EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has launched “the biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history,” involving more than 30 environmental protection rules. He says it will result in “the Great American Comeback.”

It’s more like the great American backslide into the 1960s, when dirty air, massive oil spills, and a burning river demonstrated what happens when corporations prioritize profits over people and the planet.

In those days, a book about dangerous pesticides served as a wake-up call for the government to regulate the industry. The Trump administration is influenced by another book, Project 2025, which calls for weakening or killing the rules that protect public health and the environment.

As the Trump administration implements recommendations like these, it boasts that laissez-faire government will save money. However, it doesn’t mention the many costs of deregulation. According to the Associated Press, the rules Zeldin is targeting prevent 30,000 deaths and save society $275 billion every year they remain in effect.

EPA regulations are........

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