As a social scientist, environmental professional and an outdoor recreationist, I am deeply concerned with President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency, and call for Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner to vote against his appointment.
A climate change skeptic who is aligned with special interests contrary to the wise stewardship of our natural resources, Pruitt has indicated his priority is to dismantle environmental protections past generations have fought to achieve. The EPA administrator must uphold the values of Americans, who overwhelmingly want clean air and water and regulations to curb climate change.
Climate change and degradation of our environmental quality will have negative impacts on our local economy, ways of life, and public health. Our corner of the world will experience impacts very deeply, with dryer, shorter winters and hotter, longer summers. This will result in smaller snowpack, lower river flows, increased risk of wildfire, loss of biodiversity, increased risk to human health, and ultimately a threat to the high environmental quality that underscores our way of life.
Durangoans, regardless of their political views, must demand that Sen. Gardner vote against Pruitt’s appointment. The reality of climate change will not go away just because Pruitt is a skeptic. Policies have material consequences.
The next EPA Administrator needs to acknowledge the true threat of climate change, the value of regulating and mitigating environmental “bads,” and the imperative for protecting environmental “goods.”
A healthy environment, with the quality of life it affords and the strong communities it fosters, is our inheritance. We are called on to leave it for future generations.
Emily E. Thorn
Durango
