Spotlight: Red Hot Chili Peppers: The 60 Minutes Interview

Nearly 300 employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have signed onto a letter of dissent published Monday in opposition to President Donald Trump’s environmental regulatory rollbacks, who, at the risk of retaliation, argued the administration’s actions will cost lives.

“People are going to die,” said Carol Greider, professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, speaking to The Associated Press. “And if we don’t have scientists at the EPA to understand how what we do that goes into the air affects our health, more people are going to die.”

The Trump administration has made significant budget cuts to the EPA and regulatory rollbacks on environmental policies, including broad pollution exemptions for industrial plants, while also vowing to halt environmental improvement projects for minority communities, among other initiatives.

The letter, signed by around 270 EPA employees, warns Trump that continued budget cuts and regulatory rollbacks not only threaten lives but also further scientific research necessary to combat climate change and other existential risks.

“Since the Agency’s founding in 1970, EPA has accomplished (its) mission by leveraging science, funding, and expert staff in service to the American people,” the letter reads, as reported by The Associated Press. “Today, we stand together in dissent against the current administration’s focus on harmful deregulation, mischaracterization of previous EPA actions, and disregard for scientific expertise.”

The letter of dissent mirrors a letter signed by hundreds of scientists at the National Institutes of Health objecting to cuts and mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Raw Story reported that at a hearing last week of the House Subcommittee on Health, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to commit to not retaliating against those scientists for their dissent.

“Americans should be able to drink their water and breathe their air without being poisoned,” said Amelia Hertzberg, EPA environmental protection specialist, speaking with the Associated Press. “And if they aren’t, then our government is failing.”