EPA cuts put health at risk

By Dyan O’Neil, Las Vegas

Friday, Aug. 11, 2017 | 2 a.m.

When will our president and certain elected officials get it that the environment is linked to public health?

All one has to do is watch BBC or other news channels to see the people of India and China choking on the air they breathe. Many walk around with face masks on. And what about clean water? Have we already forgotten Flint, Mich.?

Officials there didn’t follow Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, and the city is still dealing with the aftermath of its poisoned water. Residents there still need bottled water for most everything, and many have children now living with permanent brain damage due to lead poisoning.

Closer to home, before the EPA, Los Angeles and other cities had regular smog alerts.

Even closer to home, here in our valley, Henderson was regularly swathed in a blue haze from the chemical plant there. All of this affects our health, our health care system and our productivity — not to mention economic losses due to lost time from work. And when tourists come to admire our amazing public lands, we don’t want them to be awestruck by dirty air, dirty water or damaged, spoiled ancient lands.

These are all areas that have seen great improvement since the establishment of the EPA under Republican President Richard Nixon. Our senators need to not just oppose Trump’s budget, but to fight to protect the EPA so it can continue to protect us.