Last month, Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, visited New Hampshire, welcomed by Governor Ayotte, and bragged how he would be following the agenda of the Trump administration to remove the EPA’s vital and carefully-constructed enforcement policies for clean air and clean water. These EPA regulations were crucial in protecting the many New Hampshire citizens adversely affected by the drastic groundwater pollution caused by the newly-shuttered Saint-Gobain plastic plant in Merrimack, the effects of which will take years of recovery.
In the meantime, citizens in Merrimack are faced with alarming rates of cancer and autoimmune disease with the need to acquire household water filtration systems at great expense. True to his word, Zeldin has sought to dismantle environmental protection with unwavering dedication and devotion to Trump’s agenda but not to the people of New Hampshire.
Even at a time when the worldwide climate crisis is accelerating, Zeldin wants to rescind the “Endangerment Finding” that gave the EPA legal authority to combat climate change caused by greenhouse gases. Zeldin wants to roll back the rules that safeguard the public from air and water pollution. Zeldin is on a mission that is at odds with the EPA’s stated mission of protecting human health and the environment. Enforcement of environmental laws should be free of political influence.
Zeldin’s policies are designed to delay and sabotage the inevitable change to renewable energy, particularly inexpensive and abundant solar energy, and are directly creating economic and public health burdens on New Hampshire citizens. Despite the rising electric rates for citizens, the Trump administration recently canceled a Solar For All project that would have brought $43 million in energy grants to New Hampshire communities, businesses and families.
Every day we delay the transition to renewable energy, the climate crisis intensifies. The public health and safety burden will be borne by today’s youth — our children and grandchildren. Farmers feeding our world will continue to struggle to meet food demands under the pressures of sporadic growing seasons and erratic weather, and our country and other countries around the globe will continue to endure the displacement of millions of people from severe weather events.
A New Hampshire United Church of Christ minister recently spoke out from the pulpit about the challenge, home and abroad, stating that it is often the most vulnerable and the least culpable who are the most affected by climate related disasters. Churches and environmental organizations have a moral conflict with a government agency bent on destroying the environment and the public health of the citizens it is sworn to protect!
Fortunately, communities of faith across the country and here in New Hampshire are stepping up. A new, fast-growing band of climate advocates in UCC have created Climate Hope Affiliate chapters across the country, including here New Hampshire. The climate crisis is a moral one, and members are establishing relationships with congressional offices to protect the EPA and to press for renewable energy. Join us in speaking for justice. There is reason to hope that if we all work together, we can protect the earth and preserve the health of people who inhabit it. Local action is important.
You can make comments on the website “Regulations.gov” in less than a minute. The federal government may be shut down but states and local governments still have the power to protect our health. We can still vote to release those Congress people who capitulate to Zeldin and those in power.
Sue Moore is a co-chair of the Concord Climate Hope Affiliates and is a member of the Concord United Church of Christ. She lives in Bow.