EPA Orders Employees to Remove YouTube Climate Video

The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered two of its attorneys to remove a video they posted on YouTube about problems with climate change legislation.

The couple had received clearance for posting the video but EPA took issue with its content following publication of an op-ed piece by the two in The Washington Post on October 31.

Read the EPA directive to remove the video

The video, entitled “The Huge Mistake”, was recorded by Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel. The two of them are EPA enforcement attorneys but state clearly that their views may not reflect those of the EPA. The video goes on to explain their thoughts on why the cap & trade plan endorsed by President Obama will not accomplish its goals,or effectively curb climate change.

On November 5, 2009, EPA ethics officials ordered the two veteran employees to –

“Remove your climate change video from You Tube by the close of business on Friday, November 6, 2009″;
“Edit your You Tube video…by:
- Removing the language starting at 1:06 min – ‘Our opinions are based on
  more than 20 years each working as attorneys at the U.S. Environmental
  Protection Agency in the San Francisco Regional Office.’
- Removing the images of EPA’s building starting at 1:06 min…
- Remove [sic] the language starting at 6:30 min – ‘In my work at EPA,
  I’ve been overseeing California’s cap-and-trade and offset programs for
  more than 20 years.’”
“All future requests for approval of an outside writing activity must be accompanied by a
draft of the document that is the subject of the approval request…”

“EPA is abusing ethics rules to gag two conscientious employees who have every right to speak out as citizens,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, who has re-posted the original video and its script. “EPA reversed itself because someone in headquarters had a tantrum about their Washington Post essay.”

“How is government supposed to be transparent when public servants are forbidden from discussing the nature of their work?” asked Ruch. “EPA and every other federal agency should have simple, clear guidelines so that government workers can express themselves freely without political
prior restraints.”

In August, EPA Administrator Jackson issued an all-employee statement saying the agency will operate as if in a “fishbowl” but left ambiguous whether and how employees may publish papers or communicate with Congress and the media. By contrast, a few agencies such as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have dispensed with any pre-approval of employees’ unofficial expressions, as long as they are accompanied by a short disclaimer.

Source: Climate Justice photo credit: dantekgeek

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Alison Kerr November 11, 2009 at 3:33 pm: Thanks for sharing this. I don’t think I’m understanding the rebates to consumers though. Are they proposing to charge high fees for energy and then provide rebates to only some consumers? How will consumers be encouraged to reduce their energy use?

2 Doug G November 17, 2009 at 11:50 am: Obama stated that “utility rates will skyrocket” under the proposed Cap & Trade (tax).
The proposals are to refund to low income individuals some of these increases. The remainder of us will pay the “skyrocket” increases. One could say that this is a “redistribution of wealth” from middle and higher wage earners.

These “skyrocket” increases will be passed through to consumers by all businesses in the form of higher prices – inflation – and most likely not benefit the environment (China constructing one new coal fired power plant a week).

Another “good government program” just like AMTRAK, medicaid, medicare, TVA, social (in)security, and others.

Keep it up Washington and we will be taxed to death.