Wednesday, July 25, 2018 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
View more of the Sun's opinion section
Scott Pruitt finally resigned as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s about time. Eighteen investigations is more breaks than most would get for fraud and misuse of public funds.
Andrew Wheeler will be acting director of the EPA until a new head is hired. Many people fought his hire as well. Wheeler was a lobbyist for the largest coal mining company in the U.S., and he has worked for chemical and uranium companies as well. As a member of the Senate committee on Environment and Public Works, which oversees the EPA, he helped draft regulations that sought to reduce regulations on industries that generate greenhouse gases. Like his predecessor, Wheeler doesn’t have the mission of the EPA at heart.
Our new EPA administrator should 1) believe in science as the basis for laws and regulations that protect our environment, 2) take all available steps to reduce carbon emissions affecting climate change, and 3) urge funding for his organization that renders it most effective to meet its lawful objectives.
The public outcry was loud when it came to proposed cuts to the 2018 budget. The result was no cuts. The public cried out again over Pruitt’s abuse of the agency he led. Let’s make sure we are heard again, and that the new EPA director will be highly competent, ethical and a credit to his position. Our health and our environment are at stake.
