In the News: Environmental Groups Sue The Department of Energy for Downplaying Climate Change; The Department of Human Health Services Resurrects Vaccine Safety Panel Disbanded Decades Ago

Environmental Groups Sue The Department of Energy for Downplaying Climate Change

Climate skeptics are not easily persuaded, UO study shows | OregonNewsI am so disgusted!! The Trump administration secretly gathered 5 climate change skeptics to form a group called the Climate Working Group, and had them write a report downplaying the effects of climate change. They then used that report to justify removing the legal foundations for regulating climate pollution. Chris Wright, from the Department of Energy, and Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, should be ashamed of themselves, but of course they are not. They are willing to put the health of all humans and the entire planet at risk, all for political gain.

Does climate skepticism necessarily mean climate inaction? | Yale Environment ReviewThe Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists are suing the administration based on the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 which does not allow federal agencies to recruit or rely on secret groups when engaging in policymaking. All advisory committees, along with recruiting and emails, must be made public.

Scientists around the world agree that the burning of fossil fuels is the primary contributor to global warming, and that immediate action is needed to avoid the worst consequences.  

 

Click here to read the full NY Times Article;

The Department of Human Health Services Resurrects Vaccine Safety Panel that was Disbanded Decades Ago

File:A child gets the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.pngA Vaccine Safety Panel is being reinstated by The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)  Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, after being dismantled in 1988. After it’s dismantling in 1988, the National Injury Compensation Program was created and as of February 2025, has paid out more than $5.3 billion in compensation for injuries and deaths related to vaccines.

The purpose of this Task Force is to support and improve vaccine safety. I did my own research on vaccines when my children were younger, and I am glad to see that there is some attention being brought to this issue. The Panel will be made up of members of the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as other appointed members. However, I do wonder if those chosen to be on the Panel will be cherry-picked anti-vaxxers who won’t put out truly objective reports. and instead use their positions of power to spread harmful information about vaccines.

 

Click here to read the full New York Times Article