Article by Public Lab Staff for Community Science Forum: Changing Environmental Governance Landscape

The face and function of federal environmental governance in the United States has changed in the over the past year. We've seen climate change deniers appointed to lead environmental agencies, the U.S. withdrawl from the Paris Climate Accord, repeals of crucial water and ecosystem protections like the Stream Protection Rule, proposed rescission of public lands and wildlife refuges protection from oil and gas drilling, and massive proposed budget cuts for environmental research and regulatory enforcement. We've seen the entire EPA Climate Change web domain taken down (for seven months and counting), explaining that the EPA is "... currently updating our website to reflect EPA's priorities under the leadership of President Trump and Administrator Pruitt," which apparently involves limiting public access to information about the causes and consequences of climate change.

With this shifting environmental governance landscape, environmental sectors are responding. We have asked people who work in a variety of environmental fields, from academic environmental historians to sustainability professionals, how the changing environmental governance landscape is affecting their work and what strategies they are using to address their pressing issues amidst changing rules, politics, and public perceptions. Each article inside is one person's perspective on their work in this time.

Issue Cover Photo: Balloon map of a creosote superfund site in Picayune, Mississippi. Mapped on Jan 16, 2016. Image stitched by Dan Beavers. Colors have been altered for the publication's design.