America has just elected the first President who promised during his campaign to eliminate or gut the US Environmental Protection Agency. On March 3, Donald Trump pledged during a Republican primary debate in Detroit: “Department of Environmental Protection: We are going to get rid of it in almost every form.”
It would be dangerous to dismiss Donald’s promise as overheated political rhetoric. One of his first acts was appointing Myron Ebell, an outspoken climate change denier, to head up EPA’s transition team. The fox is already in the henhouse with a knife and fork. We need your help to beat back these threats to clean air and water, and hold the Trump team accountable for any damage they do to the laws that protect our environment.
Expect the Trump Team to limit not only what EPA can do, but what it can say about environmental risks and what we should do about them. You can bet that Trump’s lies and half-truths about the climate and pollution will be broadcast widely by the “alt-right” crowd and its cohort of bloggers and talk show hosts that specialize in twisting facts and replacing science with high decibel alternate reality. We plan to fight back aggressively against this disinformation campaign with the truth and with the law.
Republicans and Democrats established EPA in 1970 to build and enforce the framework of laws that have helped clear the air of smog and soot, protect our drinking water, and make our rivers and streams safe to swim and fish in. We’ve made real progress, but maintaining that momentum takes constant vigilance. And we need a strong federal agency to confront new threats like global warming and groundwater pollution from fracking.
Your involvement in protecting our existing environmental laws is critical. With your partnership we will step up our defense of the right of every American to clean water and air.
Please help us in our fight by donating today.
Eric Schaeffer,
Executive Director, Environmental Integrity Project
