Trump transition news: 4 items you may have missed

Just a year ago we were celebrating a climate agreement in Paris. Now we find ourselves behind the barricades, ready to fight off attacks from the presidency of Donald Trump.

Thankfully, plenty of people are joining that fight.

But to be effective, we need to understand our opposition – who they are, and what they are planning. There’s too much (real) news to keep up with it all, so here are few of the most interesting items to surface in the past week:

1. Why scientists are rushing to save climate data

There have been suggestions that the new administration will shut down climate science at NASA, and some are concerned that government climate data will disappear. Various sectors of our economy depend on these datasets, including farmers and manufacturing companies.

2. What was Pruitt up to in Oklahoma?

President-elect Trump has made a number of disturbing selections for his cabinet, but the most dangerous one may be the choice of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

We know he’s sued the EPA more than a dozen times over anti-pollution rules, but now we’re discovering more troubling information about his record in Oklahoma.

3. The real story about Tillerson’s Russian oil ties 

The pick of ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state has become a symbol of a cabinet far out of balance – with the oil and gas industry being the only voice in policy decisions.

Tillerson has spent his entire career thinking about what’s best for a big oil company.  A report from The Guardian about his ties to a Russian oil venture suggests just how deep his connections to that industry go.

4. Perry is “open season” on the environment 

Rick Perry famously suggested eliminating the Department of Energy, and now he’s nominated to lead it. An experienced Texas political hand, Jim Marston, analyzes what we can expect.

We’ll continue to monitor, so stay tuned.