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Articles by Peter Lehner

Peter Lehner is the Executive Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Previously, he led the Clean Water Program for the NRDC for five years, before leaving in 1999 to serve as the head of the Environmental Protection Bureau for the Attorney General of the State of New York.

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Photo: USDA Forest ServiceOver the past few months, several members of Congress have tried to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to reduce pollution. They especially want to stop the agency from cutting the emissions that cause climate change.

While these efforts benefit polluters, they do not reflect the wishes of the American people — the vast majority of whom see the EPA as one of our best tools for holding polluters accountable.

A new poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp/Infogroup for NRDC found that 82 percent of Americans support the work of the EPA. And 73 percent support protecting the EPA’s authority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from utilities and other major industrial polluters.

Interestingly, support for the EPA was strong across party lines: 71 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Independents, and 93 percent of Democrats back the agency.

This multi-partisan support reminds me of another time in politics. In 1990, President Bush signed the Clean Air Act Amendments, which contained the first air pollution cap-and-trade program and which the EPA administers. Before it landed on the presiden... Read more