The Head of the EPA on the Future of the Agency

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

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🗓️ 9 April 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

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Summary

President Trump has a new vision for the Environmental Protection Agency that significantly rolls back environmental regulations. Kate Linebaugh speaks to the man overseeing that vision— Administrator Lee Zeldin, about his plans and new approach to environmental governance. Further Listening: - The Fight Over Fluoride - Hot, Dry and Booming: A Texas Climate Case Study - Why Microsoft Wants Three Mile Island's Nuclear Power Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
0:13.5	The great question of the 70s is, shall we surrender to our surroundings,
0:20.0	or shall we make our peace with nature
0:22.8	and begin to make reparations for the damage we have done to our air,
0:28.5	to our land, and to our water?
0:31.6	The EPA has a clear mission to protect human health and the environment.
0:38.4	The agency does this primarily through regulations on issues like air and water pollution.
0:46.5	Now under President Trump, things at the EPA are changing.
0:53.2	Climate regulation is being rethought.
0:56.1	Staff have been laid off, and billions of dollars in funding to green initiatives have
1:01.8	been frozen.
1:03.5	All of it is being directed by the man Trump appointed to lead the EPA.
1:09.5	Lee Zeldin is calling it the biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history.
1:14.2	The EPA administrator is cutting 31 environmental rules regarding climate change, pollution,
1:20.8	electric vehicles, and power plants.
1:23.3	Lee Zeldin, who has hand...
1:25.1	Lee Zeldin, a Trump loyalist who spent eight years in Congress representing his Long Island congressional district.
1:33.8	Last week, I got to ask him some questions.
1:38.2	Administrator Zeldin, thanks for joining us today.
1:40.7	Happy to. Thanks for having me.
1:44.7	Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Kate Linebaugh.
1:50.9	It's Wednesday, April 9th.
	...

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