorney at the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was head of the Law and Policy Program at the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation in Montreal, Canada. He has worked as a consultant for companies on environmental compliance issues, and with nonprofit organizations focusing on clean energy issues. Most recently, he was executive director of Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, a health advocacy group working to address climate change, toxics pollution, and nuclear disarmament issues. Tim’s interest is in the intersection of science, policy, and civil service. He believes in protecting employees who raise concerns about their workplace and in exposing undue influence on government for private gain. He holds a JD and BA from Emory University and an MA from New York University.

COMMENTARY | Dumbing Down America’s Best Idea: National Parks in Free Fall

by Jeff Ruch | August 16, 2025
Even as the National Park Service sets new all-time visitation records, no one could claim our national parks are basking in a golden age ...

COMMENTARY | New Wave of Personnel Actions Threatens National Parks

by Kaylee Rodriguez | August 7, 2025
With peak visitation season underway, the National Park Service is struggling to keep up amid increasing uncertainty and understaffing ...

COMMENTARY | Commercial Space Activities and the Elimination of Science at NOAA

by Tim Whitehouse | August 5, 2025
The Trump Administration is doing everything in its power to limit or eliminate science-based oversight of industry activities and is using the threat of "pocket rescissions" to prevent harm to favored industries ...

COMMENTARY | Idiocracy: Loyalty Displaces Competence in Trump World

by Jeff Ruch | August 1, 2025
In his second term, Trump has assembled perhaps the least distinguished Cabinet in modern history, abandoning any pretense of picking people based upon competence ...

COMMENTARY | Trillion Dollar Return on Public Lands – Harvesting Hot Air

by Jeff Ruch | July 2, 2025
The Burgum-backed plans for Department of Interior lands promote a frenzy of extraction, overuse, and hasty disposal ...

COMMENTARY | Trump’s Attack on Science Will Leave Us All Sicker

by Tim Whitehouse | June 23, 2025
The Trump administration’s evisceration of the federal agencies that protect our health and environment is a full-throttled attack on science that will set our nation back for years, if not decades to come ...
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