On Trump’s way out of the White House, his administration demolished a law that protects migratory birds, putting over 1,000 species at risk. The Biden administration can still salvage it, but only if they act swiftly. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/biden-administration-migratory-bird-treaty-act…
Tag: Interior Department
Trump Administration, In Late Push, Moves To Sell Oil Rights In Arctic Refuge
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would begin the formal process of selling leases to oil companies in a last-minute push to achieve its long-sought goal of allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. That sets up a potential sale of leases…
Popular Chinese-Made Drone Is Found To Have Security Weakness
Cybersecurity researchers revealed on Thursday a newfound vulnerability in an app that controls the world’s most popular consumer drones, threatening to intensify the growing tensions between China and the United States. From a report: In two reports, the researchers contended that an app on Google’s Android operating system that powers drones made by China-based Da Jiang Innovations, or DJI, collects large…
A Trump Insider Embeds Climate Denial in Scientific Research
An official at the Interior Department embarked on a campaign that has inserted misleading language about climate change — including debunked claims that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is beneficial — into the agency’s scientific reports, the New York Times reported Monday, citing internal documents. From the report: The misleading language appears in at least nine reports, including environmental studies…
US Interior Department To Ground Its Drones Over Chinese Spying Risk
The Interior Department is grounding its entire fleet of aerial drones (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source), one of the largest in the federal government, citing increasing concerns about the national security risk from Chinese manufacturers. The Wall Street Journal reports: The department has more than 800 drones, all of which are either made in China or have Chinese parts, according to…
Interior Department Launches Investigation of Potential Ethics Violations Among Staff
The probe, the second in as many weeks, looks into a complaint that Interior Department staff offered agency access to former employers or lobbying clients. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/climate/interior-department-ethics-investigation.html?partner=rss&emc=rss…
Judge Delivers Major Setback to Trump Policy to Increase Coal Mining on Federal Land
The Interior Department acted illegally when it sought to lift an Obama-era moratorium on coal mining on public lands, a court found. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/climate/court-trump-coal-mining-setback.html?partner=rss&emc=rss…
Interior Dept. Opens Ethics Investigation of Its New Chief, David Bernhardt
The department’s inspector general has said that she is looking into a “wide assortment” of allegations of conflict of interest and other potential violations. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/climate/bernhardt-interior-department-ethics-investigation.html?partner=rss&emc=rss…
Trump’s Pick for Interior Dept. Continued Lobbying After Officially Vowing to Stop, New Files Indicate
An invoice and other documents indicate that the nominee, David Bernhardt, continued to lobby after he filed official papers promising that he would no longer do so. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/climate/david-bernhardt-interior-lobbying.html?partner=rss&emc=rss