Even As He Eyed The Exit, Scott Pruitt Still Wanted To "Debate" Reality Of Climate Science
In Scott Pruitt’s final weeks as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, his political advisers were still considering ways to formally raise doubts about climate change science, agency records show.
The scandal-plagued Pruitt had long pushed for a public “red team, blue team” debate between mainstream scientists and the small minority of scientists who disagree with them about climate change and its causes. In late 2017, White House officials urged him to abandon the idea.
Yet according to emails obtained by the Guardian through a Freedom of Information Act request, as recently as mid-May 2018 aides were considering an alternative: the agency could ask for public comments on a 2009 legal finding that requires the US government to regulate greenhouse gases. If by that process the EPA could successfully rescind the conclusion that greenhouse gases endanger public health, the federal government would no longer have to regulate major sources of carbon pollution, including power plants.
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The documents referred to in the emails were not released, because the Freedom of Information Act does not require the government to release records that were part of ongoing deliberations. One subject line referenced an afternoon meeting. The staffers exchanging the drafts, air official Mandy Gunasekara and the policy chief, Brittany Bolen, stayed at the EPA when Pruitt left. In a brief interview this month, Gunasekara said the agency’s “understanding of CO2 and greenhouse gases continues to evolve”. She declined to comment on the released emails. Spokespeople for the EPA and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/21/scott-pruitt-epa-climate-change-science-red-team-blue-team-debate