Friend, let me say first that I am humbled and honored to be joining the ranks here at the League of Conservation Voters and to get the chance to tell dedicated LCV supporters like you my story.

I started at the EPA almost 10 years ago — in the first year of President Obama's administration — driven by two desires: to protect public health through scientifically-based regulations and to advance environmental justice.

I left the EPA to work for LCV because I believe that LCV is leading the movement to protect our health and environment from the Trump administration's dangerous pro-polluter agenda. But we can't do this work alone. Join me by supporting LCV today.

When I started my career at the EPA, I wanted to be a part of something that could protect people's health while cleaning up some of the worst pollution in our country. And, under President Obama, we did just that.

While I worked in the Office of Children's Health Protection, I was a member of teams that stood up to Big Polluters and updated lifesaving protections for communities — especially communities of color and low income communities — to live healthier, more fulfilling lives. I helped to develop national air quality standards for soot, smog, and other pollutants so that communities could have cleaner air to breathe and children could grow up with healthier lungs.

But I started to see my ability to protect our health diminish when the administration changed. Under Trump, rule after rule was rewritten or rescinded, and the mission of the EPA was subverted at the behest of polluting industries — the Clean Power Plan, pollution limits for oil and gas drilling, mercury and air toxics standards for power plants, and cleaner car standards, to name a few. Public health stopped being mentioned at all by those in charge. In the view of Trump's deputies at the EPA, climate change no longer existed.

With the Trump administration, the EPA's de facto mission changed. I joined LCV because I believe in making progress on environmental justice and public health protections and holding our elected officials accountable. We need LCV to be strong for the fight against the Trump Administration. Please chip in to help us.

It was sickening to see the science thrown overboard and many of the important health-protective regulations getting torn up by Trump appointees. Not to mention the countless ethical violations, lapses in judgement, and financial entanglements of key appointees stemming from their clear conflicts of interest with former Big Polluter clients and industries they represented.

I stayed at the EPA to mind the shop and try to keep an eye on things, but eventually I realized that to really protect communities' health and safety, I needed to join an organization that was leading the fight against this administration.

I came to LCV because it has built a track record of success in passing environmental policies, holding elected officials accountable, and supporting candidates who fight for clean air, clean water, climate action, protections for public lands, and our children's health. What's more, LCV has also made a conscious, deliberate effort to address racial justice and equity in every aspect of its work. Here are a few things we are working on right now:

1. We're building massive opposition against the Trump administration's threat to eliminate the public's right to appeal permits for industrial pollution. If the administration gets its way, communities at risk of dangerous pollution lose their day in court. There's still time to stop this — we need to act quickly. The new rule hasn't been proposed yet, so we are organizing and fighting back.
2. We are suing the Trump administration to block offshore drilling. Three months ago, LCV won our case at the district court to block the Trump administration's plans for new offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean and key portions of the Atlantic. The administration just filed a last-minute emergency appeal, which means we're going back to court to secure a permanent offshore drilling ban for huge parts of our oceans.
3. We are getting climate change on the presidential agenda. With only 12 years to solve the climate crisis, the 2020 presidential election is the last, best chance for the U.S. to confront this crisis head on. LCV is elevating climate action in the 2020 presidential primary elections and working to ensure that the next president is committed to an ambitious plan to address the crisis beginning on day one.
4. We are blocking Keystone XL, again. Earlier this month, a three-judge panel in the 9th circuit lifted an injunction that had blocked the Keystone XL pipeline construction. TransCanada, the developer on this project, has said it's too late to begin construction this year, meaning we have a short window to block this pipeline before it's too late.

I'm here at LCV because I owe it to my son, to all of the community leaders fighting for environmental justice, to my EPA colleagues still on the inside, and to many others; to stand up for fairness and a healthy environment that allows everyone to thrive. I'm bringing my life's work to LCV because I believe in its leadership. But we all need to be in this together. Please join me by supporting LCV today.

Thank you for reading my story.


Matthew Davis
Legislative Director
League of Conservation Voters

P.S. Get to know me more by reading my story, published on lcv.org.