Yesterday I read a headline that made me feel sick to my stomach. It was regarding the WHO study (WHO stands for World Health Organization) that concluded that 1.7 million child deaths a year are caused by a polluted environment. The news alert I had splashed across my phone was from CNN and read: ‘More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 are linked to unhealthy environments.’

This comes at a time when the current U.S. administration proposes cutting the Environmental Protection Agency in a major and devastating way.Trump plan for 40% cut could cause EPA science office ‘to implode,’ official warns.
This is simply reckless. It gets worse. The president proposes eliminating the environment justice program, which is in place because black, Hispanic and low income communities are harder hit by the environmental problems. People lose their health and lives from pollution in their own backyards. ‘Just racist’: EPA cuts will hit black and Hispanic communities the hardest

There are going to be real impacts felt locally in the PNW as well as other regions like the Great Lakes. 15,000 jobs at EPA would be lost. This is pretty ironic since one of the reasons the president has stated that he’s cutting EPA is because their protections cost jobs. Trump wants to cut EPA funding for Puget Sound by 93%

Contact your members of Congress and let them know this is unacceptable to you and you urge them to oppose the cuts to the EPA. Find an environmental agency to donate to if you’re able. Share with me your favorite environmental group in the comments! Volunteer locally for environmental causes. Now more than ever we need the EPA to protect human health and the environment. Let me know what other ideas you have for protecting our communities from environmental problems.

Find your members of congress at  Who is my representative?

About the EPA

 

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