Agency is polluting, not protecting

It's official. EPA now stands for the Environmental Pollution Agency. Over the last three years, the agency, led by a Trump administration appointee, a lobbyist for the coal industry, has worked to gut Obama-era regulations on pollution in our air, soil and water. It recently weakened fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks, standards to which auto companies agreed and were working toward.

The agency withdrew the legal justification for a rule limiting mercury emissions from coal power plants. Last year the administration announced it would not ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide linked to serious health problems in children.

It approved widespread use of another pesticide, sulfoxaflor, known to harm bees. Instead of banning asbestos, a carcinogen, it opted only to restrict its use, even though its own scientists and lawyers urged an outright ban. As for our water, the agency revoked a rule preventing coal companies from dumping mining debris into local streams.

It scaled back protections for tributaries and wetlands regulated under the Clean Water Act and proposed opening America's coastal waters to offshore drilling. The latest news is its decision to not impose limits on perchlorate, another chemical that contaminates water and is linked to fetal and infant brain damage. Yet the Republican Party claims to be committed to protecting unborn children.

After nearly four years in office, the Trump administration has failed at so many things, but in its goal to dismantle major climate and environmental policies that safeguard our country, it has succeeded. Several of these reversals have been finalized in recent weeks, as the nation has been distracted by and struggled with the spread of COVID-19.

Every election matters, every vote counts, but none more so than the upcoming election in November. It's a clear choice between pollution or protection.

Joanne Zienty

Wheaton