Environmental policy update; then, what is the ‘Deep State?’

Listen 00:48:58

Guests: Scott Waldman, Mike Lofgren

Since President Trump has come into office, he’s been rolling back all kinds of environmental protections and has proposed significant funding cuts in climate science and research. And last week, Scott Pruitt, the head of the EPA, said that carbon dioxide is not biggest contributor of global warming.  This shocked many scientist and environmentalists and runs contrary to EPA and NOAA studies.  We start out this hour talking with E&E News reporter SCOTT WALDMAN about the new administration’s attacks on climate science. Then, we talk to MIKE LOFGREN, a former Republican Congressional aide who was the chief analyst for military spending in the Senate Budget Committee.  He joins us to tell us about the so-called “Deep State,” the pejorative used to describe the bureaucracy of the military and intelligence communities, as well as government contractors who are said to be attempting to undermine the Trump presidency. He wrote about his observations on this in his book The Deep State.

Reading list:

“Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Hits Record Levels” – Scott Waldman (Scientific American)

“The Deep State 2.0” – Mike Lofgren (billmoyers.com)

“There is No Deep State” – David Remnick (New Yorker)

“Five Myths About the Deep State” – Marc Ambinder (Washington Post)

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