Donald Trump has picked Myron Ebell to lead the transition at the Environmental Protection Agency, an organization whose mission is to “protect human health and the environment.”
Ebell will play a pivotal role in choosing EPA personnel and help shape the future of government agencies that address climate and environmental policy.
But here’s the rub: The 63-year-old is no environmental steward. A noted climate contrarian, he’s spent decades trying to dispel what he calls the “myths of global warming,” defending the use of fossil fuels and shutting down any climate policy that would diminish dependence on them. And he’s expressed great pride at being one of world’s most reviled “climate criminals.”
By Tuesday morning, more than 88,000 people had signed a White House petition calling for Ebell to be ousted from his role as Trump’s EPA advisor. “Do not let a man who denies science in the name of profit lead the nation in environmental protection,” the petition reads.
Ebell has been called the “perfect” person to oversee the EPA’s transition for a president-elect who has described climate change as “bullshit” and a “hoax.” Trump has vowed to dismantle the EPA and withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement to reduce the impact of climate change.
The next four years could spell disaster for the environment.
A new United Nations report shows we’re already hurtling rapidly toward 2 degrees Celsius, the global temperature increase scientists say the world must stay below to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
With or without Trump, it’s critical that the world stays on course with prompt and comprehensive climate action.
Given this, here are 11 troubling facts you need to know about Ebell: