Fairly or not, the Environmental Protection Agency has long held a reputation in some circles as the liberal hippie child of the U.S. government – a well-meaning kid who came back from college enthusiastic about hugging trees and fighting climate change, but naïve about the way the world works.
But what if the goals of the EPA are more bipartisan than we think?
Now that our government has considered cutting EPA funding by almost a third in the 2018 budget, the interests of Republicans and Democrats alike are at risk.
I am serving my third term as mayor of Dunlap, Tenn., – a beautiful town in between the Cumberland Plateau and Walden’s Ridge, and a place without significant environmental problems. However, not everyone in our state has the benefit of that.
We need a healthier environment, and we need a healthier economy. And the truth is that these things are not opposing ideas. Those are two things that benefit each other.