Bill Ponton writes for the American Thinker about a significant reform for a major federal agency.
A milestone for the environmental movement came when it attained a level of legitimacy and institutional mooring with the founding of the EPA in 1970. The agency came into being at a unique time in American history when hundreds of thousands of graduates were pouring off the university campuses as a result of the expansion of higher education. Some were keen to find ways to express the radicalism they absorbed there. They gravitated to the EPA and ushered in an era in which the protection of the environment became a quasi-religious crusade, fought with increasingly fanatical zeal. It was soon reflected in the mass of environmental regulation that has become a salient feature of American life. Moreover, they created a culture within the EPA that was hostile to business and willing to pervert the science to further their belligerent intent.
It was against this backdrop that the EPA in 2009, with a push from the Obama administration, embarked on a quest to extend its reach into every aspect of energy production and consumption with the adoption of the CO2 Endangerment Finding. The finding stated that CO2 is a danger to human health and welfare and as such should be regulated by the EPA. …
… The Obama administration was confident that the EPA would succeed with this regulatory power grab because the agency by 2009 had a long history of producing junk science to bolster the claims of the environmental and climate movement. The corruption of the EPA is only one example of a government institution that has been influenced by environmental and climate activists masquerading as scientists. Administrator Zeldin’s reform agenda entails uprooting that influence and replacing the activist culture that has pervaded the EPA since its inception in 1970. This week, Zeldin announced that the EPA was beginning the process of rescinding the Endangerment Finding, and will reduce the scope of its mission and size of the agency.
