By Yasmin Sadeh Brosch
Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you today with an accusation: This administration is planning a murder.
This year, the government proposed a 55% cut in the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA enforces regulations, conducts scientific research, allocates grants to organizations and so much more. These cuts would diminish funding for states and communities by 88%, halve the science budget, eliminate more than 1,000 science positions and undermine research that the EPA, states, tribes, and businesses rely on.
This proposal is disastrous for people and the planet. Every EPA project helps American citizens, particularly low income communities who are disproportionately affected by climate change. These areas suffer the most from air pollution, floods, resource scarcity, and more, all which have contributed heavily to the fact that over 7,000 people have died from climate change-related deaths, according to the CDC. In the past, the EPA has done its best to alleviate these hardships, cracking down on lead, sewage spillage, smog and asthma, toxic waste, water contamination, pesticides, acid rain, indoor smoking bans, and so, so much more. Because of these budget cuts, these things will come back.
Already, a 90% cut has been made to funding for the State’s clean drinking water! Again and again, the people who will be affected by these things are the ones in a low socioeconomic status in underfunded regions of the country.
This murder is premeditated.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be stopped. Support environmental nonprofits and organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Advocates NYC, Nature Conservancy, the WWF, and so many more. Lobby congress. This money can still be returned. Protest, yell, call for change and for action.
I’m asking you. No, I’m begging you all, in this audience, to get up. Call your representatives, demand change, save this country and this planet. Make our environment great again. Together, all of us. Before it’s too late.
Thank you.