houston – Donna Thomas is a pollution warrior in Houston, Texas. She wears a mask because she believes a lifetime of breathing polluted air in her community led to her stroke four years ago.
Near his home, Thomas points to the largest coal-fired power plant in Texas.
“It's the oldest thing you can burn in our neighborhood. It's dangerous,” Thomas said.
To respond to communities like theirs, the Environmental Protection Agency under President Biden created a new Office of Environmental Justice. It employs 200 people and has over $2.8 billion in funding, which goes directly to “disadvantaged, marginalized and highly polluted communities”, including support for projects that help neighborhoods improve their air quality. Allow to monitor.
But Project 2025, a possible roadmap for newly elected president donald trumpRecommends “eliminating EPA's standalone Office of Environmental Justice”.
“We already know everyone is concerned. We want our EPA to be strong,” Thomas said.
But that's unlikely, as Trump has vowed to “cut ten old regulations for every one new regulation.”
Many business and industry leaders say environmental regulation is anti-competitive and costs them money. Trump cut 100 in his first term environmental regulationsJust last week, he posted on social media that “Any individual or company investing a billion dollars in the United States…will receive fully expedited approvals and permits…including all environmental approvals.” “
Daniel Cohn, a Rice University professor and researcher, sits on one of the EPA's scientific advisory boards and is skeptical of the claim that environmental regulations deter trade.
“We've seen the oil and gas industry prosper and produce more oil and gas than ever before, even with EPA regulations,” Cohn said.
Since the EPA first began regulating clean air in the 1970s, emissions of the most common air pollutants have declined by nearly 80%. But around Houston, there's still a long way to go. A 2018 study from Rice University found that each year, pollution from that power plant is responsible for 177 premature deaths.
In a statement to CBS News, the plant's owner, NRG, wrote: “…we have a strict policy of complying with all environmental rules and regulations and are proud of our environmental record.”
Thomas believes that protecting the environment is not a partisan issue.
“Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you should be protected from all environmental issues, but you're not doing that because there's no justice for people here,” Thomas said.
And he is confident that environmental regulation and enforcement will become tougher over the next four years.
