Not since the Reagan era have we seen our public lands, and our national parks threatened with extinction. But here we are.
And as a reminder, in the opening days of Reagan’s first term in the White House, he appointed Ann Gorsuch (does that surname ring a bell?) to be his first Environmental Protection Agency secretary. Whether directed by the new president, or on her own initiative, she fired a lot of scientists, environmental lawyers and EPA regulators, replacing them with industry shills.
That scandal caused her an early exit. She was replaced by the Washington, D.C., political veteran William Ruckelshaus to repair the EPA to its original staff, as much as possible.
In the mid-1980s, Reagan’s Interior Secretary James Watt felt compelled to parcel out our public lands and national parks with leases and sales to fossil fuel, mining and timber products industries. He, too, lost his job with that scandal.
So here we are, with Trump making payoffs to those industries to whom he promised big benefits if they would all chip in a billion dollars to his campaign. Remember Trump’s first term when watersheds were opened up to major polluters after air and water quality laws were overturned.
Trump’s scorched-earth executive orders have been moving ahead much faster by avoiding the necessary approval from Congress. And now, it could happen in our own backyard.
At this rate, protest marches are going to become weekly events as Trump steers the Ship of State into the rocks.
Dave Ohman
Durango
