The Environmental Protection Agency’s War on the Environment
As I suggested the other day, it’s useful to look at the nauseating, minute-by-minute drama happening in the White House as an artful distraction, much like a magician’s misdirecting his audience. We need to ask ourselves: What’s happened quietly, behind the pandemonium as the U.S. president plays the role of the petulant child, running amok, gleefully taking a machete to what’s left of our democracy?
Answer: The quiet onslaught continues against many of the things Americans cherish most deeply, proceeding silently and unabated, with amazing precision. Certainly there are great examples in a number of different arenas, but none closer to home than what EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is doing to our environment in an effort to protect and expand the dominance of fossil fuels in our country’s energy mix. Here’s a wonderful article that details how, in just a few short months, Pruitt has:
• Masterminded the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, a move opposed by 70% of Americans
• Approved the use of millions of pounds of a toxic pesticide that causes neurological damage in children, rejecting the advice of EPA scientists
• Supported Big Coal by delaying tougher ozone air-pollution rules
• Move to kill Obama’s signature climate accomplishment, the Clean Power Plan
• Rescinded the Clean Water Rule, allowing countless streams and rivers to be exempted from pollution controls
• Undermined regulations on the release of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, from power plants and other sources
• Cut money for EPA scientific research in half
From the article: The mission statement of the EPA is simple: “to protect human health and the environment.” It says nothing about promoting economic development or energy security or the glory of fossil fuels. But Pruitt has already carried out an impressive list of corporate favors.
But the drama continues. Later today, maybe Trump will fire the attorney general (ostensibly) for failing to lock up Hillary Clinton; maybe he’ll threaten to bomb Vancouver or Lima. One thing’s for sure: the American public will receive this message loud and clear: “Pay no attention to that (EPA) man behind the curtain.”
