SOURCE:
https://buffalonews.com/opinion/article_b254634e-2149-42f8-96eb-4bd7950901fb.html
By Brian Smith - April 3, 2025
The notion that we must choose between a clean environment and a strong economy is an antiquated myth that was debunked decades ago. Decades of experience and peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that what’s good for our environment also drives economic development, saves families money and saves lives.
The cleanup of the Buffalo River resulted in a 4-to-1 return on investment and has driven development of our waterfront. Every dollar spent to reduce emissions under the Clean Air Act results in $9 in benefits, while saving an estimated 230,000 lives annually. Families experience direct economic benefits through job creation, increased property values, better health and reduced medical costs, and consumer savings.
Despite the evidence, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is promoting the false choice of deciding between lowering costs for families and protecting our health and environment. Zeldin is using this tired argument to pursue unprecedented rollbacks to key environmental protections, while embracing a 65% cut to his own agency.
At Zeldin’s EPA confirmation hearing, he acknowledged the scientific reality and dangers of human-induced climate change. Yet, in contradiction to his own words and the overwhelming scientific evidence, Zeldin recently announced efforts to reverse the EPA’s critical finding that greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet and endangering our health and welfare. Burying our head in the sand and denying scientific truth will not protect us from the impacts of climate change. According to EPA’s own website, these impacts include extreme weather, poor air and water quality, flooding, droughts, and insect-borne diseases.
A 65% cut to the EPA will not make the agency more efficient, it will cripple it. Weakening the EPA will benefit big polluters, while hurting our region. Locally, it would upend efforts to clean up our Great Lakes, fix failing sewer systems that spew untreated sewage into our waterways and close local beaches, hold polluters accountable for releasing toxic air emissions, and clean up the numerous toxic waste sites located throughout WNY. Not only is this dangerous for our health, but it also stands in the way of major economic development opportunities throughout the region.
As nostalgic as we can be, I’m yet to hear anyone pine for a time when the Buffalo River caught fire, Tonawanda Coke freely poisoned our air or Lake Erie was pronounced dead. We have moved beyond those days, and it is time for the EPA to move beyond the days of giving industry the ability to pollute without accountability.
Past efforts to slash the EPA and eliminate Great Lakes restoration funding during the first Trump administration were met with bipartisan opposition and ultimately failed. We are counting on our members of Congress – Republican and Democrat – to stand up for healthy Great Lakes, public health and families.
Brian Smith is associate executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
