October 03, 2017
By Tina Nguyen –
In the six years he served as attorney general of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt could be confused for an energy lobbyist, coordinating with representatives from the gas and oil industries to sue the Obama administration E.P.A. on 14 separate occasions. And his advocacy on behalf of fossil-fuel companies doesn’t appear to have ended since being sworn in as head of the federal agency he once swore to destroy. The New York Times got their hands on Pruitt’s schedule from between February and May of this year—a 320-page document that reveals an itinerary stacked with meetings, dinner dates, and trips to visit corporate executives, conservative interest groups, and lobbyists from the industries he was supposed to regulate. Few meetings, if any, were with other government agencies or public advocacy groups.
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is “to protect human health and the environment.” Disgraced EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt tried his best to undermine this vital mission by choosing to slash critical health protections and let corporate polluters off the hook. Now that Pruitt’s been booted, we need an EPA administrator dedicated to undoing his toxic agenda and restoring the agency to its core mission. Progress is possible and necessary – but another corporate crony or climate skeptic will not get us there.
Scott Pruitt is gone, but the fight is just beginning. We need an EPA administrator who puts our health and environment first, period. Any alternative is unacceptable.
