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PEERMail: PFAS Action is Inaction
Nowhere are the consequences of the Trump Administration’s purge of scientists and the stacking of government positions with industry lobbyist more apparent than in its handling of calls to regulate PFAS chemicals- or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

PEERMail: Passing the Torch
Dear PEER Members, As all good things come to end, so too has my tenure as PEER Executive Director. It has been my distinct honor and almost unalloyed pleasure to have led PEER since 1997. The next PEER-Mail you receive will come from our new Executive Director, Tim...

PEERMail: At EPA Oversight Means Overlook
At EPA Oversight Means Overlook In 1969, the Cuyahoga River famously caught fire with flames leaping five stories high billowing plumes of industrial waste. The incident galvanized the environmental movement, leading to enactment of a series of major laws, such as the...

PEERMail: David Bernhardt and the Banality of Evil
As disturbing Trump appointees go, Scott Pruitt at EPA is hard to top. Well, somebody else who has that potential is awaiting confirmation – David Bernhardt as Secretary of Interior.

PEERMail: Shutdown Lesson for Employees – Stop Being Pawns
Shutdown Lesson for Employees - Stop Being Pawns This nightmarish government shutdown ended under a three-week truce as Trump threatens to do it again—for what would be the fourth government shutdown in two years. For federal employees caught in the middle of this...

PEERMail: The Shutdown’s Long-Term Costs
The Shutdown's Long-Term Costs Not only is this the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, it is also the dumbest. Incredibly, it is already the third shutdown during the relatively short but seemingly interminable Trump tenure. With the first round of missed...

PEERMail: Closing Out Our 25th Year
Closing Out Our 25th Year This year, PEER celebrated its 25th anniversary. While we are not a big organization, we have generated a track record of major accomplishments in that time. 2018 was no exception. During the past twelve months, for example, we – Exposed...

PEERMail: Clean Water Apocalypse
Clean Water Apocalypse Each passing week, there is mounting competition for the most damaging environmental reversal proposed by the Trump administration. This week’s contestant may be the worst yet. In 2017, Trump ordered EPA to dramatically limit the scope of the...

PEERMail: It Came From Outer Space
PEER may have helped avert an existential threat to the planet. This time the source was not Donald Trump but something possibly even worse – Silicon Valley greed.

PEERMail: We Need More Than Oversight
We Need More Than Oversight Don’t get me wrong. For the past two years, congressional oversight has been synonymous with congressional overlook. Scrutiny enforced by subpoena would be a welcome change. If the past two years show anything, it’s that inside the...

PEERMail: EPA Issues a Death Sentence
Last week’s bizarre disappearing act involving a new acting Interior Inspector General was no anomaly – it is part of an emerging pattern.

PEERMail: The Demise of Advise and Consent
Last week’s bizarre disappearing act involving a new acting Interior Inspector General was no anomaly – it is part of an emerging pattern.

PEERMail: Shuffling the Deck Chairs
The best way to disrupt a public agency is to reorganize it. Thus, it not surprising that the Trump administration is in a reorganization lather.

PEERMail: Honor and Duty in Today’s Federal Service
When Trump was first elected, I asked one federal manager what was going to happen to his environmental program. He replied, “I have no idea – we’re in the clown car to crazy town.”

PEERMail: Why Does Ryan Zinke Have to be Such a Putz?
We thought Ryan Zinke was supposed to be the sane Trump cabinet member but perhaps that has become a contradiction in terms.

PEERMail: Trump Is Looking for a Few Good Scientists
The White House is looking for a few good toxicologists.