SCIENTISTS RESIGN FROM EPA IN PROTEST

As reported by POLITICO Pro, scientists resigned yesterday from an EPA advisory panel in protest of Administrator Scott Pruitt’s recent decision not to reappoint nine members of the Board of Scientific Counselors, a panel of outside experts that advise EPA on research and development issues. The New York Times reports these scientists believe that Pruitt’s intention is to replace scientists with industry representatives.Carlos Martin, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center, and Peter B. Meyer, president of the E.P. Systems Group, an environmental analysis firm, have both resigned their positions on BOSC’s Sustainable and Healthy Communities Subcommittee effective immediately, according to a letter Martin posted to Twitter.

In Response, Sierra Club Public Health Policy Director Liz Perera Released the Following Statement:

“This is another sign that Trump’s administration and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt are engaging in an intentional effort to put decisions about public health and safety in the hands of industry and corporate polluters instead of scientists and doctors. The American public supports the role of science in government, and we applaud the honor and integrity of all those who, like these scientists, are resisting the Trump Administration’s attacks on public health in whatever way they can. These scientists are putting their feet down in the face of Trump and Pruitt’s complete and total disdain for science, reality and the very foundations of our government. Trump and Pruitt’s outrageous attacks on scientific integrity and truth are some of the most extreme indications that this administration is increasingly out of control.”