EPA Lifts Pollution Restrictions
As the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic ravages its ways through our lives, we mustn't leverage this pandemic as a gateway to push political ideals. Across the world, routine has been redefined by social distancing, online-education, and toilet paper shortages. While it might seem drastic for us, it's even more life-changing for scientists around the world - and not only in the sense of finding a cure. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headed by former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler announced an indefinite suspension of the rules and regulations that restrict greenhouse gas emissions.
The use of current events to undermine previous EPA policies by the governing political party is not new. While the EPA has helped provide resources on the environment and reduce emissions across the U.S., a continued bias across our current administration dramatically undermines the effectiveness of their decisions. President Donald J. Trump appointed Andrew Wheeler as the EPA administrator. Bob Deans of the Natural Resources Defense Council noted that "Andrew Wheeler is someone who has made a career out of trying to block everything we've done to try to protect our children from the growing dangers of climate change — a person who has made a career out of trying to push back against common-sense safeguards to protect the air we breathe from dangerous chemicals like mercury, arsenic, and others." The installation of Mr. Wheeler is not a naive choice made by the U.S. president. His long history in fossil fuels makes Andrew Wheeler the ideal candidate for advancing political campaigns against environmental regulations.
When Mr. Wheeler created the loophole of annihilating nature, many environmentalists agreed it to be a "green light to pollute with impunity." The seven-page policy applies to all "government and private sector partners" as of March 26th, 2020. It illustrates applicability, scope, and discretion, justified by the ongoing COVID 19 outbreak. Also, the policy outlines, "The EPA will apply this policy to actions or omissions that occur while this policy is in effect even after the policy terminates."This means that corporations may pollute beyond regulations in the status quo with no repercussions now or after. If pollution regulations impacted the spread or scale of COVID 19, this curriculum would be understandable. But pollution regulations have no link to the disease.
The seven-page policy applies to all "government and private sector partners" as of March 26th, 2020.
Put in perspective, the EPA's actions have a resounding impact. Even though they may seem distant, no regulations on emissions mean emissions will rise. Rising emissions produce rising temperatures. That is something that can't wait. With this program in place indefinitely, it's changing the course of climate change for the worse.
COVID 19 is a pressing topic, and we must take action needed to combat it. However, we must also take notice of how our government is using this pandemic to ease EPA regulations. At the same time, the world is too preoccupied with saving lives. Our politics and policy must not ignore the bigger picture while combating a public health crisis, or any issue. Yet wiping out the protection of our environment is only one step of the way COVID 19 will reshape society. We can only hope that our communities and country don't ignore these detrimental changes to our climate as we heal. All of us are in this together. Let's make sure we do what's right.
