Editor’s note: This commentary is by Deb Markowitz, who is a visiting professor at the UVM Rubinstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and the former secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.
[A]t the Women’s March in Montpelier on Jan. 21, thousands of Vermonters joined together to speak out for economic and social justice, for religious and racial tolerance and for unity in the face of threats to civil society. Speakers highlighted the risks to health care and civil rights, minorities, immigrants and to our environment. Speaker after speaker called upon the crowd to be vigilant. To stay involved, to listen, learn and to speak out.
For those of us who are alarmed at the rhetoric – and actions – of the new administration in Washington, our work is only just beginning. Last week I joined over a dozen former heads of state environmental protection agencies from around the county to oppose Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Leadership at the EPA matters for the nation – but it also matters a great deal for us, here in Vermont.
Vermont counts on the EPA to help us protect public health and our environment. Pollution ignores state lines. For example, Rutland has some of the highest rates of asthma in the country. Much of the pollution that causes this illness — and also harms our forests and lakes — comes from the Midwest. When Midwestern states burn coal to produce energy their economies benefit from lower power prices, but we New Englanders pay the health and environmental costs. We rely on federal environmental laws and a vigilant EPA to ensure that all states enjoy the benefits of clean water, air and land — and that those who pollute pay the price.
As Oklahoma attorney general he sued the EPA to challenge the rules that protect Vermont from the worst of Midwest pollution.
We also rely on the EPA to develop and share the science necessary to keep our communities safe and our environment clean. And every year Vermont receives more than $10 million from the EPA. These grants support drinking water and wastewater projects. They pay for cleaning up polluted sites in our communities and they fund the state’s environmental programs. These are some of the reasons that Vermonters should be concerned about EPA nominee Scott Pruitt.
Pruitt wants to dismantle many of the environmental programs that we rely on in Vermont. As Oklahoma attorney general he sued the EPA to challenge the rules that protect Vermont from the worst of Midwest pollution. He’s a climate change skeptic who ignores science and opposes regulations that are necessary to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
In the coming years we will need the EPA to be a good partner. For example, polluted drinking water in Bennington shows the need to better understand and regulate the many chemicals in our environment. Toxic algae blooms in Lake Champlain remind us that we must do more to control pollution carried into our waterways by stormwater. And, as our weather continues to change, we must do more to prevent and prepare for the impacts of climate change. We cannot go it alone.
We deserve a leader at the EPA who will be a partner with the states, and who believes in our environmental laws. We deserve a leader who is guided by science, and who is committed to the mission of the agency he will lead. Join me and the other environmental leaders in speaking out against the nomination of Scott Pruitt. There is nothing more important than protecting public health and the environment. Indeed, Vermont’s future depends on it!
