Genna Reed

Lead science and policy analyst

Author image
Genna Reed is a lead 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.

Subscribe to Genna's posts

Genna's Latest Posts

Mary Cybulski/Focus Features

DuPont’s Worst Nightmare: “Dark Waters” Speaks the Truth About PFAS Science

November 19, 2019 9:16 AM EDT

The image accompanying the 2016 New York Times piece, “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” has stuck with me since I first read it. The contrast of a man in a dark suit with darkened eyes and a grave face standing on a West Virginia farm on a wintry day is chilling. Rob Bilott’s expression in that photo captures so much of the PFAS story. It’s the face of a man tired of knowing the truth and not seeing the proportional response to that knowledge from those with the power and responsibility to protect people.

Read more >

Mary Cybulski/Focus Features
Bookmark and Share

mediaphotos/iStock

Updated Restricted Science Rule Spells Reanalysis Paralysis for the EPA

November 12, 2019 3:45 PM EDT

Instead of listening to over a half million comments and abandoning a truly harmful rule, the EPA has forged ahead with its restricted science proposal, according to the New York Times reporting of a supplemental notice that exposes many of the flaws of the original proposal in high definition. Read more >

Photo: mediaphotos/iStock
Bookmark and Share

ennifer Sharp/iStock

PFAS Contamination Is an Equity Issue, and President Trump’s EPA Is Failing to Fix It

October 30, 2019 8:49 AM EDT

We have a big national PFAS contamination problem. PFAS—per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances— are a class of man-made chemicals that are used in a variety of products to repel water and grease, including firefighting foam, nonstick cookware, and food packaging. These chemicals have been linked to health effects including various forms of cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, and increased cholesterol levels. While we’re all exposed to some degree, who’s most at risk of being harmed? Read more >

ennifer Sharp/iStock
Bookmark and Share

The First Cut (of EPA Advisory Committees) is the Deepest

October 24, 2019 4:54 PM EDT

Today, EPA announced that as a result of the President’s short-sighted and misguided executive order issued by President Trump in June, it was cutting two committees: the Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board (ELAB) and the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT). Both of these committees have been utilized by the agency for decades, were meeting regularly (monthly for ELAB) under the Trump administration, and were so well-established that they even had logos. EPA recognized that these committees were valuable, but “in comparison with the other eligible FACs,” their work wasn’t valuable enough. Read more >

Bookmark and Share

Science Advice Shouldn’t Be at the Whim of a President and His Appointees

October 1, 2019 8:26 PM EDT

News is beginning to trickle out about advisory committees that will no longer be used by the federal government as the deadline for agencies to arbitrarily cut one-third of their advisory committees was yesterday, September 30. It has only been three months since President Trump issued an executive order that called upon agencies to terminate a third of their advisory committees in the name of cost savings. Read more >

Bookmark and Share