Commentary

Executive Director

Tim is PEER’s Executive Director, with 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.

Building Accountability Back Into Government: Why It’s Essential for the Environment and Public Health

by Tim Whitehouse | December 18, 2025
At PEER, we believe restoring accountability is among the most urgent environmental and public health challenges of our time. It is also a challenge we know how to meet -- if we choose to strengthen, rather than silence, the institutions designed to keep the government honest ...

Environmental Attacks Continue at Full Speed; Much of it Under the Radar

by Tim Whitehouse | December 9, 2025
Several major rollbacks show a government being redirected to serve a narrow set of industries at the expense of the public ...

Confronting the Rise of Authoritarianism

by Tim Whitehouse | November 6, 2025
The the fate of our work protecting public employees and the environment is dependent on our ability to combat the rise in authoritarianism and promote democratic values in our country ...

East Wing Demolition Metaphor for Trump Governance

by Jeff Ruch | October 27, 2025
The bulldozers and backhoes have razed the East Wing of the White House to make way for President Trump’s big, beautiful ballroom. Characteristically, Trump has barreled ahead, heedless of the law, tradition, or concerns about historic protection and good taste ...

EPA’s Rollback of Endangerment Finding is Cloaked in Secrecy and Science-Denial

by Kaylee Rodriguez | October 23, 2025
The proposal to repeal the endangerment finding is part of a concentrated effort by the Trump administration to abandon science in favor of a political agenda ...

Alaska Can No Longer Ignore Climate Change: Latest Disaster Should Be Wake-Up Call

by Jeff Ruch | October 21, 2025
Remnants of typhoon Halong battered Alaska with hellacious winds and record-breaking storm surges, yet national and even state policies are unlikely to change in its aftermath ...