Whether it be suing four major auto makers, Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen of America, Honda and BMW, about striking a deal with California to improve the gas mileage of cars – 51 MPG by 2026 – or rolling back new Federal Rules on Methane emissions, this White House is determined to harm the environment. Time and again, environmental regulations meant to combat climate change and protect our air, water and land, have been discarded in favor of rules that favor corporations and big business.
The Nixon Administration created the Environmental Protection Agency or the EPA. In the 1970s, Republicans cared about the keeping our Earth healthy. With the threat of climate change and a warming planet, the EPA is being run by a former coal lobbyist, Andrew Wheeler, who has done absolutely nothing to decrease the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or protect the Earth from pollution.
We need an administration in the executive branch and an EPA that is going to retake the lead on the world stage to fight for a cleaner planet for our children. From 2008 to 2016, the United States led the way in transitioning away from fossil fuels and embracing green fuels such as wind and solar. We need to return to the type of national leadership that was forward thinking in using cleaner and sustainable forms of energy to power our country while phasing out the use of coal and oil.
With the local closure of power plants on the Navajo Nation due to the economic disadvantages of coal in 2019, I would encourage President Jonathan Nez to quickly invest in more windmills and solar panels, if he has not done so already. Now is the time to act to increase employment and decrease harmful emissions in northeastern Arizona.
The Earth is warming. The Arctic is melting. Sea levels are rising. Weather events are more extreme. Flooding has inundated the Midwest while drought has plagued the Southwest. Climate change is not a belief. It is science. Now is the time to act.
GREGORY JARRIN
Winslow
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