On July 5, president Donald Trump publicized his decision to make Andrew Wheeler the new Acting Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. After Scott Pruitt resigned due to a hefty number of scandals, including halting the Clean Water Rule and halting the research behind mountaintop removal mining hazards, Andrew Wheeler has been chosen to take his place. Think it could get any wore than Scott Pruitt? It is highly probable.

The EPA is the Environmental Protection Agency, put in place by former president Richard Nixon to "protect human health and the environment." Throughout the years, the EPA has been an incredible regulator and voice for the security and preservation of the environment. The EPA enforces and mediates environmental laws written by Congress, provides a plethora of grants to worthy programs and researches the environmental issues of the modern world. This organization has become increasingly important in today's decision-making and politics, as the threat of environmental disasters is quickly nearing. In order to continue to have the EPA be environmental allies, the leader must have the natural world's best interests in mind, and the current one is not satisfying that.

To put things in perspective, the Senate confirmed Andrew Wheeler to be in command of the EPA by a very slim 53 to 45 vote in early April. Before his leadership position, Wheeler was an adviser to Republican senator James M. Inhofe, who is well known for his extreme disbelief in climate change (he once brought a snowball before Congress to "prove his point"). After his time with Inhofe, he became a lobbyist for a multitude of companies; the most concerning one is Murray Energy. Murray Energy is the largest coal mining company in the United States and uses underground mining methods to receive their coal. When mining underground, not only is the atmosphere in danger of pollution, but the water sources are as well because of the many dangerous chemicals extracted while mining.

As someone who supported a man that claims climate change is "the greatest hoax" foisted on US citizens and who was a lobbyist for one of the largest polluters in the nation, it is safe to say that Andrew Wheeler is the last person we need running the organization meant to protect our planet's health and our own health. Because one of the biggest parts of the EPA's mission is to ensure that Americans have clean air, land and water, this highly important organization must be lead by someone that, for starters, believes in climate change, and it must be someone against the continued use of fossil fuels.

What used to be an organization that was dedicated to reducing environmental hazards is now a corrupt agency focusing more on pleasing unscrupulous politicians and less on actually protecting the environment. If Americans were afraid of the EPA being influenced over by coal-industry lobbyists, imagine the fate of the agency with a coal-industry lobbyist as the highest position within all of the workers. The Earth cannot handle any more production of toxicity in water sources and the atmosphere, so if the EPA wants to be productive, a new president is needed to thrive.