Sister Bea Eichten
Little Falls
(Editor’s note: Eichten is community minister for the Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls.)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards is reckless and dangerous. It disregards overwhelming scientific evidence and the lived reality of climate change seen in recent floods in Texas, wildfires in California and deadly heatwaves across the nation.
Catholic teaching calls us to care for our common home and, as Pope Francis noted, to recognize the interconnections between the ecological and social crises. Our failure to care for our common home has and will continue to impact the most vulnerable members of our society, especially the future of our children.
By abandoning these standards, the EPA would not only violate its legal duty to protect public health and the environment but also place the burden squarely on ordinary people, who will pay with their health, their wallets and their lives. Future generations – our children and grandchildren – will inherit an even steeper cost as extreme weather intensifies.
This proposal would enrich polluters while compounding the suffering of vulnerable communities most affected by climate disasters. It undermines public health, economic stability and our future. The EPA must reject this blatant giveaway to corporate interests and uphold its mission to safeguard our climate and communities.
The National Campaign for Justice urges us to submit a comment to the EPA using its online form here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/fight-epas-plan-to-rescind-the-endangerment-finding/