Genna Reed

Science and policy analyst, Center for Science and Democracy

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Genna Reed is a science and policy analyst in the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In her role, she researches political and corporate influences on science-informed decision making—working to inform the public about issues where science is stifled or obscured, and to ensure that federal, state, and local policies are based on rigorous, independent science. See Genna's full bio.

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Genna's Latest Posts

Peter Wright’s 50+ Chemical Facility Conflicts: A Disaster Waiting to Happen

June 18, 2018 5:30 PM EDT

Peter Wright, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management, will face the Senate Environment and Public Works committee at his nomination hearing this Wednesday. Mr. Wright has spent the majority of his career working as an attorney for Dow Chemical Company (now DowDuPont). Would he make a smooth transition from defender of polluters to defender of the public? Under Pruitt’s lead, it seems unlikely that public safety would be at the top of his agenda. Read more >

Flickr/Roy Luck
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Debriefing the EPA’s Science Advisory Board Meeting

June 2, 2018 12:16 PM EDT

I spent most of Thursday and Friday this week at the EPA’s Science Advisory Board meeting in Washington, DC, as the 44 members gathered to discuss EPA’s regulatory agenda and hear updates from EPA programs on lead, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). As I explained earlier this week, it was the first meeting for 18 of the members who had been appointed after Administrator Pruitt issued his directive barring EPA-funded scientists from serving on the committee. Read more >

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Photo: Tony Webster/CC BY-SA 2.0 (Flickr)

EPA Science Advisory Board’s First 2018 Meeting: What to Expect

May 30, 2018 10:54 AM EDT

This Thursday and Friday, the EPA’s independent advisory body, the Science Advisory Board (SAB), will be meeting in person for the first time since Administrator Scott Pruitt announced his sweeping advisory committee directive last fall. I, for one, am thrilled that the EPA’s scientific sounding board is active and meeting in person at a time when the agency can use all the scientific counsel they can get. However, it is important to understand that since Administrator Pruitt has joined the agency, the context for science advice at the EPA has greatly changed. Read more >

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What Happened During the Hasty White House Review of EPA’s Science Restriction Rule?

May 7, 2018 2:41 PM EDT

We already know that the production of Administrator Scott Pruitt’s rule to restrict science at the EPA was purely political, but it’s possible that there’s a whole new layer of politics that went on at the White House level as well. Read more >

Photo: Matthew Platt/CC BY-SA (Flickr)
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Peter Wright’s Nomination Means Superfund Conflicts of Interest in Almost All 50 States

April 16, 2018 9:46 AM EDT

We can’t afford to have another industry apologist making the calls about whether or not communities should be cleaned up. Read more >

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