Environmental Justice under attack on Earth Day April 22, 2025

Earth Day is meant to celebrate the wonders of this planet and to recommit to our duty to protect it for generations to come. Today, the Trump administration chose this occasion to notify more than 450 Environmental Protection Agency employees focused on environmental justice that they will be fired or reassigned. This follows weeks of cuts to federal EJ grants and staff across agencies. 

Environmental health threats, like childhood asthma caused by air pollution and heat stroke caused by extreme heat, historically harm people of color, Indigenous people and low-wealth communities first and most severely. These disproportionate health impacts are exacerbated by the climate crisis and will continue to get worse.  Cutting those EPA staff dedicated to addressing these environmental health disparities is dangerous and unjust.

At PSR, we continue to stand together and speak boldly in opposition to these attacks on public health, and we are thrilled so many of you have joined us in this Month of Action. What can you do next to maintain this momentum?

• Reach out to your Members of Congress to demand the EPA maintain its legally established commitment to health and environmental protection, especially for the most vulnerable.
• Attend tomorrow’s virtual event, 100 Days, 100 Harms: A Briefing for Health Experts featuring three physicians who will highlight the impacts of recent administration actions: PSR President Mark Vossler, American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges Benjamin, and Oregon Congresswoman Maxine Dexter. 
• Talk to your friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues about why you are concerned and what you’re doing to take action. Now is a critical moment to grow our movement and help others feel supported and connected.
• Take a moment to disconnect from technology, tune out the news, breathe, and appreciate the wonder and resilience of the natural world, which can help ground and sustain us in a time of chaos.

This Earth Day, we need your support to help sustain PSR’s important work. We are excited to share that we are over halfway to our goal of raising $20,000 in April. Thanks to generous donors from our board of directors, we are matching every contribution this month, so give today and your donation will be doubled.