April 05, 2018
By Michael Brune –
Like the fireman in Ray Bradbury’s dystopian classic, Fahrenheit 451, whose job is to burn books rather than save them, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has perverted the Environmental Protection Agency’s mission with a radical agenda to undermine not only the agency itself but also more than half a century of bipartisan environmental progress in this country. That’s why the Sierra Club has joined 10 other national environmental organizations in demanding that Pruitt be fired immediately. And thanks to an ever-mounting series of scandals, it might just happen.
But though it’s his scandals that could bring him down, Pruitt’s entire tenure is grounds for dismissal. He has betrayed the EPA’s historic mission, with aggressive attempts to undermine air and water safeguards, muzzle the voices of scientists, and cut sweetheart deals for polluters. Scott Pruitt is like a CEO whose overarching goal is to see his own company fail. Little wonder that nearly 1,000 EPA employees have left the agency since Pruitt’s appointment and that morale among those who remain has plummeted.
During his first year, Pruitt has taken action to rescind or “reconsider” protections from fugitive methane emissions, air pollution from heavy trucks, and toxic coal ash waste — typically after meeting with the polluters who would benefit. He wants to weaken already-approved clean car standards and has rejected the Clean Power Plan (not to mention established science on climate change) out of hand.
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.
