The North Stonington Conservation Commission takes seriously the stance President Trump has taken in appointing Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. It is absurd for us to believe the very man who sued the agency he now purports to lead, the very man who denies carbon emissions impact our environment, the very man who chooses to cut conservation funding while at the same time eliminating federal climate change programs, will protect us.

It has been through EPA grants to towns and states that we have been able to clean up our air, improve our water resources, and protect our fragile Long Island Sound. The coal-fired plants in the Midwest have impacted water bodies with acid rain and provided more polluted air for northeasterners to breathe. It has been through scientific research, Rachel Carlson’s "Silent Spring," and enlightened government policies that we have begun to have our osprey and eagles come back signaling a healthier environment.

An Environmental Protection Agency means an agency whose sole existence is to protect our environment for future generations.

Bill Ricker, Chairman

North Stonington Conservation Commission

On behalf of the commission