Category «Government Resources»

America’s clean air rules boost health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s new deregulation plans ignore

The Trump administration announced on March 12, 2025, that it is “reconsidering” more than 30 air pollution regulations in a series of moves that could impact air quality across the United States. “Reconsideration” is a term used to review or modify a government regulation. While Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin provided few details, Prof. Richard Peltier discusses how the breadth of the regulations being reconsidered affects all Americans. They include rules that set limits for pollutants that can harm human health, such as ozone, particulate matter and volatile organic carbon.

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Energy, Government Resources, Healthcare, Legal Research, United States Law

What Is OpenAI’s Powerful New Deep Research Tool Capable Of? I Use It to Analyze the Legality of President Trump’s Pause of Federal Grants

On February 2, 2025 OpenAI released Deep Research, an AI agent capable of completing multi-step research tasks and synthesizing large amounts of online information. OpenAI’s chief product officer Kevin Weil said it can complete complex research tasks in minutes that might take a person many hours or days, according to The New York Times, adding that it should be particularly useful for people in fields such as finance, science and law. Robert Ambrogi created a comprehensive and expertly crafted series of prompts to evaluate Deep Search’s ability to research and analyze the legality of the Trump administration’s temporary pause of federal grant and financial assistance programs, and then to outline the potential legal remedies available to recipients of those grants and financial assistance.

Subjects: AI, Government Resources, Legal Research, United States Law

How to find climate data and science the Trump administration doesn’t want you to see

Research librarian Alejandro Paz and policy scholar Eric Nost, who belong to a network called the Public Environmental Data Partners, a coalition of nonprofits, archivists and researchers who rely on federal data in our analysis, advocacy and litigation, are working to ensure that data remains available to the public.

Subjects: Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Resources, Legal Research

NOAA’s vast public weather data powers the local forecasts on your phone and TV – a private company alone couldn’t match it

Atmospheric scientists Christine Wiedinmyer and Kari Bowen, who is a former National Weather Service forecaster, explain NOAA’s central role in most U.S. weather forecasts. They underscore why the Trump/DOGE plan to eliminate these two critical agencies and replace them with one private company to provide comprehensive weather data in a reliable way that is also accessible to the entire public, is not a reasonable plan.

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Government Resources

Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired, Colleges Erase Programs, Law Firms Blackballed, Holocaust Erased

Since January 20, 2025 America has been catapulted into an unimaginable inflection point. Sabrina I. Pacifici chronicles seismic events in recent weeks which have upended America’s democracy, jeopardized our economy, financial system, national security, science and medical communities, and fractured our national identity, at home and around the world. This is a commentary, and a guide written by a law librarian and former federal employee who was the target of a similar purge by Trump in 2018, to what and who has been targeted and purged, an overview of the process used to do so, and a perspective on the impact of these sweeping, deeply damaging and likely illegal actions.

Subjects: Climate Change, Constitutional Law, CRS Reports, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital Archives, Economy, Education, Ethics, Financial System, Government Resources, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, United States Law

Deferred Resignation Email to Federal Employees Issued January 28, 2025 – Daily Updates on New Actions

Effort to force federal civil service employees to resign uses format and statement Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees in 2022 asking them to pledge to being “extremely hardcore” or resign.” Agencies throughout the federal government, including the military and intelligence communities, as our global aid agency, USAID, are now in receipt of similar emails which are resignation offer letters.

Subjects: Constitutional Law, Email Security, Government Resources, Legal Research, Privacy

Career civil service across the government fired, programs suspended – list continues to grow

Democracy, the Constitution, the Federal Government – All At Risk. Since his inauguration on January 20, 2025 Donald Trump has rapidly implemented key recommendations of Project 2025 using actions executed by non career government personnel as well conservative public policy think tank members to create chaos, instill fear in the workforce, and freeze the delivery of health and medical services, food and nutrition programs, critical scientific and medical research, and the security of our homeland. In light of the ongoing issuance of directives, orders, firings, freezes to government funding, immigration raids, threats of action against specific groups and communities, and the list goes on, this report by Sabrina I. Pacifici will be published in several parts, with updates added to include new documents, actions by courts and Congress, and additional details on programs impacted.

Subjects: Congress, CRS Reports, Economy, Financial System, Government Resources, Leadership, Legal Research, Management, Telecommuting

Even 1 drink a day elevates your cancer risk – an expert on how alcohol affects the body breaks down a new government report

The past few decades, mounting scientific evidence has shown that as little as 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day can lead to increases in the likelihood of several cancers. This prompted the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, to release a new Surgeon General Advisory on Jan. 3, 2025, warning about the link between alcohol and cancer. Nikki Crowley, Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology at Penn State highlights the evidence and associated with the call for new cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages.

The association between alcohol and cancer isn’t new news – scientists have been trying to determine the link for decades – yet most people aren’t aware of the risks and may only associate drinking with liver disease like cirrhosis. In a 2019 survey from the American Institute for Cancer Research, less than half of Americans identified alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.

Subjects: Government Resources, Healthcare

Book Review – Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government

The 2024 election results have prompted discussion about the effectiveness of “guardrails” that might restrain Presidential activities that could harm the nation. Jerry Lawson’s review notes that Glenn Fine’s new book, Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle of Honest and Accountable Government is a timely and welcome contribution to the national debate. Fine has had considerable experience with Offices of Inspectors General (OIGs), one of the key institutions that serve as limits to corrupt or overreaching Executive Branch actions.

Subjects: Book Reviews, Government Resources, Legal Research, United States Law

How Do I Protect My Privacy If I’m Seeking an Abortion?

The reelection of former president Donald Trump is almost certain to disrupt the future of reproductive rights in the U.S. The president-elect has pledged to leave abortion up to states but could appoint anti-abortion leaders to federal positions or begin enforcing anachronistic laws that limit access. Meanwhile, measures to protect or expand abortion access on Election Day failed in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota, and nearly 20 other states have banned or severely restricted abortion since the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade. This important, timely and comprehensive guide to keeping your plans private through every step of an abortion in any state, including Florida and South Dakota is by Tomas Apodaca.

Subjects: Government Resources, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, United States Law