Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, released the following statement on Administrator Lisa Jackson’s departure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

Under Administrator Lisa Jackson’s historic tenure at EPA, America has moved decisively forward in fulfilling its mandate to protect public health and the environment.  Thanks in no small measure to her leadership, we now have federal standards for power plant emissions of mercury and air toxics.  We have aggressive new fuel economy standards that will save families more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pumps, and our government has moved significantly forward on addressing the public health threats from climate change.

Importantly, Administrator Jackson has set EPA on a course to reduce environmental justice burdens on our communities and, in fact, make the entire conversation on environmentalism more inclusive.  She recognized that expanding citizen input is as critical as gathering analytical data when it comes to shaping smart policies that will protect public health and spur sustainable economic development.  In doing this, she helped put to rest the false assumption that communities of color do not want to be engaged on environmental issues.

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