Doctors sound alarm over proposed move by government agency that could pose grave danger to American families: 'It could cost lives'

Pediatricians are calling the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rollbacks on clean air protections "baffling" and are issuing stark warnings about the damaging impacts the reversals could have on human health, especially for children. 

One physician told The Cool Down that "it will cost lives." 

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin moved last week to take 31 actions focused on eliminating regulations protecting clean air and water. 

He is also planning massive staffing cuts that would eliminate employees who are researching the impact of harmful chemicals on humans, categorizing his efforts under the umbrella of ending the "Green New Scam." 

The Cool Down spoke to two top pediatricians to understand how the proposed changes would affect children and families: Dr. Lisa Patel, Executive Director of the nonpartisan Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and Dr. Debra Hendrickson, the author of "The Air They Breathe." 

"This administration has said that a priority is to 'Make America Healthy Again,' but what [disbanding] these rules will do is make us deeply unhealthy," Dr. Patel told TCD. "It's not making America healthy again; it's making America polluted again." 

"It's really hard to summarize just how bad this is," Dr. Hendrickson added. "If people understand the risks of these compounds and chemicals and toxins and heavy metals to children — it's really giving free rein to commit a crime against children as far as I'm concerned."

What's happening?

In a short and sharply worded video statement, Zeldin first announced the proposed rollbacks on March 12, outlining several key changes he wanted to make to put "a dagger straight into the heart of climate change religion." 

His plan includes reconsidering limits on pollution from toxic metals such as mercury, which is known to cause neurological damage, as well as particulate matter or soot, which can pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream. These pollutants originate from gas- and coal-fired power plants, and the proposed rollback could weaken regulations meant to control them.

Additionally, Zeldin said he wants to end the "Good Neighbor Plan," a policy designed to prevent one state from suffering the consequences of its neighboring states' poor energy decisions. This rule is crucial for downwind neighbors of power plants, as they often bear the burden of air pollution generated elsewhere.

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Lastly, the proposed rollbacks include rescinding rules that require industrial polluters to report their emissions to the EPA, which would make it more difficult to track and regulate industrial pollution.

Weakening the EPA was part of the vision laid out by Project 2025, largely seen to be the architecture behind much of President Donald Trump's administration. Zeldin has called the regulations restrictive and said the rules "throttled oil and gas production and unfairly targeted coal-fired power plants." 

Each of these regulations, Dr. Patel explains, has been backed by peer-reviewed literature and "decades of research [confirming] that these toxins are terrible for people's health," as well as extensive public comments.

"To take all of that and throw it in the trashcan to protect industry profit is baffling from a medical and a community point of view," Dr. Patel said. 

"That's one of the tragedies," Dr. Hendrickson added. "They've gone through years and years of meticulous process to get to this point, and it's all being blown up within weeks."

The EPA said it intends to cut environmental protection research and fire over 1,000 employees connected to human health and the environment. 

The EPA's research teams look at things like pollution, microplastics, PFAS, and the impact of wildfire smoke on human health. 

Dr. Patel also slammed the language Zeldin used in his announcement.

"The majority of Americans are deeply concerned about climate change, and to use language that seems almost gleeful about tearing down the rules that could protect them feels deeply insensitive and baffling," she said.

What's the science behind these regulations? 

"When we burn fossil fuels, we release a type of air pollution that drives more premature deaths worldwide than tobacco," Dr. Patel explained. "We know this pollution is bad for us, so we should do everything we can to limit that pollution. It results in a litany of other harms: premature births, asthma, certain types of cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's."

That pollution from coal, oil, and gas is especially damaging to children "because they're still growing, they're smaller, their physiology is different," Dr. Hendrickson said. "There was one analysis that showed that … almost 90% of the health burden of climate change is falling on children 5 and under. So it's disproportionately a risk to children."

"When we limit fossil fuels, we also derive a secondary benefit," Dr. Patel added. "We don't release greenhouse gases that are worsening climate change." 

Those changing global temperatures also have a major impact on human health — and especially children, including heat illness, worsening pollution from wildfire smoke and ozone, natural disaster trauma, and increased risk of infectious diseases, which babies and small children are most susceptible to. 

Both pediatricians said they expect to see an uptick in tangible pollution-related concerns among their patients. 

One study from Columbia University found that exposure to toxic air pollutants from coal plants in utero contributed to lower birth weight and growth rates and also had a negative impact on children's IQs.

The USC Children's Health Study — one of the largest and most detailed studies of the long-term effects of air pollution on kids — follows more than 12,000 children in southern California. The study found higher asthma rates and increased respiratory infections for kids who live near busy roads or play outdoor sports and live in high-ozone communities.

"We know that the kids who chronically breathed high levels of particulate matter had smaller, stiffer lungs by the time they reached adulthood," Dr. Hendrickson explained. "If those kids moved to a cleaner-air neighborhood, their lung capacity actually improved 10 to 12%. Because kids' lungs are growing as they're younger, they're really affected by the quality of air they breathe."

Particulate matter from pollution and wildfire smoke can penetrate into the bloodstream from the lungs and travel to any organ of the body.

"In small children, this means that it reaches the brain, it reaches all the organs, and so in children and adults, we see a huge range of health problems from these particulates when people are exposed to high levels of them," Dr. Hendrickson said.

"A lot of parents don't know that there are a lot of neurologic impacts to particulate pollution and other air pollutants," she continued. "We know that when kids are chronically breathing these things that they have higher rates of neurodevelopmental problems, learning disabilities, and even autism."

While significant focus has been on linking vaccines to autism, which is an unfounded premise, Dr. Hendrickson said: "I have not yet met a parent who knows that fossil fuel emissions and wildfire smoke … have been tied to neurologic impacts in children as well."

While it's sometimes harder for parents to make the connection, the science is there, and it's not unlike the dangers of secondhand smoke. 

"If a car is heading toward your child in the street, everyone understands the danger immediately," Dr. Hendrickson said. "But understanding the danger from the exhaust from that car is harder, because it takes several steps, especially when you're talking first about warming the planet and then these downstream effects." 

What are the next steps? 

Experts have questioned whether Zeldin has the legal authority to overturn the regulations he outlined. 

Legally, there must be a period of public comment, and a number of organizations have already filed lawsuits to protect the regulations. 

Former EPA officials from both sides of the political spectrum have authored a letter to Zeldin warning about the impact of the proposed cuts to the organization on health.

"Policy changes are to be expected from one administration to the next, but not the dismantling of the EPA," the letter says, according to The New York Times. "If the administration does not agree with the laws Congress has passed and the programs it has funded, it should work with Congress to seek changes, not unilaterally and recklessly freeze, delay, or eliminate funding." 

What can you do? 

Both of our experts said the first step is educating yourself about the impact these changes could have on your health, and the next step is taking action.

"Parents should be concerned and active about this," Dr. Hendrickson said. "This will affect a lot of people's lives. It will cost lives."

Reach out to congressional lawmakers and tell them that you want clean air and clean water and the protection of the EPA regulations, she suggested, and consider supporting nonprofits like Moms Clean Air Force, which is focused on protecting children from air pollution.

"As a whole, Americans understand the importance of clean air, clean water — these are very popular amenities that we all want," Dr. Patel said. "The actions the administration is taking would take away our clean air or clean water."

For those feeling alone in their worries, Dr. Hendrickson emphasized that shared concern over the administration's actions has already motivated people across the U.S. to take action, vocally pushing back against the threats to these essential resources.

"There are thousands of people across the country who are upset and angry and pushing back against this," Dr. Hendrickson said. "If anybody's feeling like you're the only one feeling this way, you're not. Start close to home and move out to whatever degree you can, but join with other people."

"I would just urge parents, I know that people have so much to worry about and so many demands on their time," she continued, "but if you have anything you can give to this effort to fight back, I would say do it now, because your kids' future depends on it."

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