AL JAZEERA • December 2, 2020
On the eve of the founding of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), smog choked US cities, rivers were overflowing with noxious chemicals, hazardous waste crept into the water supply and pesticide use was unchecked. Now, a half-century after then-President Richard Nixon signed an executive order creating the agency, environmental analysts celebrate its impressive track record — but also recognise significant failures, particularly on climate justice. Stan Meiburg, who began working at the EPA in 1977 and was acting deputy administrator from 2014 to 2017, said, “The most disappointing aspects of the last four years are the lost opportunities from looking backwards rather than moving forward.”