Robert Kennedy head EPA?

[solarbird]

elfs reports that anti-vaccination crank Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might be asked to head the EPA, and asks people to contact the Obama transition team in opposition. Orac at ScienceBlogs details why Robert Kennedy would be a very bad idea, noting amoungst other things:

I have a hard time imagining a quicker way for Obama to put the lie to his dedication to science-based policy than to appoint such a vocal and energetic booster of the pseudoscience that mercury in vaccines cause autism into such an influential post. It would be a horrific self-inflicted wound.

You can contact the Obama transition team here.

Comments

[avram]

The earliest point I can find for this rumor is Politico's Mike Allen, who is saying Robert F Kennedy is being considered both for Secretary of the Interior and EPA head.

The first of those is clearly less serious, having been written last month, and also suggesting that Arnold Schwarzenegger was being considered for Energy Secretary. But that leaves me doubtful about how seriously I should take the second piece.

[solarbird]

I don't think contacting the Obama transition team with the message, "there are reports you are considering RFK Jr for this position, please don't because <foo>" is an unreasonable response to this report.

[avram]

It probably won't do any harm.

[sarakate.livejournal.com]

I think it has to be taken as at least a serious rumor. I got the same information yesterday from E&E News' Greenwire, which is a significant environmental industry publication that I subscribe to (I'm an environmental attorney). If you find this potential appointment appalling, as I do, I think it's at least worth a "here's why this is a bad idea" email, as solarbird suggests.

I can't link to the Greenwire article, because it's subscription only, but I think it's fair to provide an excerpt regarding the transition team and some of the other names being floated for the top spot:

At EPA, Obama has picked Robert Sussman and Lisa Jackson to run what will be a 10-12 person transition team, developing key policy recommendations and also monitoring the status of final Bush administration actions. Other members of the EPA transition team will be named in the coming days, according to two Obama advisers.

Sussman, 61, retired this year after a decade running Latham & Watkins' environmental practice in Washington. He is also a senior fellow at the Podesta-led Center for American Progress. Previously, Sussman served during the first two years of the Clinton administration as deputy EPA administrator.

Jackson, 46, currently serves as administrator of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, though Gov. Jon Corzine (D) two weeks ago picked her to begin serving as his chief of staff starting Dec. 1. Jackson, an engineer, is the first African-American woman to run New Jersey's environmental office.

Jackson also worked at U.S. EPA from 1987 to 2002, both in its headquarters and at its New York City regional offices.

Both Sussman and Jackson immediately jump to the top of the list of possible picks to replace Stephen Johnson as the next EPA administrator, though advisers in the campaign urged caution against making any assumptions.

Other names that continue to circulate: Howard Learner, a longtime Obama environmental adviser and the executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago; Mary Nichols, an appointee of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) who leads the California Air Resources Board; former New Jersey DEP chief Brad Campbell; former Pennsylvania environment secretary Kathleen McGinty; World Resources Institute President Jonathan Lash; and Ian Bowles, the head of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

[singewulf.livejournal.com]

I used to work at a large pharma that makes vaccines. Thimerosol (the preservatant used in vaccines that contains mercury compounds) has not been used in vaccines since 2000 (except one, not sure which one it is, possibly flu). Also, incidents of autism have rose over the past decade because the definition of autism has become much broader (and cases of true autism have actually declined).

Very little burns me up more than hearing the tired old "mercury in vaccines causes autism" argument. The vocal groups that keep pushing this outdated, disproven reasoning are preventing autism research from progressing to a more plausible level (the argument that multiple vaccines given at once may cause autism, for instance, actually has merit). This news disturbs me and I believe I will write the transition team what I wrote here.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Yes, adult flu vaccines have thiomersol (geez, even the FDA spells it wrong; it's a thiolate). Pediatric doses do not. The substitution of other preservatives for thoimersol in other vaccines has not resulted in a noticeable improvement (or detriment) to the public health.

[sculpin.livejournal.com]

Oh, jeez. RFK Jr. is way too much of a crank to be considered for a position that should be making science-based policy. Thanks for the heads-up; I wrote in.

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

Added my letter to the throng.