Mr.

Scott Pruitt ID: LFG-2017-0011

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental Protection Agency

Office of the Administrator, Code 1101A

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20460

pruitt.scott@epa.gov

Sent via: Electronic mail

November 22nd, 2017

Re: Opposition to the United States Environmental Protection Agency banning some scientists from
advising the Environmental Protection Agency

Mr. Pruitt,

I would like to thank you and the United States Environmental Protection Agency for accepting this
comment from me in which is in opposition to the agency under your direction deciding to ban some
scientists from advising the United States Environmental Protection Agency due to politics and political
influence. With regard as to this communication to your office, I would like to make it clear to you that I
am extremely concerned and very disappointed that the United States Environmental Protection Agency
has decided under your direction to ban some scientists from advising the Environmental Protection
Agency on climate change issues.1 It has been reported that you have stripped a half-dozen scientists
and academic professionals from advisory positions and that you have issued new rules in which has
specifically barred anyone who receives E.P.A grant money from serving on panels that counsel the
agency on scientific decisions. I believe that this decision in which was and is under your direction is
extremely awful and I further believe that politics and political influence should never be allowed to
prevent the United States Environmental Protection Agency from properly and adequately investigating
climate change issues and hearing all points of view as to the best and the most effective way as to
addressing climate change in which is occurring and has occurred in our world.2

With all due respect, I personally believe that allowing politics and political influence to prevent the
United States Environmental Protection Agency from being able to do its job is purely stupid. I believe
this because the United States Environmental Protection Agency is one of the largest funders of
environmental research. The United States Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to work to
help protect the environment. Politics and political influence should never be used to prevent the
United States Environmental Protection Agency form being allowed to do its job because scientists do
not make conclusions or discoveries based on a political standpoint on something or under the direct

1
A lot of individuals that are not scientists refer to climate change is global warming. Global warming is an
incorrect term that should not be used to solely define climate change as a whole.
2
A lot of individuals refer to climate change as being solely global warming. Global warming is an incorrect term to
use as to describing climate change as a whole.
influence of politics. Typically, scientists make discoveries based on evidence, trial and error, or based
on tests that have been completed or through evidence. Not politics. Banning certain scientists from
advising the United States Environmental Protect Agency due to politics and due to political influence is
not going to help address or help dismantle or prevent climate change that is and that has occurred in
our world. Politics and political influence being used to prevent accredited scientists and accredited
academic professionals from advising the United States Environmental Protection Agency on the truth is
extremely wrong and will only hurt the stability of Earth.

Another poor decision that the United States has made with regard and pertaining to an international
attempt as to combating climate change was by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The White
House and the United States Department of State under the direction of President Barack H. Obama had
the United States agree to be a participant in the Pairs Agreement. However, once President Donald
Trump came into power he withdrawed the United States from this symbolic international initiative. This
is not stable foreign policy and politics should have never been allowed to withdraw the United States
from internationally addressing climate change. Myself, other individuals and even organization do
believe that this is another example as to unstable foreign policy of the United States. Politics and
political influence should have never been allowed to withdraw the United States from leading the
world as to addressing something that is occurring in our world, such as climate change.

I hope that you understand that myself and many other individuals in the world and many other
organizations in the United States and outside of the United States do believe that the United States
Environmental Protection Agency banning scientists from advising the agency is not only a poor decision
to make but that the decision itself will have negative consequences as far as truly combating climate
change. We also believe that the United States deciding when a new presidential administration came
into power that the United States was not going to be a participant in the Paris Agreement was and is
unstable foreign policy and that the decision shows that the United States will not keep international
commitments or abide by treaties or sole executive agreements. All of this needs to change and I would
respectfully request that you make sure that the United States Environmental Protection Agency does
not ban scientists from advising the agency on climate change issues because climate change is real and
trying to do things to deny its existence will just make the problem worse.

Respectfully,

Isaiah X. Smith3

3
www.isaiahxsmith.com