Clean Wisconsin has been keeping track of the many attacks on bedrock environmental safeguards being carried out by the Trump Administration. Dozens of rules and regulations that protect our air, water, land, endangered species and more are being targeted. With so much happening in such a short time, how do you know what’s important, what’s just a lot of bluster, and what’s even legal? 

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Brett Korte, Clean Wisconsin attorney

Resources for You:

Running list of attacks on environmental safeguards

1/20 Freeze All In-Progress Standards 

EO - Freezes in-progress climate, clean air, clean water (including proposed limits on PFAS in industrial wastewater) and consumer protections.

1/20 Energy Emergency Declaration

EO - Authorizes federal government to expedite permitting and approval of fossil fuel, infrastructure, and mining projects and circumvent Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act requirements.

1/20 Withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement

EO - Reverses the US' international commitment to tackling climate change and reducing pollution.

1/20 Revokes Biden Climate Crisis and Environmental Justice Executive Actions

EO -  Reverses U.S. commitment to fight climate change and its impacts, and protect overburdened communities.

1/20 Attacks on Clean Car Standards

EO -  to stop clean car standards that required automakers to reduce tailpipe pollution from vehicles beginning in 2027.

1/20 Resumes LNG Permitting

EO - Expedites Liquid Natural Gas export terminal approval over analysis finding exports raise energy costs for consumers.

Attacks Climate and Clean Energy Investments from IRA and BIL

EO - Freezes unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and directs agencies to reassess.

1/20 Attacks NEPA Protections

EO - Rescinds order requiring White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to assess environmental and community impacts and allow community input into federal infrastructure projects.

1/21 Expands Offshore Oil Drilling

EO - Reopens U.S. coastlines to offshore drilling.

1/21 Terminate American Climate Corps

EO - Ends all programs of the American Climate Corps, which created thousands of jobs combatting climate change and protecting and restoring public lands.

1/21 Freezes New Wind Energy Leases

EO - Withdraws wind energy leasing from U.S. waters and federal lands.

1/21 Open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other Alaska Lands for Drilling

EO - Reopens sensitive federal lands and waters in Alaska to drilling.

1/28 EPA’s Science Advisory Panel Members Fired

Memorandum - Acting EPA administrator James Payne dismisses members of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and Science Advisory Board, which provides independent expertise to the agency on air quality standards and sources of air pollution.

1/28 EPA Suspends Solar For All Grants

Memorandum - The EPA halted $7 billion in contractually obligated grants for Solar For All, an Inflation Reduction Act program that delivers clean energy and lower prices to vulnerable communities

1/31 Trump administration scrubs "climate change" from federal websites

Memorandum - Mentions of climate change have been removed from federal websites such the Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service and climate-smart agriculture programs, and the EPA.

2/3 Trump requires removal 10 existing rules for every new rule

EO - The order requires that when an agency finalizes a new regulation or guidance they identify 10 existing rules to be cut.

2/3 Interior secretary weakens public lands protections in favor of fossil fuel development

Sec Order - After Trump’s "Unleashing American Energy" executive order, Interior Secretary Burgum ordered the reinstatement of fossil fuel leases, opened more land for drilling, and issued orders weakening protections of public lands, national monuments and endangered species, and overturned advanced clean energy and climate mitigation strategies.

2/5 Energy secretary announces review of appliance efficiency standards

Sec Order - Energy Secretary Wright ordered a review of appliance standards following Trump’s Day One order attacking rules improving the efficiency of household appliances such as toilets, showerheads, and lightbulbs as part of a secretarial order intended to increase the extraction and use of fossil fuels.

2/5 Army Corps of Engineers halts approval of renewables

Guidance via DOD - The Army Corps of Engineers singled out 168 projects – those that focused on renewable energy projects – out of about 11,000 pending permits for projects on private land. Though the hold was lifted, it was not immediately clear if permitting had resumed.

2/6 Transportation Department orders freeze of EV charging infrastructure program

Memorandum - A Transportation Department memo ordered the suspension of $5 billion in federal funding, authorized by Congress under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, for states to build electric vehicle chargers.

2/11 SEC starts process to kill climate disclosure rule

Memorandum - The acting chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission paused the government’s legal defense of a rule requiring companies to identify the impact of their business on climate in regulatory findings. The rule was challenged in court by 19 Republican state attorneys general and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s Liberty Energy, among others.

2/14 EPA fires hundreds of staff

Memorandum - The Trump administration’s relentless assault on science and career expertise at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continued today with the firing of almost 400 staff who had ‘probationary’ status.

2/14 DOE issues the first LNG export authorization under new Trump administration

DOE Secretary Wright issued an export authorization for the Commonwealth LNG project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, despite a 2024 DOE report finding that unfettered LNG exports increase energy bills and climate pollution.

2/18 Trump issues order stripping independent agencies of independence

EO - Trump signed an executive order stripping independent regulatory agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of their independence, moving them to submit proposed rules and final regulations for review by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and granting the attorney general exclusive authority over legal interpretations of rules. The order is likely to be challenged as Congress created these agencies specifically to be insulated from White House interference.

2/19 Zeldin recommends striking endangerment finding

Memorandum - After Trump’s "Unleashing American Energy" executive order, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has told the White House he would recommend rescinding the bedrock justification defining six climate pollutants – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride – as air pollution to be regulated by the Clean Air Act.

2/19 Trump administration moves to rescind all CEQ regulatory authority

Rulemaking - The Trump administration has moved to rescind the Council on Environmental Quality’s role in crafting and implementing environmental regulations, revoking all CEQ orders since 1977 that shape how federal agencies comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which requires the government to consider and disclose environmental impacts of its actions.

2/19 Trump directs agencies to make deregulation recommendations to DOGE

EO - Trump issues executive order directing agencies to work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to make recommendations that will accelerate Trump’s efforts to dismantle regulations across the federal government as part of his 10 out, 1 in policy. Among the protections likely to be in DOGE’s crosshairs are those that keep polluters from ignoring environmental laws and protect clean air and water.

2/19 FEMA staff advised to scrub "changing climate" and other climate terms from documents

Memorandum - A Federal Emergency Management Agency memo listed 10 climate-related words and phrases, including "changing climate," “climate resilience,” and “net zero," to be removed from FEMA documents. The memo comes after USDA workers were ordered to scrub mentions of climate change from websites.

2/21 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Director Placed on Administrative Leave

Guidance - According to media reports, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin has put the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) director on administrative leave. The GGRF is a $27 billion federal financing program that addresses the climate crisis and is injecting billions of dollars in local economic development projects to lower energy prices and reduce pollution especially in the rural, urban, and Indigenous communities most impacted by climate change and frequently left behind by mainstream finance.

2/27 Hundreds fired as layoffs begin at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Guidance - On Thursday, February 27, about 800 employees at NOAA, the agency responsible for the nation’s bedrock weather, climate, fisheries, and marine research, were fired in the latest round of Trump administration-led layoffs. The layoffs could jeopardize NOAA’s ability to provide life-saving severe weather forecasts, long-term climate monitoring, deep-sea research and fisheries management, and other essential research and policy.

3/10 Energy secretary says climate change a worthwhile tradeoff for growth

Announcement - Speaking at the CERAWeek conference, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration sees climate change as “a side effect of building the modern world,” and pledged to “end the Biden administration’s irrational, quasi-religious policies on climate change."

3/10 Zeldin, Musk Cut $1.7B in Environmental Justice Grants

Guidance - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the cancellation of 400 environmental justice-related grants, in violation of a court order barring the Trump administration from freezing "equity-based" grants and contracts.

3/11 EPA eliminates environmental justice offices, staff

Memorandum - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin ordered the closure of environmental justice offices at the agency’s headquarters and at all 10 regional offices and eliminate all related staff positions "immediately." The reversal comes just days after the EPA reinstated environmental justice and civil rights employees put on leave in early February.

3/12 EPA Announcement to Revise "Waters of the United States" Rule

Announcement - The EPA will redefine waters of the US, or WOTUS, to comply with the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA, which lifted Clean Water Act jurisdiction on many wetlands, Administrator Lee Zeldin said

3/14 Zeldin releases 31-rollback ‘hit list’

Memorandum (announced, not in effect as of 4/10) - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to dismantle federal air quality and carbon pollution regulations, identifying 31 actions ranging from from soot standards and power plant pollution rules to the endangerment finding – the scientific and legal underpinning of the Clean Air Act.

3/14 EPA halts enforcement of pollution rules at energy facilities

Memorandum - According to a leaked memo, the EPA’s compliance office has halted enforcement of pollution regulations on energy facilities and barred consideration of environmental justice concerns. The memo states: "Enforcement and compliance assurance actions shall not shut down any stage of energy production (from exploration to distribution) or power generation absent an imminent and substantial threat to human health or an express statutory or regulatory requirement to the contrary.”

3/14 Trump revokes order encouraging renewables

EO - Trump signed an executive order rescinding a Biden-era proclamation encouraging the development of renewable energy. Biden’s order under the Defense Production Act permitted the Department of Energy to direct funds to scale up domestic production of solar and other renewable technologies.

3/17 EPA plans to eliminate science staff

Memorandum - Leaked documents describe plans to lay off as many as 1,155 scientists from labs across the country. These chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists are among the experts who monitor air and water quality, cleanup of toxic waste, and more.

3/16 EPA invites waivers on mercury pollution and other hazardous pollutants

Memorandum - The EPA invited coal- and oil-fired power plants to apply for exemptions to limits on mercury and other toxic pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Mercury is an extremely dangerous pollutant that causes brain damage to babies and fetuses; in addition to mercury, pollution from power plants includes hazardous chemicals that can lead to cancer, or damage to the lungs, kidneys, nervous system and cardiovascular system.

4/3 Trump administration adds "deregulation suggestion" website

A new page on regulations.gov allows members of the public to submit "deregulation" ideas. The move is the latest in the Trump administration’s efforts to slash public health, safety, and climate safeguards, and comes soon after the administration offered companies the opportunity to send the EPA an email if they wished to be exempted from Clean Air Act protections.

4/8 Series of four EOs to boost coal 

EO - Under the four orders, Trump uses his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. Trump also directed federal agencies to identify coal resources on federal lands, lift barriers to coal mining and prioritize coal leasing on U.S. lands.

In a related action, Trump also signed a proclamation offering coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene.

4/9 Executive Order Attacking State Climate Laws

EO - Directs the U.S. Attorney General to sue or block state climate policies deemed "burdensome" to fossil fuel interests — including laws addressing climate change, ESG investing, carbon taxes, and environmental justice.

4/9 New expiration dates on existing energy rules

EO - The order directs ten agencies and subagencies to assign one-year expiration dates to existing energy regulations. If they are not extended, they will expire no later than September 30, 2026, according to a White House fact sheet on the order. The order also said any new regulations should include a five-year expiration, unless they are deregulatory. That means any future regulations would only last for five years unless they are extended.

4/17 Narrow Endangered Species Act to allow for habitat destruction

The Trump administration is proposing to significantly limit the Endangered Species Act's power to preserve crucial habitats by changing the definition of one word: harm. The Endangered Species Act prohibits actions that “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect” endangered plants and animals. The word “harm” has long been interpreted to mean not just the direct killing of a species, but also severe harm to their environment

 

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There is no question the winters of our childhood are disappearing. In 2024, a rainy January gave way to tornadoes in February, flooding in June and drought in July and August.

So what is next for Wisconsin and how can we prepare? In this episode, Amy talks with Wisconsin's state climatologist about what could be the new normal for our state.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Steve Vavrus, Wisconsin State Climatologist

Resources for You:

Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts

Wisconsin 2024 Annual Climate Summary

 

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We are breathing in and ingesting tiny plastic particles called microplastics and nanoplastics all the time. According to a recent study, tissues in a typical adult brain contains the equivalent of a plastic spoon’s worth of plastic particles. In this episode, find out what all that plastic accumulating in our brains, arteries and reproductive systems could mean for our health--and what we can do about it.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Kayla Rinderknecht, Population Health Fellow, Clean Wisconsin

Resources for You: 

Microplastics in our Bodies: Exposures and Potential Health Harms

Under the Lens: Microplastics in our Environment and Our Bodies

 

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It’s no secret, Wisconsin has been rapidly losing its family farms, and with them, a way of life that’s defined much of our state for more than a century. But there’s a lifeline. In this episode, a southeastern Wisconsin farmer explains why he's trading in some of his ethanol corn -- for a chance to farm the sun.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Jay Wednt, farmer, Dean Kincaid, Inc. 

Resources for you:

Analysis reveals solar farms produce 100 times more energy per acre than corn ethanol

Farmers for Solar

Wind and solar emerge as cheapest options for powering Wisconsin

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Imagine feeling not quite yourself. You don’t feel like taking care of your kids. You can’t find your way to work anymore, don’t want to hang out with anybody. It would be awful.

But it’s happening to bees all around us.

Turns out a pesticide used on virtually all of our corn and soybeans, is harming our pollinators at very low levels of exposure in ways that are rarely studied.

On this episode, hear from a University of Wisconsin Madison researcher who’s been looking at the lives of bees and the impacts of a neurotoxin we put on our food.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Dr. Hames Crall, Assistant Professor of Entomology, University of Wisconsin

Resources for You:

Episode: Neurotoxins on our Plates

Episode: Wisconsin's Vanishing Bee

Episode: No Mow May, Does it Work?

Understanding the Impact of Neonicotonoid Pesticides

Wisconsin Neonic Forum Video Series

 

 

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What if I told you there was a grain that doesn’t have to be replanted every spring, that has roots growing 10-feet deep, taking in carbon and holding it deep in the soil, that helps prevent soil erosion and excess fertilizer from washing into our lakes--AND it makes a tasty beer.

In this episode, a look at the work behind an experimental batch of Kernza® beer at Karben4 Brewing in Madison that has the farming research world taking notice.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Joe Walts, Karben4 Brewing

Resources for You: 

Taste the Change: Wisconsin Kenrnza®

Natural Climate Solutions: A path forward for Wisconsin's agricultural sector

Three cheers for climate beer!

Kernza® Crunch: The race to develop the world's first perennial grain crop

 

 

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“Action is the antidote to despair.” On this episode we look at how to move forward on climate when it feels like our federal government is determined to push us backward. Learn about actions you can take right now, right here in Wisconsin to defend progress. And hear from climate advocate and Wisconsin farmer Chelsea Chandler on climate strategy in the age of "drill baby drill."

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Chelsea Chandler

Resources for you:

Clean Wisconsin Take Action

Analysis: Solar farms produce 100 times more energy per acrea than corn ethanol

Threats to federal funding for pollution cleanup, clean energy initiatives spark anger in Wisconsin communities

PSC approves most powerful solar project in Wisconsin history

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In the wintertime, Wisconsin is one salty place. It’s all over our cars – in our cars – tracked into buildings, all over our shoes and boots. It’s a mess. Thankfully salt season is almost over, but it’s never over for our lakes or even our drinking water wells.

Find out what happens to all that salt when winter is over, and hear from an advocate who's working to teach all of us out to be salt wise. 

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Allison Madison, WI Salt Wise

More Resources for You: WI Salt Wise website

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We are about to say goodbye to some basic water protections as the Trump Administration looks to undo decades of science-based work focused on keeping toxic chemicals out of our water supplies.

Right now on the Defender, Amy talks with Clean Wisconsin attorney Evan Feinauer about how bedrock protections like the Clean Water Act could be at risk as the new administration targets regulations, research, and expert staff at the EPA. Find out what’s at stake and how Wisconsin can fight back.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Evan Feinauer

Resources for You: 

Under the Lens: What we know about PFAS in Wisconsin's Water

Nitrate pollution's impact on Wisconsn's health and economy

Neonicotinoid pesticides and their impact

More episodes with Evan: 

When Judges Rule the Environment: How bad are the new Supreme Court rulings?

What Trump 2.0 means for our environment

 

 

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Lead is a neurotoxin, and when you breathe it in, it gets into your bloodstream and can cause all kinds of health problems, including brain damage. It’s no wonder leaded gasoline was banned in the US nearly 30 years ago. But that ban didn’t cover small aircraft fuel. Turns out, those small airplanes buzzing around recreational airports across the state and country still use leaded gas. The planes are spreading tiny lead particles over people’s backyards, water wells, playgrounds, soccer fields and waterways just about every time they fly.

It this episode, Amy talks with a small town Wisconsin lawmaker who is leading her community’s charge to get the lead out of our air. And she’s got an eye-opening study that shows how our drinking water could be at risk too.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Cynthia Richson, Town of Middleton, Wis., town board chair

Resources for you: 

EPA Lead Endangerment Finding

 

 

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If you care about the environment, protecting this planet, our home, our livable climate, chances are you’re a little stressed out right now. But what if I told you that environmental action can open the door… to joy. Heat from a Wisconsin woman who started on a journey a few years ago to get fossil fuels out of her home. No furnace, no gas stove, no gas hot water heater.  She takes us on a tour of her house and shares her perspective on activism and the joy she finds in taking personal responsibility for our impact in this world.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Susan Millar

Resources for You:

How to Defend the Inflation Reducation Act The biggest investment to fight climate change in U.S. history is under attack. Find out how you can protect incentives that are helping Wisconsinites save energy and money.

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True to its name, this podcast, State of Change is about to undergo some big changes. The first – a new name. Going forward, this will be the Defender podcast. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the same name as Clean Wisconsin’s quarterly newspaper, the longest-running environmental advocacy publication in Wisconsin, the Defender.

And right now, that advocacy, that word “Defender” is so important. Environmentalism needs a voice, now more than ever.

We’re also going to be rolling out new episodes weekly. So every Monday check your favorite podcast streaming service or your inbox to listen to the latest Defender episode.

Every week, Amy will with scientists, advocates, farmers, experts, and just everyday people who are working right here in Wisconsin to make a difference to protect this place we call home. And learn how you can use your voice to be part of defending what we all care about.

 

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It’s food season, also known as the holidays! And what you choose to put on your plate actually has an impact on the world around you. Agriculture is not only big business across the Midwest, it is also a major source of water pollution in Wisconsin and a major and growing source greenhouse gas emissions.

But how do you make it better?

In this episode, Amy talks with Kathryn (Kata) Young, Natural Climate Solutions Manager with Clean Wisconsin, about the places where eating and our environment connect.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Kathryn (Kata) Young, Clean Wisconsin

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What does a new, better-prepared Trump Administration mean for the water we drink, the air we breathe, the safety of our food, our climate?

We know a long list of federal environmental protections and programs will be rolled back or dismantled during the next presidential administration. We’re talking about erasing new standards for toxic PFAS chemicals in our drinking water, pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement, diminishing wetland protections, pulling funding to replace lead pipes, undermining the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon, axing programs that help people weatherize their homes, getting rid of support for manufacturing of batteries and solar panels, and of course, lots more drilling and fracking.

If you think it feels overwhelming, you’re not wrong. There are also plans to target the unbiased science and research that happens at our federal agencies, replacing civil servants with political appointees.   

So now that I’ve got you thoroughly angry, sad, scared, name the emotion, we’re going to dig into some of these issues and look at the road ahead to fight back.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guests: Clean Wisconsin Attorneys Evan Feinauer and Brett Korte

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For the past 25 years, we've been putting neurotoxins on our food. Neonicotinoids are potent chemicals that attack the central nervous systems of insects. Not only are they widely used on our food and in our soil, they're showing up in our drinking water in Wisconsin. And that leads to a big question -- what do they do to us?

In this episode, Amy uncovers the truth about neonicotinoids with experts from Clean Wisconsin and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guests:

Sara Walling, Water & Agriculture Program Director, Clean Wisconsin

Carla Romano, Groundwater Specialist, Department od Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection

Background Reading:

Understanding the Impact of Neonicotinoid Insecticides

Agricultural Chemicals in Wisconsin Groundwater Report, Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection

Neonitcotinoids and their impacts

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What's it going to take to get Wisconsin to 100% clean energy? If you listen to the state's biggest power companies, it's more methane gas. Wisconsin is on the verge of an expensive gas construction boom if utilities like We Energies in Alliant Energy have their way. But what about wind and solar? Is it possible for Wisconsin to finally trade in fossil fuels for clean energy right now? Amy talks with energy expert Dr. Ciaran Gallagher.

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Dr. Ciaran Gallagher, Energy Manager, Clean Wisconsin

Background Reading:

Under the Lens, the Truth About Natural Gas

Stopping Gas Expansion in Wisconsn

Power Wisconsin Forward: An affordable, reliable, fossil-free future

 

 

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New research reveals how much it would cost to remove toxic PFAS 'forever' chemicals from the environment at the same rate we're currently producing and using them. Spoiler alert: we don't have enough money in the world. Hear from the researcher behind the study who says it should inspire optimism not hopelessness in the face of our growing PFAS problem.

 

Host: Amy Barrilleaux

Guest: Ali Ling, PhD

Background Reading:

The Future of Persistent 'Forever" Chemicals

Under the Lens: What we know about PFAS in Wisconsin's drinking water

Toxic PFAS pollution devastates two Wisconsin Communities (video)

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What keeps you safe -- when you drink water, take medicine, get on an airplane, or take out a loan? It’s often a government agency charged with implementing our health, safety and consumer protection laws. But recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court have cast a long shadow. Legal experts say the rulings point to a Court that is actively working to unravel longstanding protections and policies, not just for the environment but across the board, and the harm will be far reaching. 

Host:

Amy Barrilleaux

Guest:

Evan Feinauer, Clean Wisconsin attorney

Background Reading: 

Rulings from U.S. Supreme Court a disaster for the environment

Clean Wisconsin takes legal action to protect communities from toxic mercury pollution

New EPA power plant rules will save lives in Wisconsin

Clean Wisconsin Legal Work

 

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