Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: 132 Faith organizations letter' to President,  Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of the Interior calls for preserving environmental regulations that protect air, water and biological diversity.

November 2, 2018

 

 

Text of faith letter: 

 

President Donald J. Trump

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

 

CC:

The Honorable Andrew R. Wheeler

Acting Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

 

The Honorable Ryan K. Zinke

 Secretary

U.S. Department of Interior

 

October 30, 2018

 

Dear Mr. President, Acting Administrator Wheeler, and Secretary Zinke,

 

As faith organizations representing diverse faith traditions, we are united across theological lines by our

commitment to care for and be stewards of all of God’s creation and our call to serve vulnerable

communities. We believe that it is the moral responsibility of our nation, and our sacred task as people

of faith, to protect our ecosystems, work for environmental justice, and address climate change.

Unfortunately, the actions of the Trump Administration decidedly ignore this responsibility. By

undermining and weakening our country’s ability to protect our environment and address climate

change, the United States government has taken a backseat in this time of ecological crisis.

 

At the outset of this current administration, faith communities outlined to the Administration our

shared principles of stewardship, sustainability, justice, and dialogue, as well as environmental policy

recommendations that adhered to these principles. Unfortunately, these principles and policy

recommendations have not been heeded. Instead, we have seen the senseless rollback of over 70

crucial environmental safeguards. With each environmental safeguard that is unraveled, our moral

standing as a nation is diminished. The result is direct harm to the environment and vulnerable

communities—communities that we serve and of which we are members.

 

The rollback of methane waste prevention rules, clean car standards, and the Clean Power Plan will

increase greenhouse gas and carbon pollution. The rollback of existing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

will expose our most vulnerable communities, including pregnant women, children, people of color, and

people with disabilities, to harmful toxins like mercury, arsenic, and lead. These pollutants pose serious

harm to people’s health, with the EPA’s own projections showing that these rollbacks combined could

cause the premature deaths of up to 13,900 Americans annually. Exposure to these pollutants will

increase asthma and allergy attacks, especially among young children, and heart attacks, especially

among seniors.

 

These rollbacks will also exacerbate the impacts of climate change, impacts which multiply the

frequency and severity of extreme weather at home and abroad. Storms like Hurricane Florence will

take more lives and destroy more property, rising sea levels in places like southern Louisiana and Alaska

will displace more communities, and desertification in places like the Pacific and the Rocky Mountain

regions will deplete precious resources like water.

 

The rollback of the Clean Water Rule will pollute community drinking water and valuable aquatic

ecosystems. Weakening how the government administers the Endangered Species Act will contribute to

the extinction of species and loss of cherished biodiversity. Reducing the size of national monuments

will desecrate sacred spaces and weaken the economic vitality of the communities that live nearby.

These decisions are profound and their consequences will be felt for years to come, burdening future

generations that we have a moral responsibility to provide for. Through these rollbacks, federal agencies

are putting both American lives and the international community at risk. As faith communities we ask

that this ill-fated course be reversed and that this administration return to a regulatory path that is in

line with principles of stewardship, sustainability, and justice.

 

Sincerely,