Lets say it together, Scott Pruitt: CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL.
Let's say it together, Scott Pruitt: CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL. Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty

Michael Cox deserves a standing ovation—and probably a couple drinks. The Bainbridge Island resident worked as an Environmental Protection Agency climate change adviser representing the Pacific Northwest for nearly three decades before he resigned on March 31. In a letter addressed to Trump-appointed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Cox rattled off a number of bad developments that caused him to jump ship, including proposed budget cuts and climate change denial within the department.

He writes: "I, and many staff, firmly believe the policies this Administration is advancing are contrary to what the majority of the American people, who pay our salaries, want EPA to accomplish, which are to ensure the air their children breath is safe; the land they live, play, and hunt on to be free of toxic chemicals; and the water they drink, the lakes they swim in, and the rivers they fish in to be clean."

He also invites Pruitt to make a special trip up to the PNW to see climate change in action.

We are seeing the effects of climate change on the landscape right now. If you do not believe me, travel to Alaska during your tenure and talk with the Alaskans whose way of life is being fundamentally changed because of climate change; visit the Pacific Northwest and see where the streams are too warm for our salmon to survive in the summer; visit the oyster farmers in Puget Sound whose stocks are being altered from the oceans becoming more acidic; talk to the ski area operators who are seeing less snowpack and worrying about their future; and talk to the farmers in Eastern Washington who are struggling to have enough water to grow their crops and water their cattle.

Here are a few other scathing highlights from Cox's letter...

On the EPA's new position on climate science:

This is settled science and we have too many other important scientific issues to investigate related to climate change to waste our time debating this issue. I am reminded of a Congressional hearing several years ago when Congressman Henry Waxman asked the CEOs of the major tobacco companies if smoking caused lung cancer. All of the CEOs categorically denied that smoking caused lung cancer. We know, of course, that was not true. You will continue to undermine your credibility and integrity with EPA staff, and the majority of the public, if you continue to question this basic science of climate change.

On Trump's promise to bring back jobs in coal:

The President is, however, wrong that coal jobs will be coming back after the repeal of the climate change actions. To state otherwise is false and misleading. It is amazing that an Administration that touts itself as business savvy has not done its homework on the market forces at play with coal.

And, as Cox mentions in his letter, he is not alone in his complaints.

"Interviews with staffers point to a workforce demoralized by President Trump’s and Pruitt’s statements that conflict with science," The Washington Post reports. "They are worried about a new, backward direction for the agency and nervous about proposed, drastic budget cuts."

They are also fearful.

Twice during an hour of interviews for this column, EPA workers in different parts of the country asked to communicate with me by using encryption software. All who spoke feared retaliation and would not allow their names to be used.

“It is pretty bleak,” one staffer, an environmental engineer, said about employee morale.

“It’s in the dumps,” said another.

“Pretty much everybody is updating their resumes. It’s grim,” added a third.

They and their colleagues are dedicated to EPA’s mission to “protect human health and the environment.” They fear that Trump administration policies will do the opposite.

Michael, I'm serious about those drinks. Let's make a date.