Environmental fight isn’t over

Scott Pruitt is out. This is good news for environmentalists. It means that due to his rampant corruption and misuse of public funds, every decision he made is suspect. It means potential new life for laws and regulations that were put in place to protect our health and the environment from unnecessary pollution. We can revisit the Clean Air Act, and his repeal-and-replace efforts for the Clean Power Plan, among other issues.

Before our big rain on July 9, the air quality in Las Vegas was as bad as I’ve ever seen it. The mountains on the west and north sides of the valley were completely obscured when coming in from Henderson. Even Sunrise Mountain was shrouded in muck. Clean air is a critical component to healthy lives and healthy economies. Protecting air quality is one of the key roles of the Environmental Protection Agency. We need the Clean Air Act. We need the Clean Power Plan. We need more efficient automobile standards. We need the best, most current scientific data when drafting laws and regulations for clean air and clean water, and to protect our lands from corporate and government pollution.

Acting EPA Director Andrew Wheeler is not a friend of environmentalists, either. Like Pruitt, he needs to hear from us to do the right thing. Protect the EPA so it can protect us.

Sheila Milko, Henderson