Michelle Obama at EPA Talks About Importance of the Environment for Future Generations

Michelle Obama continued her visits to Washington DC agencies this week when, on her sixth visit, she was at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters. During her visit, she asked EPA employees to work hard so that future generations did not have to worry about environmental issues. Mrs. Obama also talked about her children and about the health and safety of all our children being vital for the future.

This visit to the EPA was also at a perfect time, as the recently signed economic stimulus package included billions of dollars to be used by the EPA to continue clean up of communities all over the country. There are around 18,000 full-time EPA employees, so the money included in the stimulus package was also seen as a way to make sure most of these employees keep their jobs in the tough economic climate.

In past years, the EPA has not always had the best reputation. During President Clinton's presidency, then EPA head Christine Todd Whitman was chastized for completely ignoring the President's Executive Order asking for special attention to be paid by the EPA to areas where minorities lived. Ms. Whitman decided she did not want the EPA to follow these directions, a direct slap in the face to minorities, who often live in areas where some of the worst environmental violations occur.

During President Bush's administration, reports by EPA scientists were also rife saying the government was interfering with their work, even leaning on them in an attempt to stop them publishing findings that may be detrimental to large corporations. One of the groups of scientists who reported this was those who worked on food additives and chemicals as relates to cancer risks. The Bush Administration, in their role as protector of the wealthy and major corporations, felt it necessary to try to protect those groups instead of protecting the average American citizen. Hopefully, President Obama will not feel the need to do this and, being a lawyer, it's likely he understands the legal ramifications of such a move anyway.

Michelle Obama's visit to the EPA could not have come at a better time. Over the last few weeks, several comments have been made by officials and Americans alike who think environmental issues have to be put aside while the US economy is struggling. This is an extremely short-sighted way of looking at things. There's no reason why the US economy and environmental problems cannot be solved at the same time, and Mrs. Obama and, of course, the President are smart enough to see this.

It will be interesting to see which agency Michelle Obama visits next. In the first few weeks of President Obama's presidency, she has already visited the Agriculture Department and the Department of Education among others. With these visits, she's already showing she has a clear interest in what the government does. As First Ladies usually come out with an issues focus in the first few months in office, it's also very likely that she's trying to narrow down her interests so she can choose an issue to work on that's not only important to her but that she feels will have the most impact.

SOURCES:

The World We Leave Our Children - White House Blog

Michelle Obama Visits the EPA - Political Punch, ABC News