The agency’s toolkit for taking on environmental injustice is limited. That could change.
On his first day in office President Joe Biden started signing executive orders to reverse Trump administration policies. One sweeping directive calls for stronger action to protect public health and the environment and hold polluters accountable, including those who “disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities.”
To lead this effort Biden has nominated Michael Regan to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Regan, who currently heads North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality, would be the first Black man to serve as EPA Administrator in the agency’s 50-year history. His appointment has fueled expectations that the agency will make environmental justice a top priority.
Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden is sending early signals that action on climate change will be front and center to his administration’s agenda, and that his climate policy will be intertwined with his economic plan.
“Biden’s economic agenda is his climate agenda; his climate agenda is his economic agenda,” Sam Ricketts, co-founder of the climate policy group Evergreen and a senior fellow at the progressive Center for American Progress think tank, told Vox.
Though many of Biden’s early actions are centered on speeding up Covid-19 vaccinations and more immediate economic relief for Americans, the White House is positioning its next big policy push on creating jobs through infrastructure. And Biden’s goal is to make his economic recovery green, based on conversations with those familiar with the president’s thinking.
These chemicals, called GenX, are present in the Cape Fear River and could be putting residents at risk by suppressing their immune systems and causing other health issues.
GenX is a member of a family of human-made chemical compounds known as PFAS.
GenX exposure is associated with increased risk of health problems in animal studies, including issues in the kidney, liver, immune system and others.
Research has shown from human and animal studies that PFAS exposure may reduce antibody response to vaccines and may reduc
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A look at Biden’s ‘climate cabinet’ nominees
Joe Biden ran on the most ambitious environmental agenda of any president in US history, promising not only to roll back the damage done by his predecessor, but to bring a greater focus to fighting climate change than any administration before his.
A look at Biden’s ‘climate cabinet’ nominees Published on Credit: MattWade
Joe Biden ran on the most ambitious environmental agenda of any president in US history, promising not only to roll back the damage done by his predecessor, but to bring a greater focus to fighting climate change than any administration before his.
On his first day in office President Joe Biden started signing executive orders to reverse Trump administration policies. One sweeping directive calls for stronger action to protect public health and the environment and hold polluters accountable, including those who “disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities.”
To lead this effort Biden has nominated Michael Regan to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Regan, who currently heads North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality, would be the first Black man to serve as EPA Administrator in the agency’s 50-year history. His appointment has fueled expectations that the agency will make environmental justice a top priority.