The EPA’s Pernicious Attack on Science
A proposed change in rules would lead to more deaths.
Cloudy with a chance of toxins.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
William Ruckelshaus, the first administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, died last week. Ruckelshaus laid the foundation for environmental rules that have improved the quality of our air and water, and made science the cornerstone of the EPA. Yet his legacy, and our environment, are now in grave peril.
Andrew Wheeler, President Donald Trump’s EPA administrator, is working to demolish the edifice that Ruckelshaus built by destroying the scientific foundation on which it stands. In November, the New York Times revealed that Wheeler is seeking to undermine the role of science in the process by which environmental standards are established and safeguarded. A draft EPA proposal would require medical studies used by the EPA to include raw data, including confidential medical records of study subjects. Otherwise the EPA could not act on a study’s conclusions.