Common Dreams

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.

White House Censorship in the Name of Scientific Integrity

by Tim Whitehouse | October 2, 2023
There is good reason to fear that a new Biden administration policy will create a broad chilling effect on scientific work involving hot button topics ...

Biden Admin Scientific Integrity Policy Falls Short, Warn Watchdogs

by PEER | September 5, 2023
Groups including Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Government Accountability Project, and the Center for Reproductive Rights wrote to the administration to warn that both Democratic and Republican administrations have stood in the way of scientific integrity, ...

Green Groups Call on Biden Admin to End Support for ‘Scientifically Bankrupt’ Wildlife Killing

by PEER | August 15, 2023
Rick Steiner, board chair of PEER, also noted that killing operations are “economically counterproductive” in addition to being “scientifically bankrupt,” as “millions of tourists travel to Alaska spending billions of dollars annually—just to catch a glimpse ...

COMMENTARY | Is Congress Too Dysfunctional to Fund the National Parks?

by Jeff Ruch | August 10, 2023
In past decades, America’s best idea was one of the few domestic programs enjoying bipartisan support ...

COMMENTARY | EPA’s Whack-a-Mole “Forever Chemicals” Posture Is an Intolerable Failure

by Kyla Bennett | May 3, 2023
The agency must treat PFAS as a class of chemicals regulated in the same manner as the European Union and other countries ...