I Get RFK Jr.’s Appeal. But This Is Dangerous

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made well being coverage the cornerstone of his failed presidential marketing campaign, critiquing America’s healthcare and public well being methods with daring, usually controversial proposals. 

From vaccine “security” to meals and environmental well being, RFK Jr.’s platform challenges the established order, calling for sweeping reforms to enhance transparency, accountability, and private freedom in medical decision-making. He’s raised issues in regards to the persistent illness epidemic that many are combating in silence and has been a vocal critic of the commercial meals system, pointing to the target risks it poses to public well being. He’s coined the slogan #MAHA — Make America Wholesome Once more — a phrase that has gained extra traction within the health-conscious corners of the nation than the unique MAGA. You may usually discover it boldly displayed in juice bars, wellness retailers, and health facilities, the place it has grow to be emblematic of a motion that purports to prioritize well being over the politics of the second.

And truthfully, I get it.

I’m hyper-focused on well being. After a grueling battle with lengthy COVID following my an infection in 2022 and the numerous, a few years I’ve spent uncovering the grave realities of water contamination, air air pollution and illness outbreaks as a reporter and filmmaker, I’ve absolutely embraced the mantle of an overprotective, fiercely vigilant mother. For essentially the most half, my child eats complete, natural meals, his water filtered to pristine purity eight occasions over. His clothes is 100% natural cotton and when there’s air pollution, or we enter crowded areas indoors, he wears an N95 masks. By our society’s requirements, I may appear excessive. However to me, it’s not insanity — it’s what occurs whenever you stay in a rustic that’s dangerously out of step with actuality.

So, to RFK Jr.’s supporters, I perceive your fervor. However right here’s the place I’m misplaced.

RFK Jr. has aligned himself with an administration — and been introduced as Trump’s decide to guide the Division of Well being and Human Companies as a reward — that’s dedicated to weakening the very protections which have essentially the most direct, confirmed impacts on our well being, significantly the well being of our kids. He has paradoxically positioned his help behind a president dedicated to dismantling the regulatory frameworks that guarantee clear air, secure water, toxic-free work environments and uncontaminated meals. These should not simply summary ideas — they’re the very protections that defend us and our kids from the invisible, insidious risks that lurk in our surroundings on a regular basis. By aligning himself with leaders related to Challenge 2025’s radical overhaul of environmental rules, he’s successfully endorsing a future the place company pursuits are prioritized over the well being of all People, particularly kids.

Challenge 2025, an formidable coverage agenda crafted by conservative suppose tanks for the following Republican president, goals to decrease the EPA’s position in regulating the surroundings. On the core of this initiative is the plan to take away the EPA’s authority below the Clear Air Act, the muse of the nation’s air high quality requirements. If enacted, this might severely weaken federal oversight of air pollution, undermining many years of progress in defending public well being and the surroundings.

With out the Clear Air Act’s regulatory framework, fossil gas firms — together with different industrial sectors — would face far fewer restrictions on emissions, significantly these associated to particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon emissions. They might function with much less oversight and fewer penalties for air pollution, permitting them to prioritize cost-saving measures over environmental safety.

The results of this might be disastrous for everybody who breathes. Air air pollution is linked on to respiratory sicknesses, heart problems, and most cancers.

Their assault doesn’t finish with our air.

Challenge 2025 additionally threatens the Clear Water Act, which regulates pollution in our waterways and ingesting water. The Clear Water Act has been instrumental in guaranteeing that public well being is protected against dangerous contaminants like lead, arsenic, micro organism, pesticides, industrial chemical compounds, and substances like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxins, that are recognized carcinogens. With out the Act’s protections, municipalities and industries could be emboldened to delay or keep away from the required actions to exchange lead pipes, repair ageing infrastructure, or stop contamination of public water methods.

As a reporter who spent two years in Flint, Michigan, I witnessed firsthand the devastating impression water contamination has on a group. It’s an ongoing public well being disaster of epic proportions. Even a decade later, the group grapples with new life-threatening well being problems.

Weakening the Clear Water Act wouldn’t solely exacerbate present water crises but in addition cripple our skill to handle rising and chronic threats like PFAS — chemical compounds which have already contaminated ingesting water methods nationwide exposing hundreds of thousands of People to critical well being dangers, together with liver injury, thyroid points, infertility, and most cancers. With out federal oversight, PFAS and related pollution would unfold unchecked.

The results could be extreme for everybody who drinks water.

And with out rules, there’s no goal measure to outline what ranges of air pollution or contamination are harmful, leaving people to navigate advanced and infrequently conflicting info on their very own. This creates explicit challenges for the 35% of America that rents, who’re on the mercy of landlords in terms of addressing points like lead in water or radon within the air. If a landlord dismisses these hazards as subjective opinions, tenants have little recourse with out enforceable authorized requirements, leaving households susceptible to important well being dangers attributable to negligence or greed.

The combat for well being begins with essentially the most basic proper: clear air and water. With out them, all else falls away. 

But, in a putting irony, the very man championing the reason for public well being, which impressed so many to help him and consequently Trump, appears poised to help insurance policies that dismantle the protections very important to preserving that well being. So I name on the newest Kennedy to ascend to Washington to handle the stark contradictions between the values he claims to champion — our society’s well being and well-being — and the coverage framework specified by Challenge 2025, which threatens to undermine these very beliefs. 

RFK Jr. speaks of prioritizing the well being of the American folks, however Challenge 2025’s proposals promote deregulation and weaken vital environmental protections, placing our air, water, meals and future in danger. Now that his chosen candidate empowered him to guide the Division of Well being and Human Companies, it’s time for RFK Jr. to confront this obtrusive dissonance head-on and clarify the place his true priorities lie.