I’m pleased to announce that my blog website – An Economic View of the Environment – has been thoroughly cleaned and purged of the malware that had plagued it since the website was attacked in January. That’s the source of my being delighted.
It’s probably not necessary to state that the source of my “depression” is the ongoing attack by President Trump and his administration on sensible public policy – in the environmental and energy realm, as well as so many others. In nearly every case, the administration’s combination of incompetence and malevolence has been breathtaking.
Goodbye to the Malware Attack
As for the malware attack on my blog website, which occurred shortly after I had written and posted two blog essays that were harshly critical of Presidential candidate and then President-Elect Trump, quite a few of you wrote to me suggesting that the timing was not a coincidence and that the attack was probably from supporters of the administration (if not from people in the administration). I do not believe that was the case, although I honestly don’t know. Rather, I believe it was simply an attack intended to drive traffic to particular websites. I’m hoping that the outside firm we hired to clean the site may be able to give us the answer. Stay tuned for that.
Back to Business
Much has transpired since I announced the hiatus in my blog posts (An Explanation and Apology, February 5, 2017) and even more has transpired since I last wrote a regular essay here before the presidential inauguration (Trying to Remain Positive, January 3, 2017). It would take more time than you or I have — for you to read and for me to write – about all that’s transpired in this policy realm since Inauguration Day, including:
- the bizarre “Presidential Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs” (January 30, 2017), with its childish, made-for-TV decision that for each new regulation promulgated, two regulations must be repealed;
- the worrisome decision by the President to cancel the motor-vehicle fuel efficiency (Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE) standards set by the Obama administration for 2023-2025 (March 15, 2017); and
- the President’s misleading and misguided attempt to bring back an earlier era of the coal industry by decimating the Obama administration’s key climate change policies with the misnamed “Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth” (March 28, 2017).
Saving Us Time
Happily, I can save you time for reading – and myself for writing – by referring you to two new audio recordings:
- NPR “On Point” Program re Trump Decision to Revisit Obama’s Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) Standards, where Jane Clayson interviewed me on March 16th, the day after President Trump announced in Detroit, Michigan, his intention to revisit the Obama Administration decision of January, 2017, to finalize CAFE standards at a fleet average of 54.5 miles per gallon for the year 2025.
- New Yorker Podcast on Trump’s Executive Order to Rollback Climate Policies, in which Dorothy Wickenden, the Executive Editor of The New Yorker, interviewed me on March 30th, with the focus on President Trump’s Executive Order of March 28th, in which he launched his rollback of climate policies from the Obama administration.
Speaking of saving time, if you have time for only one of these, I suggest the second one, which is both briefer (about 17 minutes) and more comprehensive.
The Path Ahead
With my blog website having been purged of its contamination and with my feeling that I’ve more or less caught up, I will return to my usual approach with a brief essay in my next posting at this blog. In the meantime, thanks for your tolerance of the recent hiatus and your interest in what transpires here.
