Environmental Priorities for new EPA Administrator

 

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New EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, was sworn into office this week and as you can imagine, she has been tasked with a very important job when it comes to the environment.  I personally hope she does a GREAT job!

If you aren’t familiar with the priorities she laid out for herself and the EPA, I wanted to give you them here as I think they are something anyone who is interested in the environment needs to be aware of.  Even if you don’t think about the environment every day or try to take steps to “go green”, take a moment to look at her priorities and then see what you can do.

• “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  The President has pledged to make responding to the threat of climate change a high priority of his administration.  He is confident that we can transition to a low-carbon economy while creating jobs and making the investment we need to emerge from the current recession and create a strong foundation for future growth.  I share his vision.  EPA will stand ready to help Congress craft strong, science-based climate legislation that fulfills the vision of the President.  As Congress does its work, we will move ahead to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision recognizing EPA’s obligation to address climate change under the Clean Air Act.
• “Improving air quality.  The nation continues to face serious air pollution challenges, with large areas of the country out of attainment with air-quality standards and many communities facing the threat of toxic air pollution.  Science shows that people’s health is at stake.  We will plug the gaps in our regulatory system as science and the law demand.
• “Managing chemical risks.  More than 30 years after Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act, it is clear that we are not doing an adequate job of assessing and managing the risks of chemicals in consumer products, the workplace and the environment.  It is now time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management and risk assessment programs.
• “Cleaning up hazardous-waste sites.  EPA will strive to accelerate the pace of cleanup at the hundreds of contaminated sites across the country.  Turning these blighted properties into productive parcels and reducing threats to human health and the environment means jobs and an investment in our land, our communities and our people.
• Protecting America’s water.  EPA will intensify our work to restore and protect the quality of the nation’s streams, rivers, lakes, bays, oceans and aquifers.  The Agency will make robust use of our authority to restore threatened treasures such as the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay, to address our neglected urban rivers, to strengthen drinking-water safety programs, and to reduce pollution from non-point and industrial dischargers.”

Pretty good priorities as far as I’m concerned.  For the full memo, you can go here.

So whatever business you are in, from making emission-free cars to installing solar panels to creating a better biofuel or fuel additive to making organic clothes to growing organic foods, etc….or even if your business has nothing to do with products that preserve and/or improve the environment…take a moment and see how you can contribute towards the EPA’s environmental priorities.  We all should get involved.